Bought a 2020 Bolt 3 weeks ago! Love it more everyday. Didn't even realize the center console armrest slid forward. Mine was stuck but now ok and much more comfortable with it forward. Great video! Enjoy your Bolt!
Dustin, Hope "WALMART" soon sees the advantage of having say 6x EV Charge Stations near front door of every USA Store! It is perfect blend~ Shopper now has a hour or more to shop inside!
I recently purchased a 2017 Bolt Premier lease return. I drive 68 miles per day round trip for work commute. I look forward to driving each day, I really can't believe how much I enjoy the car. I am 6 feet 200 lbs and find the car much more comfortable than my 2006 Subaru Outback to drive. Thank you for the video great job.
I love my 2020 LT, still look forward to driving it. I will admit it's not for everyone, but it works for my situation. Dealers are discounting 2020 models with a style change coming in 2021. If they have a couple on the lot I bet you can talk turkey. I feel like the quality is in the tech and drive train. If your looking for a plush interior... keep looking. Good video. Good info on the hitch, I didn't think about the lights. No doubt a pain. Nice to hear someone who likes the appearance, looks great to me.
Nice positive review. I have read many reviews where the seats are said to be very uncomfortable. Glad the seats work for you. I'll be interested in checking them out for myself.
I bought my 2019 six weeks ago. I was surprised at how much fun this thing is to drive! I agree with all the comments here. I consider this, so far, too be the best car I have ever owned. Glad I did it!
"When I finally parked it(Bolt) at my home charging station, it had gone 322 miles on a single charge. Not bad for a car rated at 238 miles per charge. Even more impressive was the fact that I didn't really try very hard to get that many miles out of it. I spent plenty of time in traffic, which helped, but there were a few sections that I was moving along at 65-70 mph as well. No matter how you look at it, 322 miles out of a Bolt is pretty impressive." - Ed Hellwig Edmund's
THANKS DUSTIN! I enjoyed your video.....and I can confirm that I am heading out this afternoon to buy a 2020 Bolt....it's a great deal and your experience pushed me over the line. Cheers.
I've loved the looks of the Bolt since I first saw it. It's a really pretty car that looks just futuristic enough to be an EV. I have the 2019 and I have 16,500 miles on it. I also owned a 1st gen Volt before the Bolt and yeah, it was quite premium. I don't agree on the handling being better than the 1st gen Volt, but I have the factory michelins on it and the Volt sucked until I put new tires on it. Once I had non stock tires on the Volt it's handling was fantastic. The Bolt might be the same when I get new tires, but right now the tires squeal on the canyon road I used to drive the Volt on and it never made nary a chirp.
Congrats on the Bolt👍 Bought a 2nd gen Volt, and a totally different car than gen 1. Prolly 20-25% more efficient, and everything is a lot better! More sporty also, and a lot more features. Getting 62-70 miles per charge, and 50 mpg on gas, and have gotten 60 mpg on gas a few times. Good luck on your new car✌️
I enjoyed your video. I purchased a new 2017 bolt and I love it. I’ve been looking for upgrades for the bolt. So it would be great to see all the bolt modifications out there. These are the modifications I’ve done : I got WiFi in my car and I’m using Alexa with unlimited music, I also added wireless CarPlay with mixed feelings, added some ceramic tint to reduce the heat inside, weather tech mats, modified Tesla charger for that 6Kw charger for camp grounds, and a dash cam. Some day I’ll get the tow hitch.
Great review. The 2017s on sale now are crazy good deals. Low mileage vehicles (many under 20k miles) for ~$15k USD and below. Makes a great second car or even an only car for people with moderate mileage needs.
Had a 2017 LT, now a 2020 Premier. Love this car! We've been in it for hours with no problems. Styling is fine, no problems. Here's what's different. The seats seems to be a little better but the 2020 has leather and the 2019 had cloth so it's hard to tell, they weren't that bad to start with. GM has tweaked to torque steer, I don't notice any in the 2020. All the cameras are now HD, really nice! Range is up to 259 from 238 but we generally get much more in the summer, should be easily over 300 mi with the 2020 already seeing the winter range went up. Charging is better too but we do most of our charging at home. Just a great car, quiet, sturdy, safe, and cheap to own. Cost us under 75 dollars for the just under 3 years for our first Bolt and that's with charging, inspections and tire rotations. The plastic The plastic? It could have more refined surfaces but it holds up really well. We have no problem with it. It does what it's supposed to do which I guess you could say about the Bolt as a car. A wonderful trouble free, sporty vehicle, enjoy yours!
