Chevrolet Bolt & Bolt EUV

[EVDRIVER]

Bolt & Leaf Gen 2 will have to undercut Tesla on pricing and I think, they will.

Neither of them have anything close to Tesla's charging infrastructure, the brand appeal, nor are likely to have top end features like autopilot, summon etc. in their immediate offerings.

My guess is they offer very aggressive lease pricing after the initial buyers take delivery as many will be "waiting" for the model 3 and they will try to grab those slots and likely will for many because of the wait. My guess is supercharging will come with a big fee for usage so this will need to be adjusted. I would think that a Model 3 with NAV, super charging and the same driver assist level as the Model S will be at least $40-42K. From there it will be pack, performance and other options. Aggressive leases and fear of lost incentives and a likely $5-10K spread will make the Bolt possibly attractive to would be 3 buyers again. If they really blow out a great lease deal it could do well.

 

[tkdbrusco]

Bolt & Leaf Gen 2 will have to undercut Tesla on pricing and I think, they will.

Neither of them have anything close to Tesla's charging infrastructure, the brand appeal, nor are likely to have top end features like autopilot, summon etc. in their immediate offerings.

My guess is they offer very aggressive lease pricing after the initial buyers take delivery as many will be "waiting" for the model 3 and they will try to grab those slots and likely will for many because of the wait. My guess is supercharging will come with a big fee for usage so this will need to be adjusted. I would think that a Model 3 with NAV, super charging and the same driver assist level as the Model S will be at least $40-42K. From there it will be pack, performance and other options. Aggressive leases and fear of lost incentives and a likely $5-10K spread will make the Bolt possibly attractive to would be 3 buyers again. If they really blow out a great lease deal it could do well.

If I'm Nissan or Chevy, I am trying my hardest to get people into leases rather than purchases. There'a ton of people who have EVs that are leasing and those will eventually expire (likely before their Model 3 is available). They will need to get a new car, so you get them into a new 3 year lease, make it very attractive and then they are stuck until the Model 3 has been out long enough for tax credits to expire and as a result it becomes a less competitive space.

 

[DanDietrich]

A big part of this will have to do with the usability of the resat of the car. For example, I like my Leaf for the most part, but in two years or so I will be looking for a 200 mile EV. It will have to hold my then 12 year old and his hockey gear. That's getting snug in the leaf already. Will the Tesla or the Bolt have more room inside? We will see. That's just my concern. Others will have their own.

 

[DanCar]

... Will the Tesla or the Bolt have more room inside? ...

The SUV version of the Model 3 will fit your needs better, Model Y. Nissan has said they are working on an electric SUV. I'm thinking I might get the plug-in minivan from Chrysler.

 

[dhanson865]

... Will the Tesla or the Bolt have more room inside? ...

The SUV version of the Model 3 will fit your needs better, Model Y. Nissan has said they are working on an electric SUV. I'm thinking I might get the plug-in minivan from Chrysler.

Even the Model 3 has more room in it than the Leaf. Every Tesla but the roadster is bigger than the Leaf.

Frunk space is nice but even if you ignore the frunk the Model 3 is a larger car than the Leaf.

Heck the Prius is a larger car than the Leaf.

I think the Bolt will be larger than the Leaf as well, likely larger than a Prius but smaller than Tesla Model 3.

 

[edatoakrun]

... Will the Tesla or the Bolt have more room inside?...

Even the Model 3 has more room in it than the Leaf. Every Tesla but the roadster is bigger than the Leaf.

Frunk space is nice but even if you ignore the frunk the Model 3 is a larger car than the Leaf.

Heck the Prius is a larger car than the Leaf.

I think the Bolt will be larger than the Leaf as well, likely larger than a Prius but smaller than Tesla Model 3.

The bolt is smaller than the LEAF in every dimension except height, though of course it weighs much more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Leaf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Bolt

The most obvious design flaw in the model three prototypes will, IMO, have to be addressed if TSLA ever hopes to sell them in quantity

The 3's two silly little trunk/frunks do not provide the utility of a hatchback, or even the usefulness of one large trunk with well-designed access.

This Is The Tesla Model 3's Biggest Design Fail

For all of you posting that picture of Keanu Reaves without a mouth to mock the Tesla Model 3's grille-less face, you’re picking the wrong part of the car to mock. The Model 3 has one huge design flaw, and it’s on the other side of the car.

That flaw? The trunk...

With just this stupid little trunk-hole, the whole utility of the car is compromised...

http://jalopnik.com/this-is-the-tesla-model-3s-biggest-design-fail-1768467573

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

GM appears to have chosen wisely on the form factor for the Bolt. These small crossovers are a very popular segment and people don't mind paying a premium for them. Seems they don't care so much about having a larger footprint as they do sitting up a little higher. IMO this has been a huge deterrent in the Volt's adoption.

 

[dhanson865]

... Will the Tesla or the Bolt have more room inside?...

Even the Model 3 has more room in it than the Leaf. Every Tesla but the roadster is bigger than the Leaf.

Frunk space is nice but even if you ignore the frunk the Model 3 is a larger car than the Leaf.

