Though it's the first electric car that is both affordable and has a range over 200 miles, the Chevy Bolt is almost aggressively normal. Slipping into the driver's seat, it feels like any number of other cars I've driven. There's a steering wheel, a couple of pedals, a shift knob, and all the other stuff one expects from a car built in 2016. The only hint to the high-tech infrastructure hiding beneath the floor is the complete lack of noise when I hit the power button.
And that's very, very impressive.
Last week, I drove a preproduction Chevy Bolt down the gorgeous California coastline from Monterey to Santa Barbara on a mix of city, highway, and rural roads. The idea was to show reporters how the car can easily meet its EPA-estimated 238-mile range. It did, with room to spare. That was to be expected of course — but what I really wanted to know was how the Bolt was as a car.
Buyers of the first few generations of hybrids (mainly the Toyota Prius) were looking to make a statement: I'm greener than you. But at some point, buying a hybrid stopped being something weird and turned into just buying a car. The first few generations of electric cars were also about making a statement. But could the Chevy Bolt, with its affordable price (around $30,000 after a federal tax credit) and 238-mile range, turn electric vehicles from something weird into just another car?
Couldn't post the entire article on Bolt forum. Follow the link to read more: http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/13/12899752/chevy-bolt-driving-impressions-review
And that's very, very impressive.
Last week, I drove a preproduction Chevy Bolt down the gorgeous California coastline from Monterey to Santa Barbara on a mix of city, highway, and rural roads. The idea was to show reporters how the car can easily meet its EPA-estimated 238-mile range. It did, with room to spare. That was to be expected of course — but what I really wanted to know was how the Bolt was as a car.
Buyers of the first few generations of hybrids (mainly the Toyota Prius) were looking to make a statement: I'm greener than you. But at some point, buying a hybrid stopped being something weird and turned into just buying a car. The first few generations of electric cars were also about making a statement. But could the Chevy Bolt, with its affordable price (around $30,000 after a federal tax credit) and 238-mile range, turn electric vehicles from something weird into just another car?
Couldn't post the entire article on Bolt forum. Follow the link to read more: http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/13/12899752/chevy-bolt-driving-impressions-review
