Comments from people who moved from Volt to Bolt?
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I went from a 2014 Volt to a 2017 Bolt. Visibility is much better in the Bolt, I thought both seats were fine. for me.
Bolt is peppier and seemed to me to have a bit more clearance. I liked the shifting in the Bolt more. I liked my Volt and my son is still driving it but the Bolt is a better car in my opinion
Bolt is peppier and seemed to me to have a bit more clearance. I liked the shifting in the Bolt more. I liked my Volt and my son is still driving it but the Bolt is a better car in my opinion
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543 Posts
I made the actual Chevy transition: Volt - Spark EV - Bolt.
Haven't looked back!! It's the future!
No more swerving into the Quicktrip. No more standing out in the weather getting a whiff of that smelly stuff... Not good times.
Road trips are very different. In fact I don't even consider taking the Bolt in this weather.
I'd rent a cheap car if I really needed a road trip in the winter.
TLDR
But, I'm a manly man and do my own oil changes, (did)...
I miss having that nasty stuff run down my arm past my rubber gloves, heading for my elbow while trying to get the oil filter off....
Still have the Spark EV. Still suck up free public charging at work everyday!
In the summer we'll swap cars once every 3 days so I charge the Bolt for free!
In this weather both EV's need to be plugged in most of the time for TMS reasons.
We came from "using" a 2012 Chevy Volt, rather than owning. It was my brother-in-law's car, which we essentially used as our daily driver for a year before getting a 2017 Bolt.
We briefly considered getting our own second gen Volt as we liked his so much, but the desire to try all-electric was too strong. The Volt's engine kicking on in winter, despite having a full battery, was a constant reminder that we could only go so far without needing to visit a gas station. The higher ride and more space in back for the kids also helped it win out, although I'd say the Volt was more comfortable as a driver and definitely looks better externally. The Bolt's full EV performance is more fun, though, and we never regretted the choice.
We briefly considered getting our own second gen Volt as we liked his so much, but the desire to try all-electric was too strong. The Volt's engine kicking on in winter, despite having a full battery, was a constant reminder that we could only go so far without needing to visit a gas station. The higher ride and more space in back for the kids also helped it win out, although I'd say the Volt was more comfortable as a driver and definitely looks better externally. The Bolt's full EV performance is more fun, though, and we never regretted the choice.
I went the other way. 17 bolt for my commuter and 6mo later Volt for wife for around town and trip car. They are apples and oranges. I much prefer the bolt for commuting, 60mi round trip and the volt has been a great car for it’s purpose. The bolt is way better in stop and go commuter traffic, but the volt rides better and we don’t worry about charging on trips. And the gas engine never runs when my wife drives it. I find the Volt a chore to drive in traffic once the battery is depleted
Went from a 2017 Volt to 2019 Bolt. Don't miss the Volt at all. The Volt did have a little more pep right off the line, like to the other side of an intersection but that's where it pretty much "died" where the Bolt just keeps on accelerating. I like pretty much everything about the Bolt better. BTW @NortonCommando you say you are a "man"... but you use rubber gloves to change the filter? Used oil is a man's moisturizer. I've never changed the oil other than bare handed. Something about cleaning off the used oil between your fingers.
Mike
I've never changed the oil other than bare handed. Something about cleaning off the used oil between your fingers. Mike
Used leaded gas as hand cleaner back in the day. Didn't hurt ....what was I saying?BTW @NortonCommando you say you are a "man"... but you use rubber gloves to change the filter? Used oil is a man's moisturizer.
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1,746 Posts
In April 2017, when we were buying our Bolt, I noticed many Volts in the employee parking area. I asked the finance manager doing our paperwork and she said, "It's the best value Chevrolet has ever offered."
So there are those Bolt owners who would have bought a third-generation Volt as a second car if it was as evolutionary as the first two iterations and built as a two-row SUV.
jack vines
So there are those Bolt owners who would have bought a third-generation Volt as a second car if it was as evolutionary as the first two iterations and built as a two-row SUV.
jack vines
I went from a 2010 Volt to a 2016 Volt to a 2017 Bolt.
Comfort: Despite all the complaints about the seats, I found the Bolt seats more comfortable than the Volt seats. I no longer get coccyx pain on long drives.
No more ERDTT!!!
