I turned the odometer to 1000 miles today, exactly 3 weeks from the day I brought it home. And I am pleased in so many ways. There are things that I am less pleased about, but in no way should any negative criticisms be construed as overall unhappiness.
I supposed technically you could say I have not put 1000 miles on it as there were a few on it already when I took home. But, still, milestones....
I have spent $68 on charging. All at public charging To be fair, I have done some free charging, an hour or so at the dealer, and a couple of fillups (can that be a word for EVs?) at the casino. The rest at work, a 35 cents/kW proposition. I do not have charging available at home, and the prospect for that, as a renter of a condo, seems like a long-term proposition. (I knew this going in; I wanted to maximize the federal tax credit.) Still, that's significantly less than my previous car, a MINI Roadster S that got just over 30 MPG. Even though I always got gas at Costco (giving me 4% cash back), that would have been about 33 gallons, at between $3 and $3.50 per gallon ( I alternated between premium and regular), so my early estimate is my energy costs look to be about 50% what they were.
So many discussions over the past couple of years about the seats. I'm a fairly big guy, 6 feet, about 250 lb. and I was worried about this, especially because I have back issues. (the MINI had adjustable lumbar support). Initially, the seats felt a bit narrow, and the bolstering doesn't do a lot when going around curves, but overall, they've not been bad. On a few longer drives (coming back from the casino on Sunday is a slog that can take at least an hour and a half) I've not had any issues. I spotted a $10 foam lumbar cushion at Costco and gave a a try, but it actually felt less comfortable, and it did not last long.
I'm always super geeked out about all the data in front of me. Within reason, I always am trying to maximize my mileage. The holy grail, to me, is hitting and staying at or above 4 miles per kW.
One-pedal driving is da bomb. I consider it a personal challenge to avoid the brake pedal. Which is a good thing; it means an extra level of attention to my driving environment--never a bad thing. I've never really been any sort of aggressive driver, but this takes it to the next level.
Driving the rough roads around here is a totally different experience. Since 2012, I've been driving MINIs, and that "go kart" feel also means every single bump. 17-inch wheels sins't help. The Bolt has a much gentler ride.
My issues have been with the entertainment system. For some reason, Bluetooth volume is much lower than other sources, and does not seem to have any adjustment. And CarPlay is too often wonky. And while it's not anything I paid attention to in the specs, that Chevy didn't include HD radio is kind of a strange omission.
The Bolt isn't really that much bigger than a MINI. Sure, it's taller, but it's only about 2 feet longer. Yet for some reason, what passes for parking skills seems to have deteriorated. I can't seem to pull straightly and evenly into parking spaces.
And the Shock sure wasn't my first choice for colors. (For the record, blue was, with red or white tied for second.) But $10K is $10K. I'll say one thing for it: It shows the dirt. But I can also find where I parked.
The quiet is amazing. No engine noise is a totally different experience. Imaging how quieter our streets and freeways would be if all cars were EVs.
Roads trips, though, are out of the question. For example, the 9-hour drive to Vegas turns into 13+ hours. The drive would require 4-5 stops of 45 minutes to an hour each, assuming that the DCFCs along the less-optimal route (a) worked and (b) were available when I arrived.
I've had almost no cause to use the environmental controls. Once summer hits, it'll be interesting to see how A/C affects range.
The rearview mirrors are a bit small.
The visibility is very good, except for the reflections off the dashboard.
Of all the annoyances, I didn't expect, opening the garage door turns out to be one of them. The garage works by a key fob, which is on my keychain. Of course, the Bolt fob stays in my pocket, so instead of just reaching toward the ignition when I get home, I have to reach into my pocket--go ahead, you try it when you're sitting in a car seat--which is a bit awkward.
The wound space isn't all that enveloping. One of the drawbacks of not getting the Premier with its Bose sound system.
Some of the UI design of the entertainment system is just baffling. For example, you can't rearrange the sound sources, and having 2 USB entries between the radio entries and Bluetooth means you scroll every time. Not being able to rearrange favorite means that if you want a different order, you have to delete and re-add. Lots of the interactions were not well thought through. (to be fair, this is true of most car systems.) And there are plenty of annoying bugs in that software beyond usability.
I've found a bit of fit and finish issues. One that comes to mind is on the driver's side door. There's a seam at the top between two pieces of plastic, and that seam is not flush. The tray in the center console was stuck for awhile too.