I also find the Bolt EV reasonably comfortable for even 3hr drives and I am a larger frame that the reviewer. I also was annoyed by missing the Home Link remote. I found a nice mini remote in eBay that I store in that small wallet compartment below the Infotainment. Also I wish it had ACC. Taycan is next.
I've noticed a range/efficiency penalty with my Nexen touring tires. Great handling and grip, but tough to get past 4.1-4.2 miles/kWh. I'm planning to switch back to the (non-self seal) Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires and hopefully see an improvement in range. The grip of the current tires is not really needed and range is king for EVs!
Two observations worth factoring for: 1) The Bolt MSRP is about 80-85% of the MSRP of the early Volts (comparing the Bolt Premier trim and well-appointed 2011/2012 Volt), accounting for inflation over the near-decade. Maybe that doesn't account for ALL of the savings accrued in designing the interior, but ... it's a chunk. 2) Heat pumps are awesome and efficient .... down to about freezing or a little colder. And people love them in places where the depths of winter means it might freeze just before dawn a couple of times a year. Below that, in places where it might get that *warm* a couple of times a month for most of a winter, the efficiency of heat pumps starts losing to the capacity of resistive heaters, and being unable to adequately heat the battery cuts into the range more than the "wasteful" heater design. (As a result, owners in Chicago and Toronto precondition before departure a LOT more... and spending a couple of miles of range at the outset means the battery's warm enough to yield more during the actual drive.)
Price and incentives dropped enough that I was able to get into a 2022 Black Bolt 2LT for a great price. I like the so many curves and lines body, really a neat design.
Dustin Batchelor I was wondering what you paid. We got our 2019 Bolt LT with both the Comfort & Convenience and Driver Confidence packages new in Jan. ‘19. After all incentives, tax credits, rebates etc., we paid just under $20K . Couldn’t turn down that deal and have put on a little over 16K miles - like you, planning on driving it for many years to come.
Good move. Got my '17 Premier almost a year ago at are reasonable price with no regrets. The the auto braking, I've never had it do it either. Apparently it engages at a very low speed and don't trust it to stop in time. Hopefully the 2021 has modern safety features. I got the Bolt for it's high range knowing it would drop a lot in the Chicago winter, which is about 140 miles winter range but still plenty for my needs and summer I can drive 10 to 14 days before charging.
I purchased a Bolt a few months back. I had cross shopped the new Leaf, but I just couldn't get past Nissan continuing to build their cars with no thermal management on the battery. They are the only EV manufacturer that I'm aware of that experiences noticeable battery degradation. I felt the Leaf was a more comfortable car than the Bolt, but the Bolt has thermal management and I liked the Bolt's infotainment system better.
Nice review Dustin- I live in the state of TENNESSEE & have seen this car, but not test driven. I’m in a VW Tiguan lease thru this year & am seriously thinking about the Chevrolet Bolt- like it a lot & they have great colors to choose from.
I really enjoyed your review and have subscribed now. I did the same thing I bought a 2018 Bolt in December for about half the price of a new premiere. I'm on a fixed income and then can't afford to buy a model y or model 3 which is probably a better car. I think this is the best used EV car to buy at the moment particularly since a lot of 2017's will be coming off lease.
I have the exact car silver with the dark gray leather 2017 premier. I like the rear view mirror when I fill the hatch with boxes I can still see out the back with the camera!
Thanks for your review. Seems like here (US) they have some major discounts right now in preparation of the 2021 refresh and launch of the larger Bolt Utility. How is the performance in snow? I heard your thoughts on range but I am more concerned with actual driving in bad weather since it is FWD only. Thanks! ✌🏻
Really enjoyed this video. I'm constantly thinking about making the switch into a compact entry with some premium features EV. This car sounds like it has what I'm looking for! Are your racks whistling? Mine do on my car. I'm used to it but just curious if yours are. I thought I hear whistling, and I'm not referring to the white noise speaker... Keep up the good work man! I'm relying on your research as a major resource to help guide my purchase in the not too distant future.
