This week (actually, tomorrow, January 25th), we descend upon Palo Alto, California to get behind the wheel of the all-new 2017 Chevrolet Bol EV — the 2017 North American Car of the Year. So, as we typically do prior to driving a new model, we invite you to use the comments section below for any questions or comments that you have about Chevy’s new EV.
We’ll spend the day with several 2017 Bolt EV engineers as well as Bolt EV marketing gurus to answer questions, and we’ll check back periodically over the next few days and do our best to answer each of your questions.
So, without further ado, fire away.
PS: those interested in Bolt EV news can follow our coverage at this link: Chevy Bolt news.
[nggallery id=797]Generally following the market trend.
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Two questions: how do the front seats feel ? Is there a difference in the seat between the LT and the premier?
Headroom in the back seat?
I'm going to answer the part about the front seats between the LT and Premier: they are the same chairs. The only difference is that the seats in the LT are wrapped in "deluxe cloth" and the ones in the Premier are appointed in perforated leather.
A Bolt question: Is it possible to make the rearview mirror image appear on the touchscreen? As an old fart wearing tri-focals, I can only see a display through the bottoms of my lenses. Of course, that's not a problem with a regular mirror. Being able to send that image to the lower display would save tipping my head way back every time I wanted to look to the rear.
Alan -- the Rear Camera Mirror runs on a different CAN/BUS from the touchscreen and has completely different display specs, so it's not possible to get that image to the center stack without some major hacking... and even then, it will be very difficult.
Now, I think that it's worth mentioning that the Rear Camera Mirror is "flippable" -- meaning that if you don't want to use the camera portion of it, then you can simply "flip" it using the knob on the bottom of the mirror, and it becomes a good ol' mirror.
Are you planning to write a review that ignores the fact that this is FWD? What about throttle response? Lag in the transmission? Most car reviews gloss over how the car actually is to drive, and that makes them garbage. If you think I would consider paying more than $25k for FWD car, you had better make a good case for it.
Dave -- I sense an air of negativity in your comment that I don't think is appropriate in this context.
The fact that the Bolt EV is FWD is undeniable. So what? Does it matter?
I would encourage you to think of it this way: the Bolt EV is a mainstream, entry-level electric car. It's the equivalent of a Spark or Sonic. For these vehicles and market segment, "wheel drive" -- whether front, rear, left, right, or all, is mostly irrelevant. Neither are other finesse and refinement elements that need to be present on more upscale vehicles such as Cadillacs or Buicks.
The reality is that most people buy a Spark or Sonic (or the Bolt EV) do not do so because they are awesome to drive or have impeccable throttle response or zero transmission lag, but rather because they are practical transportation appliances that happen to be affordable, safe, fuel efficient, and loaded with modern technology. That's literally the progression of considerations, from most to least important. In the case of the Sonic and Spark (and the Bolt EV), they are also capable handlers that have an element of driving personality to them, which is not something present on their lame-handling competitors from Japan or Korea.
So, if we were talking about a Cadillac or Buick electric car priced at $50,000, you should indeed expect impeccable ride, handling, and noise characteristics. But when we're talking about the most affordable EV in a mainstream brand such as Chevrolet, the vehicle program takes on different priorities that I outlined above.
Furthermore, as andrew already noted in his reply, $25k for an EV (or any car, for that matter) is actually not at all expensive. Heck, the most popular car in the world (the VW Golf-Jetta family) is FWD and has an ASP (average selling price) of $27,000. And the Golf/Jetta are not even electric, while the Bolt EV is.
And finally: since the Bolt EV is a pure electric car, throttle response is superb and transmission lag is not even in the vernacular... the car has instant torque and only one forward gear.
As for how the car is to actually drive, I'll let GM Authority's Manoli Katakis fill you in on that after he's finished with the drive.
North of $25k for FWD requires justification for any car. The whole "it doesn't matter because electric" is not really going to cut it. The fact is there's more electrics out there to compare, and range is not the only spec. There's a serious torque and response time advantage to be discussed that most reviewers simply gloss over in haste to get to the infotainment.
You guys asked, this is my answer. I care more about driving characteristics than the radio.
How is the road noise?
Fit an finish ?
How is the sound system?
Ride quality?
Also ask GM why a sunroof isn't offered because honestly that's a deal break for me. My 12 Prius c has it. Idc about the weight it adds I like them.
Can it be unplugged and still precondition the cabin?
Where I work, it would not be plugged in, and it will sit in a parking loy for 8 hours unplugged.
How does the key fob work?
Does it allow you to keep the fob in your pocket and never need to pull it out for unlocking the doors, starting it.
How does Key Pass work?
Will it allow the car to sense me approaching the car, and unlock the doors, set radio and hvac settings, etc automatically?
Weird question-
Can you look under the car, to see the battery and how "critter proof" the battery area is?
I will have the Bolt in a detached garage, and I know mice live in there. I am concerned about the battery being an inviting place for critters, with the preconditioning of the battery / cabin creating heat mainly in the winter...
How much will it affect range if I run the AC on max at all times?
How big is the fuel tank and can you do burnouts? Just kidding ;)
I would actually like to know how roomy is it? Can it serve for a family of 5?
is easy to put bike inside ( assuming disconnecting the front wheel )?
Can you ask about cooled front seats, rear a/c vents and a moonroof?
How is road noise on coarse-textured road surfaces?