Anyone Here Like the 2021 Bolt?

[ed5000]

Chevy is coming out with a redesigned Bolt for 2022 and is offering pretty good discounts for any 2021 models that are still available. I test drove one last week and I think I like it. I think that's because the seating arrangement is similar to the I-miev with a high up seating position with lots of good visibility though not quite as good as the I-miev.

Consumer Reports 2021 April's issue which is all automobiles this month gave it the top mark for reliability and gave the seat comfort a lower score although I felt they were comfortable enough. Maybe it has to do with longer trips.

I know a few people here have Bolts. I'd like to know their opinion about it. The other one is I might try the ID.4 like Joe mentioned but I like the fact that the Bolt has been around for a while.

[JoeS]

I have talked over a half-dozen friends into buying Bolts, and they all love the car, with zero problems.

The LG Chem batteries in the 2017-2019 Bolts have had their issues resulting in a possible fire, but supposedly GM has come up with a fix which allows them to test/monitor the battery to see if it has a problem.
This just came out today: https://insideevs.com/news/504408/gm-fi ... fire-risk/

The 2020 and newer Bolts are unaffected as they use a different chemistry.

I personally like the regen paddle and one-pedal driving capability in the Bolt, and wish they had a zero-regen setting for highway driving. I haven't checked, but our i-MiEV flat-floor total volume with the back seats down I suspect is better than the Bolt's. In any case, whatever you get make sure it has DCFC, although their CCS is not much faster than our i-MiEV's CHAdeMO.

Here in California Bolts have been bargain-priced, with dealer and Costco and local as well as state incentives.

[PV1]

My 2017 Bolt is fantastic. I understand the 2021 is the original body style like mine, and the 2022 is the re-design. I personally don’t like the way the new one looks.

Honestly, unless you’re going for a Tesla to get the charging network, the Bolt seems to be one of the best options out there. It’s rated for 259 miles per charge, which given how mine compares to its 238-mile rating, that can easily be exceeded in warm weather. I nearly achieved 300 miles on one charge my second summer with the car, beating the EPA number by 50 miles.

I recommend getting the following packages so that the car can operate at peak efficiency:

1. Fast Charge port (enables CCS quick charging)
2. Comfort/Convenience Package (Heated seats, mirrors, and steering wheel, which save a ton of range in cooler weather)
3. Driver Confidence Package (Only base confidence package was available in 2017, but now there are several).
4. Driver Confidence II Package (only if you have any interest in OpenPilot and making the car semi-autonomous, as you’ll need the Lane-Keep Assist)

There were complaints about the leather seats in the 2017 Premier Bolts, but the issues seem to have been resolved in the newer ones. I would personally agree with the reports on this, as I remember the 2017 leather seats being uncomfortable but a 2019’s seats that I sat in at the Auto Show were much more comfortable (the center padding in the seat was too low compared to the sides in 2017 Bolts). I have the cloth seats, and they are very comfortable. I had no problems on a 550-mile day trip I took a while back. If you like the i-MiEV seats, the Bolt seats are even better. Many traits of the i-MiEV actually translate similarly. The radio in the car is the best-sounding audio setup I own.

Just a word of warning, though. It has a very sporty driving dynamic, and thus spirited driving will eat front tires. But you will have fun driving it .

[ed5000]

I have talked over a half-dozen friends into buying Bolts, and they all love the car, with zero problems.

The LG Chem batteries in the 2017-2019 Bolts have had their issues resulting in a possible fire, but supposedly GM has come up with a fix which allows them to test/monitor the battery to see if it has a problem.
This just came out today: https://insideevs.com/news/504408/gm-fi ... fire-risk/

The 2020 and newer Bolts are unaffected as they use a different chemistry.

I personally like the regen paddle and one-pedal driving capability in the Bolt, and wish they had a zero-regen setting for highway driving. I haven't checked, but our i-MiEV flat-floor total volume with the back seats down I suspect is better than the Bolt's. In any case, whatever you get make sure it has DCFC, although their CCS is not much faster than our i-MiEV's CHAdeMO.