I do road trips in my Bolt, but it is not as convenient for road trips as a Volt. The slow speed of the DCFC system compared to more modern EV's is a drag.
Keith
Comfort: Despite all the complaints about the seats, I found the Bolt seats more comfortable than the Volt seats. I no longer get coccyx pain on long drives.
No more ERDTT!!!
I do road trips in my Bolt, but it is not as convenient for road trips as a Volt. The slow speed of the DCFC system compared to more modern EV's is a drag.
Keith
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2,869 Posts
The first Volts available were model year 2011. We bought ours in March of that year. Bought a Bolt in 2017. Still have the Volt for long trips.I went from a 2010 Volt to a 2016 Volt to a 2017 Bolt.
Comfort: Despite all the complaints about the seats, I found the Bolt seats more comfortable than the Volt seats. I no longer get coccyx pain on long drives.
No more ERDTT!!!
I do road trips in my Bolt, but it is not as convenient for road trips as a Volt. The slow speed of the DCFC system compared to more modern EV's is a drag.
Keith
A Volt and a Bolt is perfect for a two-vehicle family (along with a pair of e-bikes).
I has two Volts before buying the Bolt. Both Volts were first generation style. After driving them both for three years each I wanted full electric. At the time the Model 3 was so back ordered that I ordered a 2019 Bolt Premier from the factory. I do not regret my decision. Just turned 20,000 miles and all good. Except for the stupid battery business which does not really affect me as I was charging the Bolt to 85% anyway. One thing I really like on the Bolt is the rear view mirror camera. Great feature. All in all very good car
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132 Posts
Went from a 2013 Volt with 72,000 miles to a 2020 Bolt Premier. Volt has a nicer ride, bit more plush but doesn't have as much traction in cornering as the Bolt. Where the Volt is a more laid back car the Bolt has a sportier feel to it. Love the extra power of the Bolt, things I used to have to push the Volt a bit like accelerating on a entrance ramp to get to 70MPH to merge are much easier in the Bolt. My Volt took a moment to start off when the accelerator pedal was pressed where the Bolt is eager to go right from the start. In the Bolt feel crosswinds and buffeting from trucks more than in the Volt. Seats in the Bolt are more comfortable for me, the Volt seats would cause my back to hurt after a few hours, have not done a long drive in the Bolt yet but did spend most of the day driving the other day with no problems. The Bolt is easier to see out of, the windshield pillars in the Volt can block visibility and lighting at night when turning a corner is much better in the Bolt. Backing up is totally different. Rear view camera plus the bird's eye view on the Premier is fantastic. My Volt had not backup camera - very hard to back down a curvy driveway! My daughters house has two small turns but is tricky, not fun in the Volt but easy in the Bolt. I sometimes pick up my twin 7yo grandkids from school. Driving thru the carpool line the Drivers Confidence Package II safety features are nice to have particularly the pedestrian braking feature. I'm always on guard for a kid to dart out but as an extra layer of safety glad to have it. Also can turn on the forward facing camera which lets me see what is directly in front of the Bolt. Their school works very hard to be safe but kids are kids and sometimes do the unexpected. I like the voice commands in the Volt better - still dealing with hands free voice calls which were so easy in the Volt. I don't often use CarPlay. Have some homework to do on coming up to speed on what works best. Best handsfree I have is on my 2017 Ford Transit Connect with the older Sync system but press a button on the steering wheel and then say call "Fred Flintstone cell" and it does.
Went from a 2017 Volt to a 2019 Bolt. I like the Bolt better, but there are a few things I had to get used to
1. The seats...I ended up getting a Bolt Premier because the seats are better. But in any case, the Volt seats were wider and more comfortable. Sure, some say that the Bolt seats are "fine", but the Volt was better. Although, it is MUCH easier to enter and exit the Bolt.
2. There are some quirks in the infotainment system. Nothing major, but just a few annoyances that don't work the same as the Volt
3. There is no Voice Recognition in the Bolt as there was in the Volt. I used it all the time to make phone calls. Now you have to long-press the voice-recognition button to activate Siri or Google Assistant to make those calls
4. Fit and Finish - I am not a fan of the design of the Bolt interior. I am fine with it now, but it took a while to get used to. Also, some of the controls (like the windshield wiper lever) feel a little flimsy to me
5. You have to meticulously plan long trips, and you can't go everywhere. Plus, it takes longer to get there. I just drove the 6 hour drive from Phoenix to LA. There were tremendous headwinds, and it took 10.5 hours of which 4.5 hours was charging. And if the 2 chargers in Blythe, California were not working, then I would have been stuck there overnight while I charged via the L2 charger. So, overall good for local commuting, not the best for long trips.
