I was able to confirm that the Sport mode will only alter the throttle response (and it actually may not be that noticeable a difference). The product specialist that I was speaking with has been working with the vehicle since the initial launch so was quite knowledgeable about the vehicle even thought I didn't have many questions. There was another gentleman there who had some questions about the 12 volt battery and the rep was actually able to give some information about that so overall I felt that they had a pretty good grasp of the vehicle although they still guard a lot of the technological information. I did find out that they are supposed to have a Premier trim vehicle at the Fort Worth auto show that is the first week in Dec. We may be seeing the vehicle show up at dealers in CA around this time as well so I may not go see it. There was no additional information regarding vehicle availability or any plans for roll-out although they hinted that it could possibly be similar to what was seen with the Volt (most likely CARB states first) but GM could also go with markets with high Volt sales volumes as well.
As far as the interior, I think that it is somewhat comparable to other Chevy vehicles. It was ok, but nothing to write home about. The seats seemed comfortable and there was a good amount of room. The drivers seat leg room was more than adequate. I felt that I would probably be most comfortable at 2 to 3 clicks forward, so there should be room for folks well over 6 foot tall. With the front seats all the way back there was still adequate room in the rear for most anyone. One thing I did notice was that for my personal comfort, the steering column could have telescoped out slightly further. I felt like I might have ended up moving the seat forward just a touch more to have a more comfortable reach to the steering wheel.
The back seat was as roomy as suspected, no issues with 2 adults back there, and a third adult would probably not be ab issue for shorter trips. There is not an arm rest/passthough in the middle seat, just the 60/40 split. The backrest latch was easy to operate (I have experienced some vehicles where it was difficult to depress the release).
I could not open the tailgate, but it had the false floor in place and I would say that there is about 4 inches in depth below the cover.
One thing that I did find out is that they are using a new version of the Michelin Energy tires on the Bolt. The rep said that this is the first production vehicle with this tire. It has what they are calling a 'self sealing' technology that will withstand a puncture up to a quarter inch without losing pressure. My only question there will be replacement cost. The regular version of the tire runs about $130 each and I am not finding the self seal version widely available yet (and its possible that they could be sold exclusively through Chevy dealers)
http://www.michelinman.com/US/en/why-michelin/michelin-selfseal-technology.html