Heck the Prius is a larger car than the Leaf.

I think the Bolt will be larger than the Leaf as well, likely larger than a Prius but smaller than Tesla Model 3.

The bolt is smaller than the LEAF in every dimension except height, though of course it weighs much more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Leaf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Bolt

those links only show exterior dimensions, DanDietrich and I were talking about passenger and cargo capacity in cu ft not wheelbase, and exterior measurements.

The Model 3 is going to have larger interior capacity of any car of its exterior dimensions.

Leaf has a horrible ratio of usable inerior space vs exterior.

Bolt will be somewhere inbtween just by looking at the pics with the hatch open it seems way more usable for cargo than a Leaf.

edit: looking at the pics again the Bolt/Leaf similarity is strong.

I'm not sure if that is better or the same as a Leaf in usability.

 

[evnow]

Is Bolt similar to Soul EV and i3?

 

[mwalsh]

Bolt will be somewhere inbtween just by looking at the pics with the hatch open it seems way more usable for cargo than a Leaf.

edit: looking at the pics again the Bolt/Leaf similarity is strong.

I'm not sure if that is better or the same as a Leaf in usability.

I think that picture was created For maximum hipster appeal. I could be wrong, but I don't think there will every be a time I'd be carrying both a quasi-Native American blanket and a peice of mid-century modern, Scandinavian-style furniture. :lol:

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

storage looks to be same depth, about the same width but less height. kinda scary when they use a folded blanket to demonstrate "storability"...

 

[GRA]

storage looks to be same depth, about the same width but less height. kinda scary when they use a folded blanket to demonstrate "storability"...

I'm not enamored of the high lip - one of the things I really appreciate on my Forester is the straight-in loading of my bike, as the rear bumper, the bottom of the hatch opening and the load floor are all at virtually the same height, and the rear opening extends almost the full width of the inside of the body.

Also, although the Bolt would probably be too short for me (6'0") to do it in any case, if someone wants to sleep in the back the height of the base of the folded rear seats compared to the cargo load floor is problematic. While the Forester's rear seats don't fold completely flat, they're only at a small angle to the load floor when folded, and the base is flush with it. In the Bolt, the discontinuity would make sleeping virtually impossible, unless you employed some kind of thick pad to raise the height of the load floor. That discontinuity and folded seatback angle will also make loading bikes or other long, awkward/heavy cargo a lot more trouble. None of which eliminates the car's utility for more typical usage, but could be an issue for some.

 

[mwalsh]

"
I'm not enamored of the high lip

All too common these days. Volt is like that; LEAF is like that. I don't really get why it has to be that way.

 

[GRA]

"
I'm not enamored of the high lip

All too common these days. Volt is like that; LEAF is like that. I don't really get why it has to be that way.

Presumably a crashworthiness and/or body stiffness issue. Looking more closely at the pictures, I'm not sure that my bike would even fit in the opening lengthwise, as the plastic side moldings inside the hatch opening seem to restrict the usable width - a bike would have to be laid on an angle instead of flat once through the opening, unless the frame was very small and the bike had a quick release on the seat.

 

[TomT]

Rear impact crash standards?

All too common these days. Volt is like that; LEAF is like that. I don't really get why it has to be that way.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

http://www.hybridcars.com/gm-document-says-2017-chevy-bolt-production-starts-in-october/

At least this is suggested by an early release of GM’s 2017 Fleet Guide which indicated “SORP Oct” (Start of Regular Production) at the Orion Assembly Plant. It is only “suggested” and not official because today GM pulled the document from its website, edited it to remove the production start date, and now it is no longer there.

 

[LeftieBiker]

The Gen III Prius also has little or no rear "lip" and is much better for storage than the Leaf. It's almost like a little station wagon. I got a 7500 watt dual fuel generator, in the shipping box, into our PIP, and was able to close the hatch. The 3 men who helped load it were amazed. (I was very relieved.)

 

[GRA]

The Gen III Prius also has little or no rear "lip" and is much better for storage than the Leaf. It's almost like a little station wagon. I got a 7500 watt dual fuel generator, in the shipping box, into our PIP, and was able to close the hatch. The 3 men who helped load it were amazed. (I was very relieved.)

I wonder if the Gen IV Prius is still flat, or if it's grown a lip?

 

[LeftieBiker]

I wonder if the Gen IV Prius is still flat, or if it's grown a lip?

I don't know, but if they've added a lip there are going to be a lot of unhappy prospective buyers, and a lot of lost sales. The Gen III also has a rear hatch that extends back over the low section of the roofline, so you can load tall items (like that gen box) into the car's higher center area and then still close the hatch. If they lost that feature, then expect still more unhappy Prius buyers and more lost sales.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I was just looking at the Bolt site, and they are going to offer their own version of Around View, plus a rear view mirror that doubles as a viewscreen that bypasses the view of the car's interior, producing a much superior rear view while driving. And, of course, WiFi. If they get this car to market and on sale (as opposed to "for sale if you will pay enough") by next Spring I may well buy or lease one. The Nissan dealerships around here are all pretty scary, but there are a couple of decent Chevrolet dealers, and that matters as well.