Bolt Review after 2 weeks - Purch 12/31/16

[SoCalif]

Received my Bolt on 12/31/16 which I would bet would make me one of the first few owners in CA, and so far the Bolt is a pretty good vehicle.

Although, I would NOT recommend buying the standard version. Just upgrade to the Premier.

The standard version is quite standard, and if you are used to any luxuries, this IS NOT anything more than basic.

Before purchasing the car, we asked if it had NAV, he looked at the screen being large and said both versions include NAV. He also said both versions come with a top of the line stereo system. He said the ONLY differences between the standard and Premier is that the Premier has leather and a lot more safety features. (I know it should be the buyer's due diligence to check these things before leaving, but......a 10" screen with no Nav? Really?)

Since the vehicle just came in that morning, and was getting cleaned to sell, we just got to sit in it and drive it in the parking lot. (no Nav needed, and just the radio on basically)

Now that we have the car, tried to find Nav, and now they state that they never said that, and that the only Nav is Apple Play, which is a Far Cry from Nav with Traffic, which we have on all other vehicles. And the stereo really is pretty basic. Speakers are basic, and the sound is basic. As compared to my 2013 Cmax which came stock with a Sub, Nav, traffic, etc. The Bolt doesnt even come with rain sensing wipers! I put on 58,000 miles in 3 years on my Cmax Energi, so comparing is easy.

So far, the mileage estimates seem quite close. Really good in city, and looks like getting about 190/200 at more than 50% use of the freeway. The sport mode is quite spry, which makes this vehicle actually a little fun to drive.

Comfort and roominess seems better than the Cmax, and the trunk is spacious compared to the Cmax, only smaller rear passenger area, but vehicle leaves a lot more room in the garage, which makes it easier to move around.

There does seem to be an issue when going from forward/reverse, to park, if the car isnt totally stopped for over a second, if you press Park, then let off on the brake pedal to quickly, the car jumps and makes a clunk noise, or has a few times for me already.

So buyer beware, and be armed with the knowledge that the Bolt's very high price for the Standard version, comes with very basic features, as compared to many other vehicles.

 

[dan2112]

So did you get the Standard (LT) or the Premier?

I don't have a Bolt yet, but I have a slightly different perspective. I will be coming from a LEAF SL and I can tell you the LEAF does not have rain sensing wipers. My wife's car does and I hate them - they are constantly speeding up slowing down, but not when I need it. Night time sensing is a complete "crapshoot". Perhaps the CMAX implementation of rain sensing wipers is better.

I have the BOSE (Premium Package) on the LEAF and it has a sub-woofer I would call the stereo system pretty crappy. Navigation system on the LEAF is piss poor and requires a XM subscription to get live traffic. Forget voice recognition.

We are in the "between" years for navigation systems. CarPlay is meh from the reviews I have seen, whereas Android Auto gets better reviews for traffic. These will only improve over time, but some people loathe having to pay extra for traffic on a car nav system, when their cell phone has more up to date information in relative real time.

The Bolt doesn't have HomeLink either which I though was weird, but OK - HomeLink wants a premium for licensing for a glorified opener.

I have a Premier on order, and I am hoping for a significant "upgrade" with regard to features. Will it be perfect - probably not. My friend has Fusion electric and he loves it. So maybe Ford is doing something right with their electrics..

Can you give a little more detail on your gear shift issue. I want to try it when I test drive the bolt. Can you give the steps to reproduce it?

Thanks,
Dan

 

[EldRick]

For Homelink, get a $20 Homelink keyfob and stick it somewhere handy in the car with double-faced tape.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018IQ9I2I

The shifter issue may be related to use of the parking brake: are you setting the parking brake before using Park? You should...

 

[SoCalif]

Purchased and received the standard on 12/31/16.

I am basing the need for rain sensing on my other 2 current cars, and my Cmax's wipers, and how well they worked.

The Bolt may have an option of a better stereo, but the standard Bolt's stereo compared to the Cmax, the Cmax is by far better.

Thanks for reminding me of the Homelink, I forgot about that.

We were extremely surprised that this wasnt standard on the Bolt, because every one of my cars during the last 10+ years has always had this as standard, I didnt even think about asking about Homelink, then when I got home, we were pretty shocked that this isnt just a standard feature.

CarPlay running through my iphone simply gives me Apple Maps, pretty basic navigation, and you can zoom in and out in either + or -. Just zoom in/out once. Nowhere as user friendly as the Nav system in my Cmax, BMW or MBZ.

PLUS, it has to be plugged into the USB, you cant use Apple Play by simply connecting via bluetooth.

PLUS you cant use an app installed on your iphone through Apple Play, you can only use designated Apple Play apps. (Extremely Sad).

Seats and the car are comfortable, BUT for the standard version at $36,000+, you can get an extremely well equipped car from almost any other dealership.

