So, how does the Model 3 drive vs the Bolt?

[McRat]

No one has mentioned looks.
You still have to wake up every morning and go out to the garage only to be disappointed seeing a Bolt sitting in your garage versus a sleek fine looking M3, its not as nice as an S IMHO but still..
I was looking at Volts a while ago and then the Vol,t but once I sat in it and looked it over no way I was going to shell out almost 40K for that car so I went CPO P85..

For deliveries and commuting, looks must not be a big deal since Camrys sell like hotcakes, and the Prime looks like a poor rendition of a Japanese Cartoon Robot Transformer.

Out the door, after all taxes, fees and rebates, I spent $76k for 3 Volts. 2 for the kids and one for work.

The true test of EREV practicality was last night. My daughter headed back to university yesterday at 1:45 pm, normally a 180 mi trip. Her nav did not accurately report the landslide outages, and she had to backtrack and drive all the way around a mountain range to get to the dorms. She drove for 9h40m much of it through dark unpopulated mountain roads. Peace of mind was knowing she had 350 miles of range in case she had detour again and OnStar in case she got in trouble. It was rough night for all of us. We were monitoring her location, range remaining, tire pressures, as well as the CalTrans closure site.

She has a final in 10 minutes. Finals were postponed because of the fires last month. Hope she aces it since she's 4.0 gpa so far.

 

[Don TLR]

Good on you for you getting the kids EV's.. think the volt is a much sportier looking than the volt and wish they just went 100% EV on that car. I think its currently a great concept for those with a short commute along with ICE as a backup for those times where its not convenient to charge. Congrats to your daughter for the 4.0 gpa..

 

[McRat]

Good on you for you getting the kids EV's.. think the volt is a much sportier looking than the volt and wish they just went 100% EV on that car. I think its currently a great concept for those with a short commute along with ICE as a backup for those times where its not convenient to charge. Congrats to your daughter for the 4.0 gpa..

Personally, I want a sportier EV with RWD, but not a large one. The Model 3LR with AP2 will be my choice when I get the email.
But the Bolt is not a bad choice either for more sedate drivers. Plenty of punch in traffic, but not squirrelly. FWD is a good choice for drivers who are not serious enthusiasts of the driving experience, and it has very good visibility and safety rating.

 

[McHoffa]

Bolt inventory levels are very low. My favorite outlet used to have 100 cars, now has 8. Inventory won't support 3 weeks of sales. Dec was peak sales so far. 4Q there were more Bolt sales than Model S sales.

You know there was an extended shutdown at the Bolt plant, right? That would explain inventory selling out.

The Bolt barely beat the Model S in Q4. The Bolt's average selling price is <$40k, and if you count the lease deals of $99-$299 per month, you're talking about payments equivalent to a $20k car. The average selling price of Model S is over $100k, which amounts to payments of $1200+ per month. I would hope that the Bolt can continue to outsell the Model S. If it can't, that would be pretty pathetic.

The Model 3, however, will likely outsell the Bolt starting this month and blow it away within a couple more months.

 

[McRat]

You know there was an extended shutdown at the Bolt plant, right? That would explain inventory selling out.

The Bolt barely beat the Model S in Q4. The Bolt's average selling price is <$40k, and if you count the lease deals of $99-$299 per month, you're talking about payments equivalent to a $20k car. The average selling price of Model S is over $100k, which amounts to payments of $1200+ per month. I would hope that the Bolt can continue to outsell the Model S. If it can't, that would be pretty pathetic.

The Model 3, however, will likely outsell the Bolt starting this month and blow it away within a couple more months.

No other EV outsold the Model S in Q4, especially no first year EVs. But there were no $99 leases.

Yes I'm patiently awaiting the Model 3LR ramp up. But to be honest, I expect them to move my delivery date again.
While I'd like to see Tesla sell Model 3's for $36k, I don't think that will occur in any quantity in 2018. We will see.

 

[bro1999]

You know there was an extended shutdown at the Bolt plant, right? That would explain inventory selling out.

Extended shutdown? 2 weeks in July for retooling to make LESS Chevy Sonics and more Bolts, and a week last month for the 2018 MY switchover. Your definition of extended is a bit warped.

 

[Stoneymonster]

I am just happy there are enough serious production EVs in the wild for people to be arguing about them.

 

[McHoffa]

But there were no $99 leases.

Why Are Chevy Dealers Offering $99/month Leases on the Bolt? [Opinion] - The Fast Lane Car

 

[bro1999]

Why Are Chevy Dealers Offering $99/month Leases on the Bolt? [Opinion] - The Fast Lane Car

$99/month*#+@
*with $2500 down
#and a Costco membership
+and currently lease a non-GM car
@and you won't get this deal becaus there's only 1 at this price and it probably just got sold 5 minutes before you arrived here

Always something in the fine print.

