Chevrolet Bolt & Bolt EUV

Given my present limited charging rate of about 6kW and about 10 hrs charging time per day, any long trip
requires a QC access. So for me, not having a QC capability results in a non-appealing BEV. Unless GM recently
added this feature, the Bolt lacks it.

lorenfb said:

Given my present limited charging rate of about 6kW and about 10 hrs charging time per day, any long trip
requires a QC access. So for me, not having a QC capability results in a non-appealing BEV. Unless GM recently
added this feature, the Bolt lacks it.

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The press release says "Bolt EV also features an optional DC Fast Charging system using the industry standard SAE Combo connector. Using DC Fast Charging, the Bolt EV battery can be charged up to 90 miles of range in 30 minutes."

WetEV said:

The press release says "Bolt EV also features an optional DC Fast Charging system using the industry standard SAE Combo connector. Using DC Fast Charging, the Bolt EV battery can be charged up to 90 miles of range in 30 minutes."

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That doesn't sound too good for road trips. Instead of 200 mile range they should offer an option with a gas engine and 100 mile EV range.

LTLFTcomposite said:

WetEV said:

The press release says "Bolt EV also features an optional DC Fast Charging system using the industry standard SAE Combo connector. Using DC Fast Charging, the Bolt EV battery can be charged up to 90 miles of range in 30 minutes."

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That doesn't sound too good for road trips. Instead of 200 mile range they should offer an option with a gas engine and 100 mile EV range.

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You mean a really heavy Volt. Or, use the car as intended

If GM commits to having all of the dealers who sell Bolts install Combo charging stations, that would be a better setup for my region than our current...one, I think? DCQC station.

LTLFTcomposite said:

That doesn't sound too good for road trips. Instead of 200 mile range they should offer an option with a gas engine and 100 mile EV range.

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Looks like you are looking for a Volt/i3 combo. That would be good - but shouldn't be instead of Bolt.

My ideal form factor for this would be a compact CUV.

LeftieBiker said:

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.

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I've wondered about this feature and what it would mean to us.

I use a "family view" large mirror over my rear-view mirror that lets me see my 2 kids in child seats at the back (and they can see me). This has been incredibly useful (best $20 I've spent).

I rarely have any need to see the back seat while I drive, so the video mirror option would work great for me. You can still turn it off and see the car's interior if needed.

Looking at the Web, it appears that GM has no intention to build Combo charging stations to accommodate the optional combo ports on the Bolt. Cheesy, but if I can't get charges from VW dealers (hey, I'd pay!) I'd still have a car that essentially stores more than one full QC session's worth of charge on board, which is better than having the port but no QC stations, which is what a 2016 Leaf would get me.

EVDRIVER said:

You mean a really heavy Volt. Or, use the car as intended

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Yes, instead of building EVs that cost substantially more than legacy technology yet don't meet as broad an array of use cases then wondering why they don't sell.

evnow said:

My ideal form factor for this would be a compact CUV.

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Yours and most other people. The Bolt will be another failure for GM, worse than the Volt. 200 miles is interesting, but at the end of the day unless you're an enthusiast you're going to conclude you can still get more car for less money with ICE and not have to deal with the limitations.

LTLFTcomposite said:

EVDRIVER said:

You mean a really heavy Volt. Or, use the car as intended

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Yes, instead of building EVs that cost substantially more than legacy technology yet don't meet as broad an array of use cases then wondering why they don't sell.

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They may not meet all use cases, but that doesn't mean they don't meet the use case of a broad number of drivers. I just looked at Plugshare and viewed the map from Atlanta to Charlotte (where I live). This view also captures Greenville/Spartenburg, August, and Columbia. That's a regional view with no more than 4 or 5 hours drivetime from one point to another, and on Plugshare it shows 76 CCS charging stations. I didn't map every point to point combination, but just looking at it I didn't see any stretch that would appear to exceed 200 miles before finding another CCS station. Considering there are around 10 million residents in the region I viewed, that's a lot of use cases it would seem to meet.

LTLFTcomposite said:

The Bolt will be another failure for GM, worse than the Volt. 200 miles is interesting, but at the end of the day unless you're an enthusiast you're going to conclude you can still get more car for less money with ICE and not have to deal with the limitations.

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There are limitations with an ICE as well. The difference is, of course, is that everyone knows them and is used to them.

The cost break even isn't all that simple. Assuming $3 gasoline and $0.10 electric, adjust as you wish. 15k miles/ 10 years

Expense Bolt vs ICE
Car cost $35k $20k
fuel cost $ 4k $15k
maintain $ 1k $ 5k
==============
Total $40k $40k

Unknowns could swing this a lot either way. Oil might skyrocket, or plummet. Electric prices are unlikely to change much. Maintenance and repairs can vary a lot with both your luck and the design of the car. Insurance costs, tire wear differences, and so on and so forth.

