Until fast charging is the norm, most electric-vehicle owners will have some time to kill waiting for their cars to juice up. For one Chevy Bolt Forum user, he shot the breeze with Mike Lelli, lead engineer for the Bolt EV and Volt plug-in hybrid.
In his discussion, Lelli told the forum user that the 2019 Bolt EV will boast two improvements: better-padded seats and a reworked suspension. Bolt EV owners, and perhaps those who’ve slid behind the wheel, may recall the electric car’s seats aren’t the cushiest in town. Chevy will reportedly address this with the new model year.
As for the suspension, Lelli told the poster that different springs and shocks will be used to improve the suspension and reduce uneasiness over road imperfections while driving.
Aside from the two changes, Lelli spent the rest of the time asking the poster about what else the Bolt EV could use to be a better electric car, and he focused on a larger battery versus faster charging times. A larger battery will keep owners from charging more often but adds weight. Fast charging means a shorter range, but less time spent waiting for a full charge.
Oh, and we learned the engineering team calls the Bolt EV “Victor Volt” to clear up any “Bolt” and “Volt” confusion when speaking. Lelli reportedly had no comment when asked what the marketing department was thinking when choosing the “Bolt EV” name.
Update: GM Authority has spoken with Chevrolet and the brand clarified improvements between 2018 and 2019 Bolt EV models. Updated seats were introduced for the 2018 model year and carry over to the 2019 model. No additional changes are present for the 2019 MY, and Chevrolet clarified continuous improvements may mean an updated suspension in the future, but no such upgrades were made to the Bolt EV for 2019.
Comments
How about a sunroof option?
Better interior materials?
Neither would really help sales…AWD, maybe…The bottom line is its tiny and looks like a minivan…
Chevrolet needs to offer Adaptive Cruise Control and high speed AEB.
Am I the only one that hates adaptive cruise control? I’ve tried it on a couple of cars, and I do not like it. I do like the idea of automatic, emergency breaking, but that’s as far as I need to go. 🙂
Please add SUPER CRUISE option.
Please add ALL SPEED automatic braking which should include pedestrian auto braking at all speeds as well.
Just went yesterday 5-27-19 to buy a 2019 Bolt, seats are still bad, especially if you are a bigger person. Seat and back should be flat , I own a 2015 Spark and the seats are as big as the Bolt and much more comfortable. Only reason I did not buy a Bolt.
Seat are horrible. after 30 minutes of driving, my low back and but cheek starts to hurt. Sometime I have pain fro 10 minutes after getting out of the car.
I’m 5’9″ at 195.
I had the LED Charger port light installed. Wile they did the work, I was given a Chevy Cruze to drive. Those seat, in a 19k car, were far superior.
I went from A corolla(17k 5 years ago) to the Chevy Bolt, and I really miss my seats.
On top of that, the infotainment system is still a mess.