1. The seats...I ended up getting a Bolt Premier because the seats are better. But in any case, the Volt seats were wider and more comfortable. Sure, some say that the Bolt seats are "fine", but the Volt was better. Although, it is MUCH easier to enter and exit the Bolt.
2. There are some quirks in the infotainment system. Nothing major, but just a few annoyances that don't work the same as the Volt
3. There is no Voice Recognition in the Bolt as there was in the Volt. I used it all the time to make phone calls. Now you have to long-press the voice-recognition button to activate Siri or Google Assistant to make those calls
4. Fit and Finish - I am not a fan of the design of the Bolt interior. I am fine with it now, but it took a while to get used to. Also, some of the controls (like the windshield wiper lever) feel a little flimsy to me
5. You have to meticulously plan long trips, and you can't go everywhere. Plus, it takes longer to get there. I just drove the 6 hour drive from Phoenix to LA. There were tremendous headwinds, and it took 10.5 hours of which 4.5 hours was charging. And if the 2 chargers in Blythe, California were not working, then I would have been stuck there overnight while I charged via the L2 charger. So, overall good for local commuting, not the best for long trips.
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34 Posts
OK gentlemen. Just got off the phone with the dealer (bought it from another state) and it is a done-deal. 2017 Volt will go to another home. We use a Prius Prime for long trips cuz of the 60+ MPG and it is comfey. The Volt was a bit heavy for zipping around town. Drove the Bolt today and it is a little...quirky. Tall and thin with a short wheelbase makes it..an adjustment. The Volt has the same wheels/tires, same suspension and similar weight- but is creamy smooth. This little squirt is Jaunty. And it wasn't as ugly in person! The interior was also not Fisher-Price looking either. Downright decent. And at $21,790 with all 4 upgrade packages(LT)...a no-brainer. $7K less than the local guy's best price. Mayse in Aurora MO. They have a ton of them and sell them like hotcakes at this price. Now to modifications! I am a mods guru. Thanks for all the great advice here. Bob
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543 Posts
OK, here we go....
How can the Volt 'feel a bit heavy for zipping around town' when it is faster than a Prime in every way?
And it's 100% EV when operating that way.
The Prime will power up that stinker any time you press the defrost button or try to 'zip'.
Maybe the Volt gets less MPG when a hybrid, but it is rated for 50 miles of 100% EV range. What's the Prime EV range?
And "+60 MPG" on highway long trips? Doubt it....
What about the 10k mile oil changes... regardless of EV usage %? Pretty lo-tech, no?
What saves more?
50 miles EV range daily, or the difference in highway MPG when on a trip?
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34 Posts
Well, I personally would not choose a Prius Prime...it's my wife's car. She gets 34.5 miles range... which is actually OK since we live in a small town. Not for me though. Don't get me wrong, the Volt is an almost Ideal car. Thing is, mine has been in the shop for 3 months+ out of it's 3.75 year life. It is in there again now with a non-functional third cylinder. That gas motor has maybe 6,000 miles on it. They gave up and called for GM to fly in a tech. Heavy? yup. It is totally smooth and has good power, but in a small town (50K), it is not as nimble as the Prius. It is a better road trip car. Hauling around that ICE with 150HP....well, you feel it. 1500cc with that weight? It struggles. 200HP with the Bolt feels more nimble. Prius oil changes...About once a year. Ehh. And the Prime is WAY more high-tech than the Volt. When it detects your driving is sloppy, a coffee cup pops up on the dash. It is a masterpiece of engineering...and reeks of quality. Toyota is the most reliable car company- and Prius is their most reliable model. Reliability is good. And 0-35 feels faster in the Prime. On a 150 mile trip, the Volt and the Prime have identical efficiency. And yes, at 70mph highway..the Prius does over 60mpg. I like them all. I'm just going to date the Bolt for a few years...OK, here we go....
How can the Volt 'feel a bit heavy for zipping around town' when it is faster than a Prime in every way?
And it's 100% EV when operating that way.
The Prime will power up that stinker any time you press the defrost button or try to 'zip'.