 

[Canuck]

So, how does the Model 3 drive vs the Bolt?

How they drive is important, of course, but just looking at the Bolt vs. the Model 3, the Bolt would have to fly to get me to buy it over the Model 3. I couldn't care less how it drives if I had to look at that ugly thing every day. We do that with our Leaf since there was no other choice, and it's our Tesla's ugly cousin. But one ugly cousin is enough. It's time for a sibling. Please get the gestation period over with mother Tesla since our driveway is waiting!

 

[McRat]

Why Are Chevy Dealers Offering $99/month Leases on the Bolt? [Opinion] - The Fast Lane Car

Great article. Is it part of The Onion?

 

[bro1999]

the Bolt would have to fly to get me to buy it over the Model 3.

You never know what will happen in the future.

 

[McHoffa]

$99/month*#+@
*with $2500 down
#and a Costco membership
+and currently lease a non-GM car
@and you won't get this deal becaus there's only 1 at this price and it probably just got sold 5 minutes before you arrived here

Always something in the fine print.

Well officially they were offering $329 leases... that's still a smaller payment than a $20k car, which is what it should be. Again, I would hope that there would be a higher number of $329 sales/leases vs $1200 sales leases (Model S), but I don't think that will continue much longer. The Bolt is only doing so well because it's the only other long range EV, even if it's overpriced and doesn't have really fast charging.

The new Leaf will be just as good for anyone that doesn't do long trips, costs less, looks marginally nicer, probably more comfortable (the old Leaf is already) and offers better upgrade options.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I read that GM loses $9,000 on every Bolt sold, and it is mostly a compliance car to allow for other, more profitable, ICE cars to be sold..

From today’s news:

"General Motors Co Chief Executive Mary Barra has made a bold promise to investors that the Detroit automaker will make money selling electric cars by 2021."

"GM has said it expects these changes to cut the cost of battery cells by more than 30 percent, from $145 per kilowatt-hour to less than $100 by 2021." This would cut price of Bolt pack from $10-12K to $6K by 2021.

GM races to build a formula for profitable electric cars

 

[bradley90014]

So I figured I would add my two cents since I actually own a bolt, and have a Model 3 on reservation. I have had the Bolt since July, so about 6 months now.

To point out some inaccuracies I have seen so far in this thread.
The ride quality is fine. It's not a BMW 7 series, but it is no worse than a Model S with spring suspension.
Yes all windows have auto down feature. Only the drivers window has auto up.
Long distance travel is not that big of a deal. I drive mine from LA to SF at least once a month, and have made 3 trips from Fontana to the Planet Hollywood hotel in Las Vegas NONSTOP. I can easily get 280-290 miles on a full charge. If I baby it I can get over 300. I've even driven it from LA to Dallas, TX.
The UI having the option of Android Auto or Apple Carplay is far superior to the UI I have used in a Model S and X.
It has wireless phone charging.
The interior and exterior build quality is better than I have personally seen on ANY Tesla.
The parking cameras and overhead view is far beyond what I have seen in any Tesla. Minus the rear camera it is probably better than I have seen in ANY other car period.
Regen braking is way better in the Bolt than in any Tesla I have driven.
The price is very misleading. I purchased my Bolt Premier with a sticker price just over $41K, for $37,800 out the door, crazy California taxes included. Plus I got my $7,500 tax and $2,500 cash rebates.

So to summarize the Bolt is cheaper, better built, will drive further than the $35K Model 3, can easily handle long distance trips. Has a much better (IMO) UI.

With all that said, I am still gonna get a Model 3 and give this to the wife when mine gets here. Why? Because the Bolt is ugly AF! But it is just as good if not better than a Tesla in every other way IMO.

 

[Glamisduner]

So I figured I would add my two cents since I actually own a bolt, and have a Model 3 on reservation. I have had the Bolt since July, so about 6 months now.

