I got my Bolt Premier will all options (MSRP $43,905) one week ago, I have driven it about 500 miles so far and it’s time for the first review.
Some background.
I live in Southern California and the Bolt is my third electric car after a 2011 Volt and a 2014 Spark EV. My daily commutes varies from 30 to 70 miles round-trip. The 15 mile commute to my home office consists of a 1,000 foot total elevation drop, and a 600 foot drop in the first 4 miles. This condition has an impact on range which varied for each of the cars and has an interesting effect on the Bolt.
I am large at 6’1” with a 52 coat size so take into account on my comfort reviews. The temperature conditions this last week have been unusually cold for So Cal, with lows each morning in the low 30s and highs in the high 50s. Also it was raining for most of the time.
While not a professional, I have been setting up and driving race cars and high performance street cars for over 45 years so I have an understanding of vehicle dynamics and what makes things work (or not). I have also worked in physical, electrical, and computer/software design and testing fields so I have an understanding of those areas as well.
Range efficiency and battery:
The Volt and Spark both used the battery conservatively to be sure there would be enough charge cycles to maintain initial range for the warranted life of the battery. The system only allowed the battery to be charged to something less than 90%. This meant the when I left my house with a full charge there was room in the battery for additional energy from regeneration. I believe that first four miles of downhill allowed me capture that regen energy and charge the battery to a higher level than the software would allow from the charger. The effect of this was that I could get routinely more range than was advertised for each car. Several times I was able to get 50 miles electric only in the Volt and my lifetime average efficiency for the Spark at 35,000 miles is 4.6 miles per kWh (or 21.7 kWh per 100 miles).
Interestingly the Bolt seems to charge the battery to 100% and there is no room for regen energy with a full charge. I noticed this upon leaving my house on a full charge and both the L shifter setting and the paddle regen had no deceleration affect. I then changed the Hill Top Reserve setting to On – Home Only. The next full charge was only about 90% on the meter and the regen worked as expected. I will keep this setting as I like the strong regen and I will get better efficiency by using that gravity instead of wasting it through friction braking.
As for range, my initial results are not that good, but I spent a lot of time siting in the car with it on and the HVAC running in the colder temps so I will reserve judgement for better conditions. The last day of this one-week period the sun was out and the temps a bit warmer so I did see better efficiency with the heater off. Average for the first 500 miles is 3.6 miles per kWh
Driving impressions:
Driving and performance dynamics are quite good. Acceleration from a stop is impressive as the traction control system keeps the tires from spinning. The pull levels off as you approach freeway speeds, but is still ample for passing up to about 80 MPH. Handling is crisp, but due to the bad weather I have not been able to push anywhere near the limit. When the weather warms up and dries out I will set up my performance monitoring equipment and get some acceleration, braking, and lateral G cornering numbers. On first impression the friction brakes are adequate, but not as aggressive as I like and require a bit too much pedal pressure for a hard stop. This could just be due to new brake pads that are not bedded in yet.
Ride and Noise-Vibration-Harshness are also quite good, however keep in mind my references are a Corvette, Fiat Abarth, and Trailblazer, so I don’t have a luxury car to compare it to. The regen to friction braking integration is amazing. With a little practice using the L shifter setting, accelerator pedal and Regen on Demand paddle, it is possible to almost never touch the brake pedal. This feature must be experienced to appreciate.
Comfort:
HVAC
Although the heater drains the battery at about 6-7 kW, it is much better than either the Volt or Spark, in fact it rivals that of ICE cars. The steering wheel heater gets too warm to leave on after about 2-3 minutes and the seat heaters need to be turned down from high after just a few minutes, so they are all working very well. Rating on the air conditioning will have to wait for some hot weather.
Driving position is good and it is easy to adjust to the correct seat and steering wheel position with the tilt/telescope wheel. However the lack of power seat adjustment is a problem. If the buyer wants power seats they should be available. I don’t accept the explanation that power seats are not available as a weight saving measure. The variability in driver/passenger weight and cargo carried is far greater than the extra 10-15 pounds per seat the power adjusters weigh. If I am willing to give up a couple of miles of range to have power seats, that should be my choice.