Thanks for the comments - sorry I took so long to respond, I didn't get notified of several comments. These roof racks make no noise which is insane. The racks on my previous cars (Honda Fit, Chevrolet Volt) all made sounds. I'd constantly take them off because it bothered me. I've left these on since installing them and don't see taking them off.
It already has a very “sporty” feel. Drive one, you will experience it. It accelerates fast and carves corners very well, staying level almost like a go cart. It is not a racing car, but is very good for any type of day to day driving.
There are two FH Dailey Chevy car dealer close to where I live. One Chevy dealership has certified pre-owned on their parking lot. I use to pass by when I do my walk exercise and saw a Bolt 2017 pre-owned for $22, 991 US. There's no roof rack , so I assume it's not a premiere. Do you guys think the price is is too much for a 2017 model? I know, I wasn't able to get more info about the car just by looking at the price at the parking lot. Probably it has a low mileage to justify the price?
Hey Dustin... I commented on here a month or so ago and can't find the original comments? Anyhow, after purchasing my Bolt I've noticed it's not charging all the way? Maxing out at around 154 miles with a max of 178 miles? I swear it was maxing out over 200 miles when I first purchased it? Any thoughts?
The range displayed there isn't based solely on amount of charge/capacity, but rather it also includes your driving habits and outside temperature. As the temperature drops your car has to turn on a heater to warm the coolant, and the batteries become less efficienct. Using the cabin heater will also contribute to a large loss in range. Short drives in cold weather will greatly reduce the range displayed as the car is constantly trying to heat itself up. If you live in a climate that is always warm, then driving at high speeds outside of the efficiency range will also contribute to the display showing a smaller number. I hope that helps.
Hey, can anyone suggest a good used EV site? We are looking for a BMW i3 or a Bolt for our 16 yr. old. So, if anyone has had a good experience, plz. let me know. THANKS!!!
New Bolts can be had for about $10k below sticker price these days. myev.com is a site dedicated to selling used EVs and educating about them. Otherwise do a search as there are many places and sites selling used EVs.
One thing I like about my 2014 Chevy Volt is that it has pretty big rear view mirrors for a car - which is odd since they were trying to make the vehicle aerodynamic. The Bolt mirrors seem to be a decent size. How do you rate the Bolt mirrors vs. the Volt's? Or are the mirrors not that important in your opinion?
What about the warranty and the support from GM/Chev dealers? Do they have a decent support for when you need it?Very interesting and good review thanks.
Full warranty and support between USA and Canada. On my 2011 Volt I had to use the warranty twice - once for the 110 wall charger breaking, and another for when my charge port door wouldn't open (actuator stopped working). Both times they had the parts at my local dealership and car was in and out very quickly with no hassle.
I test drove the bolt in the summer of 2019. I really wanted to like it but the seats were horrible. I’m not gonna even deal with that. Also and most importantly the air conditioning was lousy. I am in south Texas USA and it was 100 degrees that day when I took it for a drive. It never got cool. I set it at 65 degrees and it felt like 75. I was sweaty the whole test drive. I had test drove the Prius few days before and it cooled me down so good and quick. My glasses were foggy when I got out of the Prius. It was a 100 degrees that day as well. I love the style of the bolt. I think it’s the best looking EV out there. Yes better than the boring looking tesla model 3. The Chevy bolt is practical. If the seats were comfortable and the AC cooled me down I would have bought it. But it failed me. one other thing it kept rocking side to side during the drive. Like a boat. Weird. Felt like the tires were low or something.
There are insane deals to be had in the USA but not so much in Canada. I should mention though that $28,000 US is almost $40,000 Canadian. I got mine for under $30,000 Canadian
Here is the link to the instructions I used. I commented on that thread with my modified instructions. www.chevybolt.org/threads/added-crossbars.28839/#post-419987
Thanks for the question! In Canada the factory new price on a premiere is over $45,000 + taxes. I was able to get this for significantly less. The upgrades in the 2020 are nice, but not $18,000 extra nice :)
Is L also more aggressive? When I test drove the Bolt the guy did not know how it worked and we never tried L mode. I was surprised in how there was a delay when accelerating as if it was a gas powered car. Is that feeling of delay gone in L mode?
Perhaps something was wrong with the car? I get instant acceleration when I put the accelerator down. L mode turns on heavy regeneration so when you lift off the accelerator it stops the car much faster.
