Out with the blue, in with the new (Bolt that is)

[ChrisV]

Hi, long time since I've been here...

My 2020 Bolt was under the battery recall and there was no way of knowing when they would get around to it. Was dealing with the Bolt Concierge on that for months, and finally got offered an MSRP swap (aka "Substitution of Collateral") for my lease. Loved the car and had been having no issues with it, taking it on multiple 700-900 mile road trips. But the offer was a new Bolt for the old one, the terms of the lease stayed thee same, as did the payoff amount, and there would be cash for the difference in MSRPs. Even though I PAID only $25k for my 2020, the MSRP was $39k at the time. So I ordered a new Bolt EUV Premier Redline with the Sun and Sound package. MSRP was $35k. GM then paid me $4000 for the difference in MSRPs. Since the lease was coming to a close, I bought out the lease. Payoff was $21k, and I put that $4k down leaving me with a balance of $17k to finance. Effectively making the '23 EUV cost me $17k. I now have a $17k equity in the car.

Love the new EUV. More back seat room, better interior (the Redline package for $495 includes an actual black interior with red stitching instead of the normal grey or Nightshift Blue), heated and ventilated seats (heated rears, too). Wireless CarPlay upgraded Bose (yeah, I know) stereo, and the pano sunroof. It also has a great birds eye camera system, real buttons and knobs for volume and HVAC, and rised much better than the old Bolt.

Without further ado, the old Bolt, Harry (named after the lightning bolt on Harry Potter's forehead) and the new Bolt EUV, Harry II, Electric Boogaloo:

[ChrisV]

more pics, and the winter range (we've only had it in the winter):

[SJ_GTI]

Looks good. I think if I was buying a new car this year the Bolt or Bolt EUV would be the most likely choice. Not a fan of FWD but otherwise it seems well suited to what I like in a car.

[MrH]

Hi, long time since I've been here...

My 2020 Bolt was under the battery recall and there was no way of knowing when they would get around to it. Was dealing with the Bolt Concierge on that for months, and finally got offered an MSRP swap (aka "Substitution of Collateral") for my lease. Loved the car and had been having no issues with it, taking it on multiple 700-900 mile road trips. But the offer was a new Bolt for the old one, the terms of the lease stayed thee same, as did the payoff amount, and there would be cash for the difference in MSRPs. Even though I PAID only $25k for my 2020, the MSRP was $39k at the time. So I ordered a new Bolt EUV Premier Redline with the Sun and Sound package. MSRP was $35k. GM then paid me $4000 for the difference in MSRPs. Since the lease was coming to a close, I bought out the lease. Payoff was $21k, and I put that $4k down leaving me with a balance of $17k to finance. Effectively making the $23 EUV cost me $17k. I now have a $17k equity in the car.

Love the new EUV. More back seat room, better interior (the Redline package for $495 includes an actual black interior with red stitching instead of the normal grey or Nightshift Blue), heated and ventilated seats (heated rears, too). Wireless CarPlay upgraded Bose (yeah, I know) stereo, and the pano sunroof. It also has a great birds eye camera system, real buttons and knobs for volume and HVAC, and rised much better than the old Bolt.

Without further ado, the old Bolt, Harry (named after the lightning bolt on Harry Potter's forehead) and the new Bolt EUV, Harry II, Electric Boogaloo:

Woah. Killer deal you got on that buyback.  Congrats on the new car!  I'm trying to snag one myself if I can get a good trade in with my Outback, but inventory is really tough to come by.

I might have a lead on one to look at on Saturday.  Trying to find a Premier with Super Cruise.

[Morris Minor]

Congratulations. You got a great deal! 
(and a Lucid next to it for company)

[FoMoJo]

So is it black or a really dark blue?  Hard to tell.

Great deal.

[ChrisV]

So is it black or a really dark blue?  Hard to tell.

Great deal.

Metallic black. Looks really good in the sun. Have to do a full detail and ceramic coat to it.

[Laconian]

Excellent! The EUV is an amazing car. It provides tremendous value for money, the features are executed perfectly and the packaging is Goldilocks levels of "just right".

How is the DCFC rate with the new batteries versus the old? My brother loves his 2017 Bolt but he complained a lot about the pokey charge rate... I think it was advertised at 55kW max, but he only gets around 30-35.

[ChrisV]

How is the DCFC rate with the new batteries versus the old? My brother loves his 2017 Bolt but he complained a lot about the pokey charge rate... I think it was advertised at 55kW max, but he only gets around 30-35.

The Bolt has used the same 55kW max charge rate for the entire run. it would take a lot of hardware changes to increase that, so they decided that they would just do that on the new Ultium platform, that the $30k Equinox EV is on instead of doing anything to the Bolt. What I've found is that if you are charging on a 50kW station (like the typical ChargePoint unit) you never see more than 35kW. If you use a 150kW station you can see the full 55kw rate until about 50% charge after which, like any EV it starts ramping down, and after 80% it's effectively just a Level 2 charge rate. Which is why on a road trip, after leaving the house at 100%, you tend to want to drive to 10% and charge to 60-65% as it only takes about 20 minutes. Never try to charge to 100% on a road trip unless you absolutely have to to get to the next station or destination as it'll take an our to go from 80-100%. But that holds true for pretty much every EV out there save maybe the Lucid.

[Laconian]

Interesting. I noticed that https://abetterrouteplanner.com/ prefers to add DCFC earlier in the trip instead of later. There is a tension between charging from near-empty (with faster charge rates but more $) vs. charging at partial SOC and getting lower speeds but less DCFC expense and wear.