Seats
The lack of power adjustment and the seat design are probably the only disappointments on the car overall. They seats should be fine for anyone with a 36” or smaller waist but the hard plastic frame is simply too narrow for anyone larger than that. The hard plastic frame is only 15” wide at the hips and sits up higher than the seat cushion. This design defect causes the seat frame to press uncomfortably into my hips on both sides. I wouldn’t quite call it painful, but is does detract from the otherwise wonderful experience of driving this car. The worst thing is that this defect was completely unnecessary. There is over three inches of clearance between the outside edges of the seats and center console/door/frame pillar. This is an epic design/engineering failure that could easily have been avoided. It is almost as if whoever was designing the seat had the wrong interior dimensions of the car. This is something GM needs to fix or they will lose sales to larger frame folks. I am willing to put up with it until I lose some weight or find a modification to the seat, but many won’t.
Tech and Infotainment:
I am still learning all of the features and capabilities of the tech this car offers so I may have missed something here. The tech and infotainment is mostly very good with a few quirks.
Cameras
The 360 camera feature is great for parking. The camera based inside rear view mirror works great in daylight and sees a much wider angle than the reflective mirror. Understandably it does not work as well in rain or darkness, so it is a good thing the automatic dimming reflective mirror is available with the flip of a lever.
Collision avoidance and lane departure
These features are interesting, but not yet reliable enough for me to completely depend on them. I keep both features ON. The collision avoidance sets off a beep and a bright flashing heads-up red light on the windshield. There is also a graphic of the rear of a car that changes from yellow to red as you get closer to the car in front of you. In enhanced display mode there is a setting that shows the following distance in seconds. I have not, and will not, test the automatic braking to see if it would stop the car before a collision. Perhaps with a cone/paper/Styrofoam mock-up, but not with a real car or obstacle.
The lane departure feature seems to need some work. When it was safe on a multi-lane road with no cars around me, I tried letting go of the wheel. As the car drifted toward the line the indicator changed from green to amber and the text “Take the Steering Wheel” appeared. As the tires got on the line the computer turned the wheel to avoid crossing over it, however it then overcorrected and took the car to the opposite side of the lane only to repeat the over correction. I did not allow the system to keep doing this as I was on a public road and did not want to alarm other drivers. As stated in the manual this is not a self-driving system.
The rear cross-traffic warning seemed to work well a couple of times I have the car in reverse and there was a car crossing behind me.
The Side Blind Zone Alert works, but has both false alarmed and failed to light. Most likely due to the heavy rain. The manual has several warnings that since these systems use a combination of cameras and sonar/radar sensors, they may not work in some conditions.
Infotainment
Overall these system are getting better over the years. Everything not related to a smartphone is intuitive fast and functional. For instance, the radio XM, AM, and FM has a virtual keypad to direct enter the station number or frequency. Audio and speaker sound quality are on-par for a car at this price point. I have not yet tried media on a USB drive works as well as any other.
As for smartphone integration, I have both an iPhone and a Motorola Z Force Droid. There is more functionality with Apple Car Play and Android Auto than in prior implementations, but there is still much room for improvement. Since this is the only system with these features I do not know if shortfalls are a GM/LG issue or more related to Apple iOS and Android. The biggest issue is the limited number of apps available. It seems Apple will only allow a subset of native iOS apps to work. Android Auto has a few third party apps available, but certainly not everything on Play Store. If the reason is a code issue that requires additional programming for a given app’s screens to work on the car display they need to work on making that a pass through. If it is some misguided form of control, that makes no sense since you can just put your phone or tablet on an in-car mount and run any app anyway. The changeover between Apple and Android is a bit cumbersome. You have to manually change the Bolt settings to turn off one and turn on the other before you plug in the device. It would seem there could be an automatic prompt when you switch devices asking if you want to change. The programmers must have thought users would only have Apple or Android and not require switching back and forth. Lastly I can’t believe both of these implementations require plugging the phone in with a wire! The car and the phones all have WiFi after all.
Overall, I am very pleased with the Bolt and glad I got one. I would recommend it to anyone. This is a brand new model with many new concepts just coming out of development. The critical items I mentioned are in the interest of fostering improvement, not to complain. More to come as I get to know the car better and log more miles in different conditions.