Overall, though, the experience has been overwhelmingly positive, and I look forward to many, many more miles in my Bolt.
I supposed technically you could say I have not put 1000 miles on it as there were a few on it already when I took home. But, still, milestones....
I have spent $68 on charging. All at public charging To be fair, I have done some free charging, an hour or so at the dealer, and a couple of fillups (can that be a word for EVs?) at the casino. The rest at work, a 35 cents/kW proposition. I do not have charging available at home, and the prospect for that, as a renter of a condo, seems like a long-term proposition. (I knew this going in; I wanted to maximize the federal tax credit.) Still, that's significantly less than my previous car, a MINI Roadster S that got just over 30 MPG. Even though I always got gas at Costco (giving me 4% cash back), that would have been about 33 gallons, at between $3 and $3.50 per gallon ( I alternated between premium and regular), so my early estimate is my energy costs look to be about 50% what they were.
So many discussions over the past couple of years about the seats. I'm a fairly big guy, 6 feet, about 250 lb. and I was worried about this, especially because I have back issues. (the MINI had adjustable lumbar support). Initially, the seats felt a bit narrow, and the bolstering doesn't do a lot when going around curves, but overall, they've not been bad. On a few longer drives (coming back from the casino on Sunday is a slog that can take at least an hour and a half) I've not had any issues. I spotted a $10 foam lumbar cushion at Costco and gave a a try, but it actually felt less comfortable, and it did not last long.
I'm always super geeked out about all the data in front of me. Within reason, I always am trying to maximize my mileage. The holy grail, to me, is hitting and staying at or above 4 miles per kW.
One-pedal driving is da bomb. I consider it a personal challenge to avoid the brake pedal. Which is a good thing; it means an extra level of attention to my driving environment--never a bad thing. I've never really been any sort of aggressive driver, but this takes it to the next level.
Driving the rough roads around here is a totally different experience. Since 2012, I've been driving MINIs, and that "go kart" feel also means every single bump. 17-inch wheels sins't help. The Bolt has a much gentler ride.
My issues have been with the entertainment system. For some reason, Bluetooth volume is much lower than other sources, and does not seem to have any adjustment. And CarPlay is too often wonky. And while it's not anything I paid attention to in the specs, that Chevy didn't include HD radio is kind of a strange omission.
The Bolt isn't really that much bigger than a MINI. Sure, it's taller, but it's only about 2 feet longer. Yet for some reason, what passes for parking skills seems to have deteriorated. I can't seem to pull straightly and evenly into parking spaces.
And the Shock sure wasn't my first choice for colors. (For the record, blue was, with red or white tied for second.) But $10K is $10K. I'll say one thing for it: It shows the dirt. But I can also find where I parked.
The quiet is amazing. No engine noise is a totally different experience. Imaging how quieter our streets and freeways would be if all cars were EVs.
Roads trips, though, are out of the question. For example, the 9-hour drive to Vegas turns into 13+ hours. The drive would require 4-5 stops of 45 minutes to an hour each, assuming that the DCFCs along the less-optimal route (a) worked and (b) were available when I arrived.
I've had almost no cause to use the environmental controls. Once summer hits, it'll be interesting to see how A/C affects range.
The rearview mirrors are a bit small.
The visibility is very good, except for the reflections off the dashboard.
Of all the annoyances, I didn't expect, opening the garage door turns out to be one of them. The garage works by a key fob, which is on my keychain. Of course, the Bolt fob stays in my pocket, so instead of just reaching toward the ignition when I get home, I have to reach into my pocket--go ahead, you try it when you're sitting in a car seat--which is a bit awkward.
The wound space isn't all that enveloping. One of the drawbacks of not getting the Premier with its Bose sound system.
Some of the UI design of the entertainment system is just baffling. For example, you can't rearrange the sound sources, and having 2 USB entries between the radio entries and Bluetooth means you scroll every time. Not being able to rearrange favorite means that if you want a different order, you have to delete and re-add. Lots of the interactions were not well thought through. (to be fair, this is true of most car systems.) And there are plenty of annoying bugs in that software beyond usability.
I've found a bit of fit and finish issues. One that comes to mind is on the driver's side door. There's a seam at the top between two pieces of plastic, and that seam is not flush. The tray in the center console was stuck for awhile too.
Overall, though, the experience has been overwhelmingly positive, and I look forward to many, many more miles in my Bolt.
