From my perspective the Bolt is: -Ugly -Less safe -Slower -Doesn't drive itself, or will be capable in the future
Worst of all the Bolt's infotainment system is horrible.
https://www.chevrolet.com/content/dam/chevrolet/na/us/englis...
I have no use for an infotainment system in any vehicle (give me a hotspot and I'll bring my own devices). I disliked the Tesla center mounted tablet console dashboard, though that's subjective.
I don't think the Tesla drives itself, does it? That was not a factor for me, and if anything would be a mild negative at the current level of self-driving tech maturity. At any rate, the Bolt had some useful driver assist packages for safety, though they are upgrades. I think they both have fairly similar safety ratings. And speed isn't a consideration for me, as long as it goes fast enough for highway. Nor is appearance, within reason.
I really am thrilled for Tesla's success and don't think there is a "right car" but a "right car for you". The Bolt is a good car, though.
Tesla's more or less take over on the freeway. They are also on their way to mastering traffic lights.
> center mounted tablet console dashboard Yeah, that's a little weird.
> the Bolt had some useful driver assist packages for safety, though they are upgrades
Tesla's are the safest cars on the road now.
Sure and I’m on my way to mastering Russian Roulette. Until I actually get there though you might not want to sell me life insurance.
There are some things where being “on the way” to mastery is worse than nothing, and propelling a two ton object at a red light is one of those things.
Eh, I imagine that depends on how actively you use the autopilot and auto unpark features. I know they don't want to cede the frontrunner status of that technology, but it still feels like a risky gambit for tesla and for its customers.
I compared it to a Tesla (test drove a Model 3), and a Tesla would be about $15k more. I have no use for self-driving. As a software engineer, I feel that full self-driving requires a general AI, which I think is on the order of decades away.
I really just wanted a simple electric car with minimal maintenance and no fossil fuel dependencies. Minimal complexity, no gimmicks (fart generator, Tesla? come on...)
With those requirements, the Bolt is awesome.
Doctors make the worst patients.
The 2020 Bolt has 259 miles of EPA range and is the best value for money of any EV in the world at the moment. Have a look at these prices:
https://www.cars.com/for-sale/searchresults.action/?mdId=362...
Here's a real world example of someone who has leased a 2020 Bolt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8Egdi0GU9Y
He has a 2017 Bolt on lease and he was thinking about getting a different EV, but in the end he went with a 3 year lease on a 2020 Bolt because the offer was too good to refuse. He paid $2500 down (which was covered by state EV incentives) and the lease is $147 a month for 12,000 miles per annum.
Show me a better EV deal than that.
Here's a 2020 Bolt doing a 1,000 km trip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMVRm8UvHjs
Here's a Bolt which did the Cannonball run: https://www.torquenews.com/8861/chevrolet-bolt-ev-set-cannon...
Here's a 2017 Bolt surviving the cold: https://www.torquenews.com/8861/my-chevy-bolt-ev-sat-unplugg...
As ever, you need to plan your trip around charging stops. A Better Route Planner (https://abetterrouteplanner.com/) is a useful tool but it's a bit conservative for the Bolt (although I think it's better to be conservative than stranded). It also doesn't necessarily take into account overnight charging. On a long trip you'd charge overnight and start the next day with a full battery: https://www.torquenews.com/8861/chevrolet-bolt-ev-issues-bet...
It has Carplay/Android Auto; you'd never look at that UI if you didn't want to.