Enjoy!
Some background.
I live in Southern California and the Bolt is my third electric car after a 2011 Volt and a 2014 Spark EV. My daily commutes varies from 30 to 70 miles round-trip. The 15 mile commute to my home office consists of a 1,000 foot total elevation drop, and a 600 foot drop in the first 4 miles. This condition has an impact on range which varied for each of the cars and has an interesting effect on the Bolt.
I am large at 6’1” with a 52 coat size so take into account on my comfort reviews. The temperature conditions this last week have been unusually cold for So Cal, with lows each morning in the low 30s and highs in the high 50s. Also it was raining for most of the time.
While not a professional, I have been setting up and driving race cars and high performance street cars for over 45 years so I have an understanding of vehicle dynamics and what makes things work (or not). I have also worked in physical, electrical, and computer/software design and testing fields so I have an understanding of those areas as well.
Range efficiency and battery:
The Volt and Spark both used the battery conservatively to be sure there would be enough charge cycles to maintain initial range for the warranted life of the battery. The system only allowed the battery to be charged to something less than 90%. This meant the when I left my house with a full charge there was room in the battery for additional energy from regeneration. I believe that first four miles of downhill allowed me capture that regen energy and charge the battery to a higher level than the software would allow from the charger. The effect of this was that I could get routinely more range than was advertised for each car. Several times I was able to get 50 miles electric only in the Volt and my lifetime average efficiency for the Spark at 35,000 miles is 4.6 miles per kWh (or 21.7 kWh per 100 miles).
Interestingly the Bolt seems to charge the battery to 100% and there is no room for regen energy with a full charge. I noticed this upon leaving my house on a full charge and both the L shifter setting and the paddle regen had no deceleration affect. I then changed the Hill Top Reserve setting to On – Home Only. The next full charge was only about 90% on the meter and the regen worked as expected. I will keep this setting as I like the strong regen and I will get better efficiency by using that gravity instead of wasting it through friction braking.
As for range, my initial results are not that good, but I spent a lot of time siting in the car with it on and the HVAC running in the colder temps so I will reserve judgement for better conditions. The last day of this one-week period the sun was out and the temps a bit warmer so I did see better efficiency with the heater off. Average for the first 500 miles is 3.6 miles per kWh
Driving impressions:
Driving and performance dynamics are quite good. Acceleration from a stop is impressive as the traction control system keeps the tires from spinning. The pull levels off as you approach freeway speeds, but is still ample for passing up to about 80 MPH. Handling is crisp, but due to the bad weather I have not been able to push anywhere near the limit. When the weather warms up and dries out I will set up my performance monitoring equipment and get some acceleration, braking, and lateral G cornering numbers. On first impression the friction brakes are adequate, but not as aggressive as I like and require a bit too much pedal pressure for a hard stop. This could just be due to new brake pads that are not bedded in yet.
Ride and Noise-Vibration-Harshness are also quite good, however keep in mind my references are a Corvette, Fiat Abarth, and Trailblazer, so I don’t have a luxury car to compare it to. The regen to friction braking integration is amazing. With a little practice using the L shifter setting, accelerator pedal and Regen on Demand paddle, it is possible to almost never touch the brake pedal. This feature must be experienced to appreciate.
Comfort:
HVAC
Although the heater drains the battery at about 6-7 kW, it is much better than either the Volt or Spark, in fact it rivals that of ICE cars. The steering wheel heater gets too warm to leave on after about 2-3 minutes and the seat heaters need to be turned down from high after just a few minutes, so they are all working very well. Rating on the air conditioning will have to wait for some hot weather.
Driving position is good and it is easy to adjust to the correct seat and steering wheel position with the tilt/telescope wheel. However the lack of power seat adjustment is a problem. If the buyer wants power seats they should be available. I don’t accept the explanation that power seats are not available as a weight saving measure. The variability in driver/passenger weight and cargo carried is far greater than the extra 10-15 pounds per seat the power adjusters weigh. If I am willing to give up a couple of miles of range to have power seats, that should be my choice.