Maybe the Volt gets less MPG when a hybrid, but it is rated for 50 miles of 100% EV range. What's the Prime EV range?
And "+60 MPG" on highway long trips? Doubt it....
What about the 10k mile oil changes... regardless of EV usage %? Pretty lo-tech, no?
What saves more?
50 miles EV range daily, or the difference in highway MPG when on a trip?
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2 Posts
Congrats on the decision to go from Volt to Bolt. I made the same choice.
I put 190,000 miles on my 2015 Volt (~80K of that on the ICE). Was very happy with the plug-in hybrid, but started seeing battery range going down (about 35 miles max in ideal conditions). Was hoping to be able to wait for VW's electric bus before giving up on the Volt, but when Wolfsburg pushed back that project by another year (and based with my mostly positive experience with the Volt), I found myself a gently-used 2020 Bolt Premier (with about 10K on the odo).
Couldn't see any reason to purchase a non-electric or hybrid vehicle.
Have had the Bolt for almost a month now, and am very happy with it. The car was fully charged when the power went out here in Texas for almost two days last week, so I was able to fire it up in an enclosed garage and use it to warm up (the temp got down to 55 in the house). I would have needed the Bolt to recharge my battery-powered gear had the emergency endured.
The Bolt's cockpit feels more "open" -- lots more headroom (no more banging my head when getting in and out!), and in the colder weather the heated steering wheel is a revelation. I don't have an issue with the seats as some others seem to gripe about.
Even in sub-par weather, I'm averaging around 4 miles per kilowatt hour, so I'm hoping to boost that figure when it warms up (was up to 4.5 today with temps in the 50s and 60s).
The Volt had really crappy headlights; I replaced the bulbs with LEDs, but they were still far from optimal. The HID units in the Bolt give me a lot more confidence in the dark.
Noise? The Bolt has a very quiet cabin.
Yeah, the Bolt doesn't have the head-turning panache of a Tesla, but I kind of view that as a bonus (not too keen on having my shiny new car "keyed" or terrorized by fossil fuel enthusiasts).
I'm looking forward to hanging on to the Bolt for at least as long as I owned its groundbreaking forerunner.
I put 190,000 miles on my 2015 Volt (~80K of that on the ICE). Was very happy with the plug-in hybrid, but started seeing battery range going down (about 35 miles max in ideal conditions). Was hoping to be able to wait for VW's electric bus before giving up on the Volt, but when Wolfsburg pushed back that project by another year (and based with my mostly positive experience with the Volt), I found myself a gently-used 2020 Bolt Premier (with about 10K on the odo).
Couldn't see any reason to purchase a non-electric or hybrid vehicle.
Have had the Bolt for almost a month now, and am very happy with it. The car was fully charged when the power went out here in Texas for almost two days last week, so I was able to fire it up in an enclosed garage and use it to warm up (the temp got down to 55 in the house). I would have needed the Bolt to recharge my battery-powered gear had the emergency endured.
The Bolt's cockpit feels more "open" -- lots more headroom (no more banging my head when getting in and out!), and in the colder weather the heated steering wheel is a revelation. I don't have an issue with the seats as some others seem to gripe about.
Even in sub-par weather, I'm averaging around 4 miles per kilowatt hour, so I'm hoping to boost that figure when it warms up (was up to 4.5 today with temps in the 50s and 60s).
The Volt had really crappy headlights; I replaced the bulbs with LEDs, but they were still far from optimal. The HID units in the Bolt give me a lot more confidence in the dark.
Noise? The Bolt has a very quiet cabin.
Yeah, the Bolt doesn't have the head-turning panache of a Tesla, but I kind of view that as a bonus (not too keen on having my shiny new car "keyed" or terrorized by fossil fuel enthusiasts).
I'm looking forward to hanging on to the Bolt for at least as long as I owned its groundbreaking forerunner.
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13 Posts
Loved our 2013 Volt and even more the 2019 BoltEV. But there are 3 details in the Volt that I really miss in the Bolt: the "polite horn" sound you get from the button at the end of the left-hand wand, which is super-useful when pulling out of our condo building's garage across a sidewalk with little visibility for the driver; the transponder compartment that sits on top of the dashboard; and the locking door for the charging port. Sure wish Chevy had put these thoughtful touches into the Bolt.
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