Bolt EV gripes

[new2evs]

And remember that's US only - in Canada we get fast charging as standard equipment on both models.

(now the real question is why did Chevy make this a Canada-only thing? Maybe because they tried to give more value since the price is high here because of poor exchange rate?)

Seriously?! That's great cause we are usually on the short end of added service compared to the US lol

 

[Aidan]

I think we are forgetting that some people use very little technology in their day to day lives- many seniors want to make the change to an EV and the tech has to stay simple in many cases. For example my parents don't even have cell phones but they do recognize the worth of an EV

 

[ssspinball]

That said, it's really just an occasional minor inconvenience. It means I have to take the CD home and transfer it to a USB stick. Of course, I cannot use my new MacBook Pro without an external CD drive, as that doesn't come with one anymore either.

Even that case is changing to flash drives because small capacity drives in bulk are dirt cheap now and fewer and fewer people have access to a CD player each year.

Check out how they sell pirated music on the streets these days: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[oilerlord]

And remember that's US only - in Canada we get fast charging as standard equipment on both models.

There are only a few DCFC charging stations in Canada, and none on the prairies. Weird how GM would make this a standard feature in Canada but I suppose they don't care much because they probably won't sell more than 100 Bolts per year north of the border.

When I was shopping Spark EV's, I originally considered the DCFC option as a must have but now that I have an EV without it, and really, no public DCFC within 900 miles, it would have been a waste of money, and not a big deal affecting resale value.

 

[jdunmyer]

FWIW: I've driven a Leaf for nearly 3 years now, and have only charged away from home a very few times. There are no DCFC stations anywhere nearby anyway. A few more L2 stations might be nice, but for my use, even those are pretty superfluous. It'll be even more so when I get into a Bolt.

 

[Zoomit]

FWIW: I've driven a Leaf for nearly 3 years now, and have only charged away from home a very few times. There are no DCFC stations anywhere nearby anyway. A few more L2 stations might be nice, but for my use, even those are pretty superfluous. It'll be even more so when I get into a Bolt.

Agreed. I'm in a similar situation. The irony is that as battery capacity and range increases, the need for frequent and fast charging DECREASES, as long as the trip is not cross-country travel. My family, with active teens, only drives over 250 miles in one day about 2-3 times a month. Those are the ONLY trips where any charging capability away from our house would matter with the Bolt EV. For the 150 other drives we make a month, a 200-mi BEV would be more than adequate. In fact for about 140 of those trips, our 80-mi Spark EV is adequate.

For those that can't charge at home, it's a completely different story.

 

[DucRider]

FWIW: I've driven a Leaf for nearly 3 years now, and have only charged away from home a very few times. There are no DCFC stations anywhere nearby anyway. A few more L2 stations might be nice, but for my use, even those are pretty superfluous. It'll be even more so when I get into a Bolt.

Agreed. I'm in a similar situation. The irony is that as battery capacity and range increases, the need for frequent and fast charging DECREASES, as long as the trip is not cross-country travel. My family, with active teens, only drives over 250 miles in one day about 2-3 times a month. Those are the ONLY trips where any charging capability away from our house would matter with the Bolt EV. For the 150 other drives we make a month, a 200-mi BEV would be more than adequate. In fact for about 140 of those trips, our 80-mi Spark EV is adequate.

For those that can't charge at home, it's a completely different story.

I actually think the opposite.
With over 200 miles of range, using public L2 for a half hour to gain 10 miles seems like an "almost never" event. If you are on the road and need a charge, most won't have the time to mess around with L2. Even more so if all they can find are 3.3 kW Blink stations. Gaining any range then becomes painfully slow.
If you don't live where there are any DCFC stations, it's obviously a different story. But 5 years ago it was harder to find an L2 than it is to find a CCS DCFC today. 3 years from now I fully expect to see a fairly robust DCFC infrastructure in places where EV's sell in any number. Given the head start on acceptance, those are most like to be ZEV states - and those with additional EV incentives. Georgia was a hotbed for EV's when they had the $5K state incentive, and Colorado is becoming a hotter market as well.
I don't think it's a coincidence that if you look at the plugshare CCS map and the Tesla service center map, they cover about the same area.

