1000 mile owner mini-review

[oilerlord]

You don't speak for the Forum

You're right. I don't. I just have no problem calling out BS when I see it.

Of the 30 or so cars I've owned in my life...

Only 30? Sounds a little light. Don't real car guys own 50 or more cars in their life?

The rest of you may be hanging on every word of his chest-pumping BS, but I'm done.

 

[Fargoneandout]

I like to think that the greatest way to speak is to take careful note of what is opinion and what is fact. I drive ALL my cars from time to time at or over one or more of their engineered limits on public streets. My user ID on Bimmerfest is 'gonofuther' so for those calling 'BS' please feel free to cross check anything I have said here as fact there, as there is a decent record.

My opinion stands as offered. I have driven my Bolt near its engineered limits including wide open throttle (that's what it is for from time to time), hard cornering, and enthusiastic handling. It offers many elements I prize as a driver's car. I have a lovely commute near the Pacific Ocean, with hills, curves, straights, and canyons. The Bolt EV is surprisingly agile and would be a terrific driver's car even if it wasn't an EV. Its available torque from any speed under, say, 50 mph is terrific and rivals my turbo-lagged BMW which takes a minute to spin up and then lurches beyond. Is my BMW a better enthusiast car? Yup and I have stated so here. But the Bolt is surprisingly close and offers a more composed ride.

I prefer the Bolt EV to driving my BMW. I prefer it to the i3 REX, which I have driven, but cannot offer an opinion on its relationship to the 911 in any of its various incarnations because I have not driven one of those.

Please be careful and kind to others when they offer their views. Ad hominem attacks on the opinions of others are nearly always unjust but are always unseemly.

 

[jhm614]

I like to think that the greatest way to speak is to take careful note of what is opinion and what is fact. I drive ALL my cars from time to time at or over one or more of their engineered limits on public streets. My user ID on Bimmerfest is 'gonofuther' so for those calling 'BS' please feel free to cross check anything I have said here as fact there, as there is a decent record.

Please be careful and kind to others when they offer their views. Ad hominem attacks on the opinions of others are nearly always unjust but are always unseemly.

Thanks for the time and effort you put into your posts, comparisons, and reviews. I enjoy reading them! Also, mega-kudos on taking the high road here!

 

[Fargoneandout]

Thanks! I try to be as rational and even-handed as possible and the high road is indeed the right road to take.

 

[Wookie]

{{ ... DELETED ... }}

Mod : This is the first 'politeness warning'. Let's try and keep the tone on this forum civil.

 

[Fargoneandout]

It is true - I do like to drive my cars hard. However as stated here and elsewhere, I have exactly one ticket in my entire life and have never caused or been at fault in an accident, although I did get t-boned once by a guy running a light. What I am is a guy who likes to drive quickly and chuck his cars about.

So let's dial it down here a bit and just ask ourselves a question that has nothing whatsoever to do with my presumptive or erstwhile "lunacy" which apparently somehow renders my views wholly irrelevant, which would be a conversation all its own. Over the continuum of all opinions, either owners/drivers, professionals, or both, where does opinion on average hold the Bolt EV to be in terms of available power, ride, and handling? Are my views so clearly outside of that mean as to represent a fringe? Hardly. On average, comments and reviews on power, ride, and handling have ranged from 'neat' and 'unexpected' to 'wow' and 'amazing'. Many of those holding these views are people who, like me, have considerable lifetime experience with performance cars broadly defined by above-average power, ride, and handling and therefore hold cars to a certain standard.