Here in California Bolts have been bargain-priced, with dealer and Costco and local as well as state incentives.

Thanks, Joe. This is good news so far. I would be sure to get the CCS and, right now, I don't mind spending a little more time fast charging. The dealer said to expect 100 miles range for 30 minutes of fast charging. The furthest we go is San Diego so I would have to be patient and charge a couple times. It would make a good adventure.

[ed5000]

My 2017 Bolt is fantastic. I understand the 2021 is the original body style like mine, and the 2022 is the re-design. I personally don’t like the way the new one looks.

Honestly, unless you’re going for a Tesla to get the charging network, the Bolt seems to be one of the best options out there. It’s rated for 259 miles per charge, which given how mine compares to its 238-mile rating, that can easily be exceeded in warm weather. I nearly achieved 300 miles on one charge my second summer with the car, beating the EPA number by 50 miles.

I recommend getting the following packages so that the car can operate at peak efficiency:

1. Fast Charge port (enables CCS quick charging)
2. Comfort/Convenience Package (Heated seats, mirrors, and steering wheel, which save a ton of range in cooler weather)
3. Driver Confidence Package (Only base confidence package was available in 2017, but now there are several).
4. Driver Confidence II Package (only if you have any interest in OpenPilot and making the car semi-autonomous, as you’ll need the Lane-Keep Assist)

There were complaints about the leather seats in the 2017 Premier Bolts, but the issues seem to have been resolved in the newer ones. I would personally agree with the reports on this, as I remember the 2017 leather seats being uncomfortable but a 2019’s seats that I sat in at the Auto Show were much more comfortable (the center padding in the seat was too low compared to the sides in 2017 Bolts). I have the cloth seats, and they are very comfortable. I had no problems on a 550-mile day trip I took a while back. If you like the i-MiEV seats, the Bolt seats are even better. Many traits of the i-MiEV actually translate similarly. The radio in the car is the best-sounding audio setup I own.

Just a word of warning, though. It has a very sporty driving dynamic, and thus spirited driving will eat front tires. But you will have fun driving it .

This is all good news. I'll have to look up the Driver Confidence Packages but, in a test drive I found the car comfortable, quiet, with great audio. It handles great too though I'm no Richard Petty.

[ed5000]

Well I did it. I bought the 2021 Premier in cayenne orange with the fast charge port, comfort package (heated seats front and back, heated steering wheel and mirrors) and the driver confidence package II. It sure is nice. It has a video rear view camera with a somewhat wide angle lens on it for a good rear viewing with no head rests in the way. Also it has one pedal driving which is brings it to a complete stop and I think it does it without use of the brakes, at least I can't detect it.

PV1 is right about the audio, it sounds great and I was able to take my usb memory stick out of my I-miev and plug it into my Bolt and the music began playing right off.

The battery pack is great. I drove it to my folk's house 100 miles round trip and and my range remaining went from 220 to 180. Gotta love new battery packs!

I tried to copy a picture I had of it but here is one I found online:


https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=ht ... egUIARD2AQ

[ed5000]

I should mention that they're discounted from $12k to 19k right now depending on if you're a "loyal Chevy customer" or a Costco Member ($3K off) or if you're in CA, $1500 from Carb and another $2k from the state in CA if the funds are still available. No $7,500 from the Feds right now since they sold over 200K of them.

I'm not sure about PG&E right now. My son got $800 from them in December 2019 for his Leaf.

[PV1]

Congrats!

Yes, the one-pedal driving is all motor. The only brake that engages automatically is the parking brake if you slowly keep rolling forward with no feet on the pedals on a slight downgrade. It’s noticeable when that happens, and simply pressing the throttle pedal disengages it.

[ed5000]

Congrats!

Yes, the one-pedal driving is all motor. The only brake that engages automatically is the parking brake if you slowly keep rolling forward with no feet on the pedals on a slight downgrade. It’s noticeable when that happens, and simply pressing the throttle pedal disengages it.

Thanks. I'm glad to know about the automatic parking brake. There's a lot of things these cars do electronically.