 

[Zoomit]

I actually think the opposite.

I think we're all saying the same thing? Unless I'm misinterpreting your comment. DCFC stations will be very useful, but only for a very minor portion of trips.

 

[JeffN]

There are only a few DCFC charging stations in Canada, and none on the prairies. Weird how GM would make this a standard feature in Canada but I suppose they don't care much because they probably won't sell more than 100 Bolts per year north of the border.

There are over 90 CCS stations in Canada, according to PlugShare but they essentially are all located in BC and the eastern provinces. At the moment.

 

[oilerlord]

FWIW: I've driven a Leaf for nearly 3 years now, and have only charged away from home a very few times. There are no DCFC stations anywhere nearby anyway. A few more L2 stations might be nice, but for my use, even those are pretty superfluous. It'll be even more so when I get into a Bolt.

Agreed. I'm in a similar situation. The irony is that as battery capacity and range increases, the need for frequent and fast charging DECREASES, as long as the trip is not cross-country travel. My family, with active teens, only drives over 250 miles in one day about 2-3 times a month. Those are the ONLY trips where any charging capability away from our house would matter with the Bolt EV. For the 150 other drives we make a month, a 200-mi BEV would be more than adequate. In fact for about 140 of those trips, our 80-mi Spark EV is adequate.

For those that can't charge at home, it's a completely different story.

I actually think the opposite.

I'd agree with DucRider on that. I'd assume that most everyone citing their own charging experience is driving short range EV's. For that reason, it's too much hassle (or risk) to plan a long-ish road trip. For that reason, we merely use an ICE car for those 200+ mile trips.

A longer range 200-250+ mile EV now brings more cities closer together, with the return trip only a 30 minute (or so) charge on DCFC. I think of situations where I'd be able to visit friends in Calgary (about 190 miles away), and with DCFC available, no big deal for the return. While having quick charging on my B250e makes little sense, I'd absolutely want it on a Bolt.

 

[Tessy]

They did leave a lot of old school tech out of the Bolt which is a shame - some of us still us the CD player - :lol:

I haven't used a CD in a really long time but my husband still uses them

 

[user 124]

I think that leaving out a DCFC port as standard equipment is a big risk for Chevy. The car may be portrayed in the media as not suitable for any sort of intercity travel because it doesn't come with DCFC. California is the biggest EV market and DCFCs are finally being deployed along highways ($23M awarded by the CEC this year plus existing NRG). Newbie EV drivers could screw up royally by not insisting on the CCS port, and many dealers will likely be clueless or ineffective in explaining its worth. That will lead to some very steamed customers too.

 

[pawl]

Okay, my gripe has nothing to do with the Bolt itself, but with the way the federal tax credit of $7500 is only realized by those who earn sufficient income to realize it. I purchased a Spark EV and received $4,500 in tax credit. I know, I'm "looking a gift horse in the mouth" here, but it seems a fairer way to award such a tax incentive would be to allow such a credit to be spread over a couple of years. In other words, don't penalize those who earn less than $65,000 (my rough estimate of annual income required to pay $7,500 in income tax).

There...gripe aired, feel better...now back to on topic posts.

 

[oilerlord]

Pawl,

I live in a province without EV or home solar rebates or subsidies of any kind. Our Alberta government's "action plan" on climate change essentially depends on a carbon tax. A tax that I have to pay just like everyone else, despite all of the CO2 we offset with 9.2kW of solar on my roof, driving an EV, planting ~200 trees and shrubs on our yard, growing some of our own food, using rain barrels, and changing all of our lights to LED.

In comparison, people with lower incomes receive a carbon tax rebate - basically a pass to pollute all they want. Not sure how that can be considered "fair" either.

Not exactly a "Bolt EV gripe", but a gripe nonetheless.