Now of course the Bolt EV is no 911, nor did I ever even remotely compare it to that kind of car. I did say that it gives me enough 'BMW' to be in the conversation, whereas the BMW, which gets 20 - 21 mpg, gives me almost no 'Bolt'. Back before this last BMW I was trying to decide between the Subaru WRX and the Mk7 GTI. The GTI had gotten rave reviews from the press and I was excited to test it out. I test drove various incarnations six times and loathed it. Sloppy steering with a big dead spot on center, more body roll that expected, and a seriously flawed suspension setup that had me feeling every jiggle in the road and hit me twice in the rear end for every bump. I went with the WRX, which was fun, and trashed the GTI on VWVortex and the Subaru forums. My point? I draw my own conclusions, rather than repeating received wisdom.

Bottom line? I'm no crackpot but a guy who likes the visceral feeling of driving, a sensation made the sweeter by the fact that my ride can make that happen using electrons off my roof.

 

[EldRick]

For those who choose to do so, one can block posts from annoying members.

To do so, first, click on your signin ID at top right. Choose User Control Panel, then select the Friends & Foes tab, and click Manage Foes on the left. Enter the ID of the person you wish to suppress as a Foe, and you won't have to read their posts in the future unless you wish to.

I chose my first Foe from this thread...

 

[SeanNelson]

From what I read, I see a picture of an old-fart, wannabe street racer loose on our streets who lifts of some of the performance terms straight out of a R&T magazine in the attempt to convince everyone he knows what he's talking about.

I think you're rushing to judgement, which IMHO is not an admirable trait.

As for me, I'd far rather share the road with someone who's driving hard but paying attention than a slowpoke who's engrossed in his phone.

 

[oilerlord]

From what I read, I see a picture of an old-fart, wannabe street racer loose on our streets who lifts of some of the performance terms straight out of a R&T magazine in the attempt to convince everyone he knows what he's talking about.

I think you're rushing to judgement, which IMHO is not an admirable trait.

As for me, I'd far rather share the road with someone who's driving hard but paying attention than a slowpoke who's engrossed in his phone.

Fair enough, Sean though if you read the what I wrote more closely - I said I "see a picture of..."

You and I disagree on some things, and have debated (sometimes a little too far) but I still respect your point of view because what you write isn't comprised of long-winded, chest-pumping BS. I've been reading it from this guy for some time, and it's that combination of pompous & BS that really does rub me the wrong way.

To that point, it's the first time I've ever been called pompous. I'll accept being called negative, self-righteous, and even an ass-wipe - because honestly, I've been called far worse. I'd also understand being called a stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder from a wookie or a princess, but "pompous", sorry, that doesn't fit. Happy to give a fuzzball a pass because they are known more for their physical strength than their intellectual prowess.

 

[Wookie]

Thanks for the 'pass'. :roll:

 

[sgt1372]

Of the 30 or so cars I've owned in my life...

Only 30? Sounds a little light. Don't real car guys own 50 or more cars in their life?

I stopped counting how many cars I've owned/leased at 50. LOL!!! :lol:

I'm a little late to this "debate" but I Just bought the 5th car that I currently own/lease this past Friday -- a 2012 Mercedes ML350 4Matic to replace the FJ Cruiser that I traded in for my Bolt.

Each car that I own/lease can do something different. I drive each of them w/in their limitations but, like Fargoneandout, I am a car "enthusiast" and will occasionally drive each of them a little harder just to see what they can do.

This includes the Bolt but, like the ML350 and F250, it doesn't really like to be pushed.

So, apart from accelerating onto the freeway or doing some high speed passes, I drive the Bolt pretty much the way it was intended -- nice and easy -- especially given the way the Bolt sucks energy when driving it at speed which discourages such use.

 

[Nagorak]

Thanks for the 'pass'. :roll:

I have to admit I did find the reference humorous. I could be wrong, but I think it was meant mostly in jest.

 

[ScooterCT]

I'll join in and make the most outlandish car experience claim ever. My most fun car (and I've owned 3 Miatas and a 93 Mazda Rx7-R1 "near supercar") was a homely Renault Le Car. I was 20, in college, and that under powered, unsafe, fabric sun roof, cheap hunk of junk gave me more pleasure than any car before or since. You had to move the wobbly gearshift three miles just to go from first to second gears. You had to have a really long on ramp to have any hope of merging on an interstate. And I once patched the cheap muffler with a soup can. If you ever got hit, you would look like a flattened tin can. But it remains my favorite car ever.