To point out some inaccuracies I have seen so far in this thread.
The ride quality is fine. It's not a BMW 7 series, but it is no worse than a Model S with spring suspension.
Yes all windows have auto down feature. Only the drivers window has auto up.
Long distance travel is not that big of a deal. I drive mine from LA to SF at least once a month, and have made 3 trips from Fontana to the Planet Hollywood hotel in Las Vegas NONSTOP. I can easily get 280-290 miles on a full charge. If I baby it I can get over 300. I've even driven it from LA to Dallas, TX.
The UI having the option of Android Auto or Apple Carplay is far superior to the UI I have used in a Model S and X.
It has wireless phone charging.
The interior and exterior build quality is better than I have personally seen on ANY Tesla.
The parking cameras and overhead view is far beyond what I have seen in any Tesla. Minus the rear camera it is probably better than I have seen in ANY other car period.
Regen braking is way better in the Bolt than in any Tesla I have driven.
The price is very misleading. I purchased my Bolt Premier with a sticker price just over $41K, for $37,800 out the door, crazy California taxes included. Plus I got my $7,500 tax and $2,500 cash rebates.

So to summarize the Bolt is cheaper, better built, will drive further than the $35K Model 3, can easily handle long distance trips. Has a much better (IMO) UI.

With all that said, I am still gonna get a Model 3 and give this to the wife when mine gets here. Why? Because the Bolt is ugly AF! But it is just as good if not better than a Tesla in every other way IMO.

Sorry about the window mixup I could swear the windows didn't auto roll down... I was not at all impressed by the interior on the bolt, it was ok but everything was made of hard plastic. The design was alright though. And the seats might have been an issue for me, do they bother you on long trips? Hoping the teslas seats will be better but with them switching out materials who knows what we will end up with. Not sure if the UI was better or not it did have some strange things though. I think I had to turn on the AC via the touchscreen before the buttons would work heh. Please correct me if I am wrong. I like buttons better than touchscreens I like tactical things while driving, and im hoping that the steering wheel paddles on the Model 3 will be enough.

 

[Electroman]

Where do you charge your Bolt in your long distance drives?

 

[JohnSnowNW]

So I figured I would add my two cents since I actually own a bolt, and have a Model 3 on reservation. I have had the Bolt since July, so about 6 months now.

To point out some inaccuracies I have seen so far in this thread.
The ride quality is fine. It's not a BMW 7 series, but it is no worse than a Model S with spring suspension.
Yes all windows have auto down feature. Only the drivers window has auto up.
Long distance travel is not that big of a deal. I drive mine from LA to SF at least once a month, and have made 3 trips from Fontana to the Planet Hollywood hotel in Las Vegas NONSTOP. I can easily get 280-290 miles on a full charge. If I baby it I can get over 300. I've even driven it from LA to Dallas, TX.
The UI having the option of Android Auto or Apple Carplay is far superior to the UI I have used in a Model S and X.
It has wireless phone charging.
The interior and exterior build quality is better than I have personally seen on ANY Tesla.
The parking cameras and overhead view is far beyond what I have seen in any Tesla. Minus the rear camera it is probably better than I have seen in ANY other car period.
Regen braking is way better in the Bolt than in any Tesla I have driven.
The price is very misleading. I purchased my Bolt Premier with a sticker price just over $41K, for $37,800 out the door, crazy California taxes included. Plus I got my $7,500 tax and $2,500 cash rebates.

So to summarize the Bolt is cheaper, better built, will drive further than the $35K Model 3, can easily handle long distance trips. Has a much better (IMO) UI.

With all that said, I am still gonna get a Model 3 and give this to the wife when mine gets here. Why? Because the Bolt is ugly AF! But it is just as good if not better than a Tesla in every other way IMO.

I'm glad you like the Bolt, but the point of this thread is for opinions of those that have driven both the Model 3 and the Bolt.

Just a few points though:

1. Not everyone lives in California, long distance charging outside of the coasts is non-existent for anything other than a Tesla. Any vehicle gets better than EPA range if you hypermile it.
2. The build quality on my Model X is no worse than my LEAF, which is no worse than a Bolt.
3. The Regen braking on Teslas are specifically limited on the brake pedal to give better brake feel, which is why the Bolt is dinged for "spongy brake feel." It's a design choice.
4. The price of the Bolt is great for consumers, not so much for GM. Tesla will actually make money on the average selling price of the Model 3, which is why they'll be selling more than 30k/yr...an important distinction.

The Bolt is a perfectly acceptable econobox commuter car.

 

[bradley90014]

Where do you charge your Bolt in your long distance drives?

EVgo or ChargePoint. Definitely not as convenient as super chargers. And a lot more route planning goes into it. But I can drive just about anywhere a Tesla can. When I drove to Dallas I stopped overnight in New Mexico partly because I was tired. And partly because I could only find alow chargers. So I had to charge it overnight. But in time fast chargers will be everywhere.

 

[Electroman]

well..if you make that argument then I can claim I can take my Leaf cross country too. Just have to stay longer and frequently but theoretically I can make that trip. I know some folks have done the Sand Diego to Vancouver trips on Leaf.