Seats
The lack of power adjustment and the seat design are probably the only disappointments on the car overall. They seats should be fine for anyone with a 36” or smaller waist but the hard plastic frame is simply too narrow for anyone larger than that. The hard plastic frame is only 15” wide at the hips and sits up higher than the seat cushion. This design defect causes the seat frame to press uncomfortably into my hips on both sides. I wouldn’t quite call it painful, but is does detract from the otherwise wonderful experience of driving this car. The worst thing is that this defect was completely unnecessary. There is over three inches of clearance between the outside edges of the seats and center console/door/frame pillar. This is an epic design/engineering failure that could easily have been avoided. It is almost as if whoever was designing the seat had the wrong interior dimensions of the car. This is something GM needs to fix or they will lose sales to larger frame folks. I am willing to put up with it until I lose some weight or find a modification to the seat, but many won’t.
Tech and Infotainment:
I am still learning all of the features and capabilities of the tech this car offers so I may have missed something here. The tech and infotainment is mostly very good with a few quirks.
Cameras
The 360 camera feature is great for parking. The camera based inside rear view mirror works great in daylight and sees a much wider angle than the reflective mirror. Understandably it does not work as well in rain or darkness, so it is a good thing the automatic dimming reflective mirror is available with the flip of a lever.
Collision avoidance and lane departure
These features are interesting, but not yet reliable enough for me to completely depend on them. I keep both features ON. The collision avoidance sets off a beep and a bright flashing heads-up red light on the windshield. There is also a graphic of the rear of a car that changes from yellow to red as you get closer to the car in front of you. In enhanced display mode there is a setting that shows the following distance in seconds. I have not, and will not, test the automatic braking to see if it would stop the car before a collision. Perhaps with a cone/paper/Styrofoam mock-up, but not with a real car or obstacle.
The lane departure feature seems to need some work. When it was safe on a multi-lane road with no cars around me, I tried letting go of the wheel. As the car drifted toward the line the indicator changed from green to amber and the text “Take the Steering Wheel” appeared. As the tires got on the line the computer turned the wheel to avoid crossing over it, however it then overcorrected and took the car to the opposite side of the lane only to repeat the over correction. I did not allow the system to keep doing this as I was on a public road and did not want to alarm other drivers. As stated in the manual this is not a self-driving system.
The rear cross-traffic warning seemed to work well a couple of times I have the car in reverse and there was a car crossing behind me.
The Side Blind Zone Alert works, but has both false alarmed and failed to light. Most likely due to the heavy rain. The manual has several warnings that since these systems use a combination of cameras and sonar/radar sensors, they may not work in some conditions.
Infotainment
Overall these system are getting better over the years. Everything not related to a smartphone is intuitive fast and functional. For instance, the radio XM, AM, and FM has a virtual keypad to direct enter the station number or frequency. Audio and speaker sound quality are on-par for a car at this price point. I have not yet tried media on a USB drive works as well as any other.
As for smartphone integration, I have both an iPhone and a Motorola Z Force Droid. There is more functionality with Apple Car Play and Android Auto than in prior implementations, but there is still much room for improvement. Since this is the only system with these features I do not know if shortfalls are a GM/LG issue or more related to Apple iOS and Android. The biggest issue is the limited number of apps available. It seems Apple will only allow a subset of native iOS apps to work. Android Auto has a few third party apps available, but certainly not everything on Play Store. If the reason is a code issue that requires additional programming for a given app’s screens to work on the car display they need to work on making that a pass through. If it is some misguided form of control, that makes no sense since you can just put your phone or tablet on an in-car mount and run any app anyway. The changeover between Apple and Android is a bit cumbersome. You have to manually change the Bolt settings to turn off one and turn on the other before you plug in the device. It would seem there could be an automatic prompt when you switch devices asking if you want to change. The programmers must have thought users would only have Apple or Android and not require switching back and forth. Lastly I can’t believe both of these implementations require plugging the phone in with a wire! The car and the phones all have WiFi after all.
Overall, I am very pleased with the Bolt and glad I got one. I would recommend it to anyone. This is a brand new model with many new concepts just coming out of development. The critical items I mentioned are in the interest of fostering improvement, not to complain. More to come as I get to know the car better and log more miles in different conditions.
Enjoy!