So I'm cool when somebody says they love their Bolt and find it sporty, and even that they love it more than their Bimmers. Especially since I've always thought Bimmers are the equivalent of rolling vanity mirrors - you know, where you can look at yourself and ask who's the most beautiful in the kingdom.

It's all in the eye of the beholder. And how you define sporty (lap time producing or smile producing).

 

[SparkE]

I'll join in and make the most outlandish car experience claim ever. My most fun car (and I've owned 3 Miatas and a 93 Mazda Rx7-R1 "near supercar") was a homely Renault Le Car.

Only the piece-o-**** models were sold in the Americas, AFAIK. If you ever get a chance (prob only in Europe), drive the Turbo version - the Renault 5 Turbo. It's a mid-engine vehicle, turbocharged, rear wheel drive (the standard R5 is front wheel drive!), and a complete f'cking blast to drive.

 

[EldRick]

Renault has never made anything but POS models. Their cars are widely mocked in the rest of Europe, as being one or two steps above Yugos.

 

[SparkE]

Renault has never made anything but POS models. Their cars are widely mocked in the rest of Europe, as being one or two steps above Yugos.

Yeah, that's why they are the third largest European car maker - the cars are **** and nobody buys them :roll: .

 

[cab]

My "car guy evolution" has been an interesting one over the years and it probably parallels a lot of other "car guys" out there. Most of us never make it to a "track" or do so once in a very great while and we come nowhere near close to pushing the limits of our cars on the street. Indeed, a professional driver on a track would likely beat most of us in a cheap rental while we were in a Ferrari!

As for me, I've owned some American muscle, done a decent bit of wrenching (more than I wish), and headed down the BMW path with a couple of M cars, etc. My evolution ended up making me appreciate "sports sedans" as cars that gave me decent driving feel, handling and power, but didn't beat me up and were practical so I could stop saying "No, let's take your car, its more comfortable/practical" to my wife all the time. Indeed, there is a reason you see tons of low mileage 2 seat sports cars out there...they spend their lives being passed over for more practical rides day in and day out.

Anyway, I've found that driving enjoyment has a lot to do with how much you enjoy driving your car at the limits you are comfortable with and on the drives you make every day. If your daily drive consists of roads in a crappy condition, you will likely hate a very stiff riding but "awesome handling" car. Indeed, I think BMW has gotten the suspension tuning wrong on a LOT of cars over the last decade or so. The early run flat tire cars were bemoaned by most owners (there is still no love affair with them). The current BMW i3 is another example. That car is very fun to drive and super tossable...however, at low speeds the ride is way to choppy on that short wheelbase and the freeway handling is darty (whereas most BMWs are rock solid on the freeway).

Is the Bolt (which I have yet to test drive - sorry, I'm in Texas...we have to wait) an M3 fighter? Hardly, but the average M3 spends its life relegated to commuting (I know my M5 did) and gets to have fun on that "one leg" of the commute every day. It is entirely conceivable that a "lesser" car could simply be more fun for an enthusiast on more stretches of roads he/she drives every day and, as an enthusiast, that's really what it is all about...right?

I just remembered how there was a guy on the Chevy Volt forum a few years back who had Ferraris, Lambos and the Volt. It was interesting to hear him bemoan life with a Lambo or Ferrari relative to his Volt. Basically, the former were tools for a very specific job and 99% of driving wasn't it...a stat reversed for his Volt.

Or...I could just be old.

 

[EldRick]

The old maxim: "It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slowly."
I agree with you. I sold my BMW 1M last summer and now enjoy my Spark EV and my (Thursday) Bolt just as much, and with less concern about someone keying it or stealing it.