We were hoping that tesla 3 would of come sooner, but it didnt, and with the dealership misrepresentations, or not knowing, because the Bolt is so new, we purchased the standard. Wish we didnt rush, the Premier, although with no nav, only Apple Play, would of been a better equipped car. (if you are sure about going EV, with NO gas)

 

[SoCalif]

$20 homelink FOB would really be the same as simply bringing your remotes with you, that is the same as saying bring your boombox if your stereo doesnt sound good. I am referring to simple integrations to the car that are very little cost, that should of been included, but arent.

The shifter issue, I havent used the parking "brake", this happens after pressing the "P" park button on the shifter itself.

For Homelink, get a $20 Homelink keyfob and stick it somewhere handy in the car with double-faced tape.
<span>http://www.<a href="http://www.amazon.com/?tag=myelecarfor-20" class="interlinkr" target="_blank">Amazon</a>.com/gp/product/B018IQ9I2I</span>

The shifter issue may be related to use of the parking brake: are you setting the parking brake before using Park? You should...

 

[morbolt]

We noted on 2nd full day of driving a heating light issue. So the car will go back to the dealer to understand what is going on. Otherwise, it drives nicely but found that android cables for android auto are very fussy (only 1 of 4 was able to display).

 

[dan2112]

Purchased and received the standard on 12/31/16.

CarPlay running through my iphone simply gives me Apple Maps, pretty basic navigation, and you can zoom in and out in either + or -. Just zoom in/out once. Nowhere as user friendly as the Nav system in my Cmax, BMW or MBZ.

PLUS, it has to be plugged into the USB, you cant use Apple Play by simply connecting via bluetooth.

PLUS you cant use an app installed on your iphone through Apple Play, you can only use designated Apple Play apps. (Extremely Sad).

We were hoping that tesla 3 would of come sooner, but it didnt, and with the dealership misrepresentations, or not knowing, because the Bolt is so new, we purchased the standard. Wish we didnt rush, the Premier, although with no nav, only Apple Play, would of been a better equipped car. (if you are sure about going EV, with NO gas)

I understand about CarPlay, but you can't blame apple for this one - You are not allowed to add anything to the CarPlay dash - can you imagine somebody installing Netflix. Safety has to be first priority when it comes apps on the dash. Bluetooth maybe again safety thing making sure the unit is tethered correctly. BMW / MBZ are charging $1500 or more for a NAV system that is obsolete in a two years with new roads. Traffic is a premium feature that is usually paid for that is mostly inaccurate by the time it reaches your car.

The Model 3 with those feature is going to be well north of 50k once you add autopilot and dual motors. I too will probably order a Model 3, but I don't expect to pay anything less than 50k for the car I want.

 

[Schnort]

I understand about CarPlay, but you can't blame apple for this one - You are not allowed to add anything to the CarPlay dash - can you imagine somebody installing Netflix.

I'm sure they're super helpful to the Waze development team to get it supported.

This news disappoints me greatly. Waze works well. Apple Maps sends me to wrong places or makes stupid routing decisions.

 

[dan2112]

I understand about CarPlay, but you can't blame apple for this one - You are not allowed to add anything to the CarPlay dash - can you imagine somebody installing Netflix.

I'm sure they're super helpful to the Waze development team to get it supported.

This news disappoints me greatly. Waze works well. Apple Maps sends me to wrong places or makes stupid routing decisions.

Well there is always a cheap Android Phone with Android Auto - that will get you the google maps for navigation - not sure about Waze

 

[SoCalif]

Waze can be verbally played using alternate means, but it wont display, only AppleMaps displays.

Apple shouldnt allow all apps, I agree, BUT they could allow certain other programs like WAZE since it would just be used just like AppleMaps. So distraction couldnt be the issue, Apple is just being over restrictive and too proprietary.

The BMW/MBZ Nav costs/issue is irrelevant, if ApplePlay would simply allow Waze or other mapping programs to display.

As of now, I would NEVER purchase a car with ApplePlay again, this would be a RED flag under any conditions.

 

[dan2112]

Waze can be verbally played using alternate means, but it wont display, only AppleMaps displays.

Apple shouldnt allow all apps, I agree, BUT they could allow certain other programs like WAZE since it would just be used just like AppleMaps. So distraction couldnt be the issue, Apple is just being over restrictive and too proprietary.

The BMW/MBZ Nav costs/issue is irrelevant, if ApplePlay would simply allow Waze or other mapping programs to display.

As of now, I would NEVER purchase a car with ApplePlay again, this would be a RED flag under any conditions.

Well you can tweet at Woz - see if he can use his influence as a fellow Bolter to get it changed

 

[JeffN]

CarPlay supports non-Apple apps however they must be updated and certified to be CarPlay compliant. This will happen now that more vehicles are supporting CarPlay.

