Chevy Bolt EUV

My econo car died this weekend - -0= , ,overheated and seized. I am thinking of getting and EV, Chevy Bolt. Right now, 1-Jan, there is a potential $7.5K from the feds and $0.5K from Costco. I am interested in just a base model and sticker is $29K. That puts the Bolt as one of the cheapest cars in USA with the incentives. If the incentives hold, that puts it around

Anyone have experience with a Bolt and can offer some thoughts, regrets, etc.

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/20/gm-...expand-chevy-bolt-ev-recall-due-to-fires.html

 

Aside from them occasionally exploding into flames are they pretty good vehicles?

 

https://allev.info/2021/07/chevy-bolts-sometimes-cant-detect-obvious-battery-problems/

 

https://enginepatrol.com/chevy-bolt-problems-solutions/

 

My understanding was that the fires were from LG batteries and that has been fixed and/or sourced from a different manufacturer.

 

Whatcha gonna do when the grid can’t handle the demand and you can’t charge your toy car? I would consider a hybrid over a full EV.

 

You really can't get something like a base model Yaris for $21k or less?

 

Incentives = somebody else's money just sayin. If the tech is good, why an incentive to buy one?

 

I've read the other responses and I think I can offer a rather unique POV on this.

My wife's car is a 2022 Bolt EUV Premier. The EUV is the larger of the 2 Bolts; the smaller one being the Bolt EV. The only option we elected on it was the "Sun & Sound" package because we wanted the Bose audio system (we couldn't care less about the pano sun roof). We purchased it brand new in late May of 22 and now have about 17,000 miles on it. We went full EV because of our commute. My wife and I carpool together since our offices are about a mile from each other and we're lucky enough to have the same office schedule.

Some important things you'll want to know about our situation:

• Our commute is ~110 round trip, not including any errands we might run before or after work.
• We live in a climate that will have highs of 115° F in the summer and can get down into the 20's during the winter with snow.
• Our daily drive includes an elevation change of ~3,500' and then back down. (We have to climb up & down a mountain pass daily).
• Our commute is 80% highway speeds @ 75mph and 20% in town with stop & go traffic.

I point out these things out because ALL of these conditions impact range. I.E. Summer= More range. Winter = less range. Highway driving = less range. City driving = more range. I'm sure you get it.

Here are my thoughts after 7 months of ownership:

• The fit & finish of this car has really surprised me. I used to think of Chevy as being slightly above Dodge in interior build quality and I swore I would never own one again after my experiences with the brand in the late 90's/early 2000's. However, this pains me slightly to say, the quality of the interior is (in many ways) better than my 2022 Tundra. The inside is quiet and I find it to quite comfortable (Even though I'm a big guy - 6' 1" @ 280 lbs).
• The features & tech in this car are quite impressive for the money. Digital rear view mirror, wireless CarPlay, heated & ventilated seats, adaptive cruise, etc at this price point are great. Heck...for another $2,000, you can even option the car to have "Super Cruise", which is Chevy's version of Tesla's on-highway self driving mode. Pretty cool, though we did not opt for that on our car.
• Thoughts on Range: In the summer, our estimated range will be about 250 miles. In the winter, our estimated range will be about 195 miles. These are estimates that the car calculates based on driving history, driving behavior, and climate conditions. I've found these estimated to be relatively accurate. Batteries love to be warm and hate to be cold. Hence why you get more range in the summer vs the winter.
• Thoughts on at-home Charging: We installed a Level 2 charger in our garage. The charger is an Autel Maxi-Charger and is great. IOT connectivity so we can control it remotely and it tracks our charging expenses so we know exactly how much we're spending each month. The charger was ~$400 and the install through a local electrician was another $1,200 (70% of which was the CRAZY price of copper). In total, we spent about $1,700 to get our house ready for EV ownership. Note: Chevy does include a Level 2 mobile charger when you buy a Bolt EUV, but we wanted something with more features. If you wanted to use the included Chevy charger ("EVSE", as their called) as your main charger...you 100% could and it would save you $400 from my total above. We charge nightly and it takes the car about 5 hours to recharge from the daily commute at 32 amps.
• Thoughts on DC Fast Charging (public charging): This is where the Bolt really hits a speed bump. Unlike other manufacturers, the Bolt maxes out at 50 KW fast charging. This is what makes the Bolt one of the cheapest EV options out there. Fast charging is painfully slow compared to Ford, Kia, VW, etc. It takes about 45 mins to go from 10% SOC (state of charge) to 80% SOC. The public charging network where is I live is pretty solid. Electrify America and EVGo both have plenty of public charging stations around us.
• Driving experience: The car is really fun to drive, surprisingly. It's very peppy. The instant torque of the electric motor makes it both fun to drive and great for zipping in & out of traffic. This car was my first experience driving an EV and it really surprised me how fun it is to drive.
• Other items of note: We received no tax incentives on our purchase. Our local electric coop is a rural provider and offers no incentives for EVs. The Federal Tax Credit, at the time of purchase, had been exhausted for the Bolt so we received no Federal Tax Credit. However, the federal credit is back now...as I understand it. We purchased the Bolt using the Chevy "Friends & Family" discount since my father-in-law used to work for GM in Michigan. I don't recall the discount that gave us, but I want to say it was about $3,500 off. Our starting price was MSRP and there was no ADM from the dealer we worked with. Also...there is 1 benefit that I never really counted on but I LOVE: Not having to go to the gas station. The nearest gas station to my house is about 7 miles away. I used to have to fill up every 4-5 days. Now, we just drive home and plug in. It's great.

Final thoughts:

• The Bolt EUV is GREAT for us. It's a perfect commuter that has saved us a TON of money. Before, I was spending ~$625 per month in gas. Our electric bill has increased by about $120 a month with the Bolt charging each night. For us, that's a net savings of about $500 a month. So it didn't take us very long to start seeing real savings each month, even when you factor in the $1,700 we spent on charging infrastructure for our house. YMMV though. We live in a state where electricity is cheap, but gas is expensive so that definitely helps skew the curve into the EV's favor.
• The Bolt is a great commuter vehicle, but I would NOT recommend it as a road trip vehicle. The slow speed of the "fast charging" makes a road trip with this vehicle a PITA, in my opinion. We've driven this vehicle into California and that trip required 1 charging stop each way. It wasn't too bad, since we wanted a break anyways and used the time to get something to eat. However, having to stop every 200 miles for 45 minutes each time would wear on me very quickly if it was a long trip. Hence, I wouldn't buy this car if it was going to be my only car for road trips.
• Would I buy this car again? Absolutely. Would I recommend it to others: Again, absolutely...with the caveats above.

I know this was a wall of text. Sorry about that but I wanted to be comprehensive with my answer. I'm happy to answer another other questions you might have. Feel free to DM me, if you'd like.