The electric will be more convenient for some people, and less for others. Depends on life habits. Some might find a plug-in hybrid more convenient. And so on, depends on the details of people's lives.

The Bolt will be smooth, quiet and responsive. The ICE will be jerky, noisy, smelly and laggy.

The Bolt has the chance to be a big success for GM.

LTLFTcomposite said:

evnow said:

My ideal form factor for this would be a compact CUV.

Click to expand...

Yours and most other people. The Bolt will be another failure for GM, worse than the Volt. 200 miles is interesting, but at the end of the day unless you're an enthusiast you're going to conclude you can still get more car for less money with ICE and not have to deal with the limitations.

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If thats the case(and I'm also in that boat) then why don't mfgs. just put a larger battery like Bolt's in a CUV like people actually want :? I mean sure it's not going to have the magic 200 mile range but if it had even a 100+ range, and was preferably <$40k for sure <$50k before rebates I think they'd have a vehicle people wanted......I know I'd buy one
I wish GM luck with the Bolt but due to size and forum factor I know I won't be buying one. My Leaf is just barely adequate and the Volt is a total joke.

jjeff said:

LTLFTcomposite said:

evnow said:

My ideal form factor for this would be a compact CUV.

Click to expand...

Yours and most other people. The Bolt will be another failure for GM, worse than the Volt. 200 miles is interesting, but at the end of the day unless you're an enthusiast you're going to conclude you can still get more car for less money with ICE and not have to deal with the limitations.

Click to expand...

If thats the case(and I'm also in that boat) then why don't mfgs. just put a larger battery like Bolt's in a CUV like people actually want :? I mean sure it's not going to have the magic 200 mile range but if it had even a 100+ range, and was preferably <$40k for sure <$50k before rebates I think they'd have a vehicle people wanted......I know I'd buy one
I wish GM luck with the Bolt but due to size and forum factor I know I won't be buying one. My Leaf is just barely adequate and the Volt is a total joke.

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The bolded section exactly describes the RAV4 EV, $49,995 and 112? miles EPA using the 80/100% average. Too expensive, but would have worked for a fair number of people (Tony W. got 142 miles to empty @ a constant 65) as a local+/regional car, especially if you could have gotten a factory QC capability in it instead of Tony's aftermarket set-up for that price. But realistically, X miles EPA means about 60% of that at freeway speed year-round with no worries* when new, and continually less as the battery ages. 200 mile EPA BEVs will certainly be more useful to more people over a longer period of time than ~80 mile EPA BEVs, but I'm still not sure that it's enough to be a lot of people's sole car, especially when they're going to start in the mid/upper $35k range and go up from there.

*No worries = free use of HVAC, emergency reserve of at least 10% of range, driving at (or up to 5 miles above) the speed limit.

Agree 100% that the bolt power train in larger vehicles like Malibu, CUV, or minivan would attract a lot of buyers. Regardless if the range dropped substantially.

The Chevy Bolt EV is a CUV.

NeilBlanchard said:

The Chevy Bolt EV is a CUV.

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Bolt is very similar to Soul in size. A lot of people want to call it a CUV - but the utility is questionable. The cargo space is less than that of a lot of hatchbacks and sedans - and the passenger space feels small.

Basically, a sub-compact CUV doesn't have much utility to be considered a CUV.

evnow said:

NeilBlanchard said:

The Chevy Bolt EV is a CUV.

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Bolt is very similar to Soul in size. A lot of people want to call it a CUV - but the utility is questionable. The cargo space is less than that of a lot of hatchbacks and sedans - and the passenger space feels small.

Basically, a sub-compact CUV doesn't have much utility to be considered a CUV.

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yeah, maybe... my take?

the "UV" only needs to meet the ROQ (roll over Quotient) to qualify.

the initial letter is simply the size designation and is very much dependent on the manufacturer's mirror....

The i3 has the most front seat space of just about ANY car on the road today. And the Bolt EV looks to have more space. The backseat of the Bolt EV is much larger than the i3.

The Bolt EV is larger than the Honda Fit - and the Fit is just about the most utilitarian cars on the road today. Here's a comparison to the Fit:



What size is a SPORT utility vehicle? How "sporty" does a utility vehicle have to be?

A CUV is simply a smaller version of an SUV. Otherwise, we'd have mid-size utility vehicles, and subcompact utility vehicles.

Or, does the C stand for crossover utility vehicle? I don't think there is a strict definition.

The Bolt is a expensive, heavy, small, tall, hatchback, with limited range, dependent on public charging sites which GM itself has done nothing to promote.

Unless Gas goes back up to ~$4 a gallon, it is going to be very hard for Chevy dealers to sell these things, when they are on the lot parked next to larger (and IMO, better-looking) car with greater utility, more than twice the range, at sold for ~half the Bolt's (pre-incentive) price:

http://www.chevrolet.com/cruze-hatchback.html