[Morris Minor]

This husbanding & managing of time & resources is new to us. We're so used to 6 lb 34 kWh gallons of gas. Yes I know not much of it actually goes into actual forward propulsion but still. And we have this tension between efficiency & the weight penalty of crash safety requirements.

[Laconian]

Energy management is second nature to me after spending several months on the boat with shitty AGM lead acids.

I don't think it's a bad thing. Fossil fuels, being so energy dense and ubiquitously available, are easy to abuse. So of course here we are in brodozer +3C hell.

[ChrisV]

Well after driving it a bit more I have to say it's even better than I first felt it to be. It's still a tad slower than the original and not QUITE as crisp handling (due to the softer suspension settings) but still agile and quick enough. But since this one is purchased rather than leased, there may be some suspension and tire upgrades in it's future. But man for daily driving and road trips, it's so much nicer. The seats are better and the ride is both pillowy soft in comparison (and definitely in comparison to the MINI) AND well controlled for cornering (but like the old one, the factory low rolling resistance tires SUCK). I really like driving it. We had thought about the EV6 as well, but the few that are around here all have like $10k markups on them. Yikes!

I was reading your EV6 thread, Laconian, and it strikes me that there are a few people on here that truly don't understand the appeal yet. "Oh I can drive 3 minutes to the gas station fill up and drive home again and it's so convenient!" Well I take 10 seconds to fillup, as I don't HAVE to GO anywhere to fill up, just 5 seconds to plug in when I get home (if Iv'e driven more than 150 miles thqat day) and 5 seconds to unplug in the morning when I go to leave. But the reality is actually that I only plug in about once a week and just drive the rest of the time. 250-300 miles is actually a LONG ways in daily driving. And these aren't boring appliances.

And the regular Bolt is much like a GTI already, while it's easy to make them even better:

[Laconian]

We're just getting used to that lifestyle now. I have zero range anxiety for our 95th percentile trips. Even if you've had a long day of stop and go and the range is down to 125 miles, just plug it in when you get home and all that range just magically returns. I've read a number of places that limiting the depth of discharge makes for a happier battery pack in the long run. The LFP cells in the boat will last twice as long if you recharge them at 40% vs. draining it to 20% (5000 cycles vs. 2500). Granted, that's LFP chemistry which behaves somewhat differently compared to lithium polymer. So I just leave it plugged in during the evening. Twenty seconds of "work" added to the routine.

[Morris Minor]

I think its a fair generalization that EVs are judged not great by non-EV owners on two main (& linked) arguments. IMHO neither is as important in real life use as might have initially been thought:

   
• The lack of ubiquity of reliable & available public charging infrastructure vs gasoline filling stations.
• EVs' lack of range between charges makes them unsuitable for long journeys.

[ChrisV]

I think its a fair generalization that EVs are judged not great by non-EV owners on two main (& linked) arguments. IMHO neither is as important in real life use as might have initially been thought:

   
• The lack of ubiquity of reliable & available public charging infrastructure vs gasoline filling stations.
• EVs' lack of range between charges makes them unsuitable for long journeys.

Yeah, as to the first item, we need a LOT of gas stations out there and close to where people live, as you HAVE to go somewhere to get fuel, since you can't make it at home (unless you're one of those waste veggie oil diesel nerd...). And as to the second item, most people heavily overestimate how far things are in normal driving and how many road trips they actually take. 250 miles, at an average speed of 50 mph (which includes surface streets getting too and away from the highway... look at your car's trip computer sometime for what you r actual average speed is, and it's not the 75-80 mph you go down the interstate at) is about 5 hours of driving. It's good to take a break for peeing and eating every 4 or so hours anyhow. So making that be a 30 minute stop to recharge isn't a bad idea. I know I'm no longer doing a Cannonball Run every time I get behind the wheel, so it works out perfectly on longer road trips. and 2509 miles covers a LOT of normal daily use commuting and errand running.

[Morris Minor]

I would guess the placement of public charging stations will end up being very different from that of gas stations. Not so many near residential areas & heavily weighted to highways & main roads between cities. And they'll be banking on 30-min linger times: serving food, selling groceries etc.

[FoMoJo]

I would guess the placement of public charging stations will end up being very different from that of gas stations. Not so many near residential areas & heavily weighted to highways & main roads between cities. And they'll be banking on 30-min linger times: serving food, selling groceries etc.

The town where we now live, they've installed charging stations at the library and in a few of the shopping centres where people normally spend a bit of time. 

[CaminoRacer]

I would guess the placement of public charging stations will end up being very different from that of gas stations. Not so many near residential areas & heavily weighted to highways & main roads between cities. And they'll be banking on 30-min linger times: serving food, selling groceries etc.

Subway plans electric car charging "oasis"
https://www.axios.com/2023/02/22/subway-electric-car-charging-oasis

[giant_mtb]

Suddenly, people are amazed by the concept of a "truck stop."

[AutobahnSHO]

The town where we now live, they've installed charging stations at the library and in a few of the shopping centres where people normally spend a bit of time. 

This is the way. Apartment complexes should be building pay stations too, with cameras to catch any shenanigans.

Because the EV wave will be easy for those with garages or their own driveway, trickier for others.
(I've been seriously tempted regarding the offer for a 'Spinner's Bolt but supposedly we'll get Maverick in a couple months...)

[Laconian]

Why aren't dying shopping malls using their parking lots for charging? Seems like a massive wasted opportunity. They could monetize the parking lot AND maybe get some foot business again.