 

[Michael1]

Pawl,

I live in a province without EV or home solar rebates or subsidies of any kind. Our Alberta government's "action plan" on climate change essentially depends on a carbon tax. A tax that I have to pay just like everyone else, despite all of the CO2 we offset with 9.2kW of solar on my roof, driving an EV, planting ~200 trees and shrubs on our yard, growing some of our own food, using rain barrels, and changing all of our lights to LED.

In comparison, people with lower incomes receive a carbon tax rebate - basically a pass to pollute all they want. Not sure how that can be considered "fair" either.

Not exactly a "Bolt EV gripe", but a gripe nonetheless.

Welcome to government greed! :x

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Okay, my gripe has nothing to do with the Bolt itself, but with the way the federal tax credit of $7500 is only realized by those who earn sufficient income to realize it. I purchased a Spark EV and received $4,500 in tax credit. I know, I'm "looking a gift horse in the mouth" here, but it seems a fairer way to award such a tax incentive would be to allow such a credit to be spread over a couple of years. In other words, don't penalize those who earn less than $65,000 (my rough estimate of annual income required to pay $7,500 in income tax).

There...gripe aired, feel better...now back to on topic posts.

Will they be taking the $7500 off up front on leases? You could then buy out the lease and realize the full credit.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Okay, my gripe has nothing to do with the Bolt itself, but with the way the federal tax credit of $7500 is only realized by those who earn sufficient income to realize it. I purchased a Spark EV and received $4,500 in tax credit. I know, I'm "looking a gift horse in the mouth" here, but it seems a fairer way to award such a tax incentive would be to allow such a credit to be spread over a couple of years. In other words, don't penalize those who earn less than $65,000 (my rough estimate of annual income required to pay $7,500 in income tax).

There...gripe aired, feel better...now back to on topic posts.

Will they be taking the $7500 off up front on leases? You could then buy out the lease and realize the full credit.

AFAIK, that is yet unknown. When I got a quote for leasing a Foot, hey did NOT do that, but tacked it on to the residual. The resulting lease cost the same but they buyout was $7500 higher than it should have been. Anyone hoping to lease and buyout an EV should take a good look at the numbers and make sure they are getting the tax credit.

 

[gillesfecteau]

I fully agree that fast charge should be standard. It's interesting that it is standard on the Canadian version of the Bolt at both trim level. On top of that, after currency conversion, the Canadian version cost less ($42,795 Canadian = $31,668 US).

 

[gillesfecteau]

I think that leaving out a DCFC port as standard equipment is a big risk for Chevy. The car may be portrayed in the media as not suitable for any sort of intercity travel because it doesn't come with DCFC. California is the biggest EV market and DCFCs are finally being deployed along highways ($23M awarded by the CEC this year plus existing NRG). Newbie EV drivers could screw up royally by not insisting on the CCS port, and many dealers will likely be clueless or ineffective in explaining its worth. That will lead to some very steamed customers too.

I fully agree that fast charge should be standard. It's interesting that it is standard on the Canadian version of the Bolt at both trim level. On top of that, after currency conversion, the Canadian version cost less ($42,795 Canadian = $31,668 US).

 

[gillesfecteau]

What would be the MOST useful would be a feature to allow a smart phone to control (?a portion of?) the car's display. The driver then uses the phone's voice-activated features (or touch-screen on the car's display), and the phone can tell and/or show the driver what s/he needs to know. THAT would be the feature *I* would want. I would get ALL of the features of the phone, and when I upgraded my phone, then I'd also upgrade my feature set for the car.

I think you just described Android Auto/Apple Car Play and how it will function on the Bolt.

Then I certainly don't need GPS functionality integrated into the vehicle.

I use android auto on my Volt. It will probably be the same on the Volt. Since you plug your phone in the USB adapter, You don't have to worry about having it charged. Google map is so far superior to anything else I have use. From home, you can look for an address on your PC. When you get into the car, you just tap on recent search, and it shows the addresses you were looking at on your PC. It then gives you direction that include to the minute traffic information. If a traffic jam develops on your route while you are driving, it flashes that a faster alternative is available. Your can display route options. You don't have to use the fastest from Google.