CarPlay requires a USB wire in almost all vehicles today because Bluetooth does not have enough data bandwidth. BMW just very recently was the first car company to announce support for wireless CarPlay. Wireless CarPlay sends the data via WiFi and this requires the infotainment computer running the CarPlay support to have high speed access to WiFi and this is missing in most cars so far. The Bolt EV does support WiFi for software updates and it's 4G OnStar unit can act as a WiFi base station. It isn't clear to me if this hardware is sufficient to allow for GM to rollout a future Bolt EV software update that would support wireless CarPlay.

 

[CGameProgrammer]

I bought my LT three days ago and I agree the speakers are subpar and much worse than my previous car (which had upgraded radio, to be fair) so I plan to research aftermarket speaker and driver upgrades. It'll be pricy but worth it; I care about audio.

But other than that I think the car is fairly well equipped. The interior is well designed and not cheap-feeling the way awful Toyotas are, and the Model 3 prototype photos show a really cheap-looking interior. The lack of Homelink was a surprise but I rarely park in my garage. Auto-dimming mirror is nice, backup camera is really helpful, and the controls and touchscreen are fairly well designed, though the touchscreen CPU is really slow and I would have liked a rotary knob for tuning the radio station or song selection. There are steering wheel buttons you can use for that purpose though.

I like that the car doesn't force you into one-pedal driving mode like the BMW i3. You can use a normal mode when you want to, and very easily toggle between it and one-pedal mode.

It's disingenuous to complain that you can get a better-equipped ICE car for the same money. No shit. This is a 200+ mile electric car and a lot of your money is just going towards that.

As I mentioned in an earlier review, I like that it allows you to use your phone's capabilities instead of a rapidly-obsolete or non-free embedded navigation program. Although I've never actually used nav in a car.

 

[phil0909]

the touchscreen CPU is really slow

That's interesting, I had not heard that. Can you give an example? What kinds of things go very slow?

 

[CGameProgrammer]

When you push a button, it takes 1-2 seconds to load the requested screen. There's no excuse for that. It's also a little reluctant to register taps; it's nowhere near as sensitive as something like a normal tablet or phone.

 

[Nagorak]

I guess it all comes down to what you're used to. Personally, I couldn't care less about having to flip a switch to turn on lights or wipers. I wouldn't pay a dime for those features (of course it hardly rains in SoCal anyway). I have a smart phone, so navigation is covered. I have more confidence in being able to get an upgraded program for my phone, if necessary, than trust the one in my car to be upgraded properly, and it works just as well in a friend or relatives' car or even on foot!

But, if those are things you appreciate I suppose it's worth knowing to get the premier model.

I bought my LT three days ago and I agree the speakers are subpar and much worse than my previous car (which had upgraded radio, to be fair) so I plan to research aftermarket speaker and driver upgrades. It'll be pricy but worth it; I care about audio.

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if you can end up with a better audio system for less money (although it will cost more if you pay for the install, rather than doing a self install). I don't really trust the premium audio packages myself. My suspicion is that the car companies really mark up things like that, so you end up paying a lot for a system that's good, but not truly great.

That being said, it's obviously much less of a hassle if the car comes with everything, rather than having to figure out how to replace and/or adapt everything to maintain the car connectivity. It used to be a lot simpler back in the days when a stereo was just a stereo and nothing else. For many I can understand why they'd be willing to pay for the convenience.

 

[user 124]

I bought my LT three days ago and I agree the speakers are subpar and much worse than my previous car (which had upgraded radio, to be fair) so I plan to research aftermarket speaker and driver upgrades. It'll be pricy but worth it; I care about audio.

Please keep us posted! I am sensitive to this too and am concerned about the Bolt. I think that that fancy Bose audio in our 2013 Volt sounds terrible (or at least very mediocre), while the audio in my Toyota RAV4 EV is quite good and I'm loathe to take a big step down.

 

[phil0909]

When you push a button, it takes 1-2 seconds to load the requested screen. There's no excuse for that.

Thanks. I agree - a slow CPU is a foolish way to save 10 bucks. A responsive UI makes any device much nicer to use. I gather Tesla has done much the same thing - used a slow, outdated processor for years. Inexplicable. I hope the Bolt isn't too painfully slow. Does anyone know what CPU the Bolt uses?

 

[SeanNelson]

Apple shouldnt allow all apps, I agree, BUT they could allow certain other programs like WAZE since it would just be used just like AppleMaps. So distraction couldnt be the issue, Apple is just being over restrictive and too proprietary.

It's not a matter of "allowing" the app to run under CarPlay, the app itself needs to be modified to be able to handle it. I believe there are some differences in the way the application code communicates with the user interface when running through CarPlay.

 

[HotPotato]

Fellow C-Max owner here. You must have an SEL with the Sony, because the stereo in the C-Max SE is awful. However I believe even the Sony does not include a sub.

I thought the Bolt's stereo was just OK, and the Bose version appears to be identical except for the addition of a sub and slightly better tweeters.

However, I caution you against assuming an aftermarket stereo upgrade will be cheap, easy, or effective. Fixing my C-Max's sound required two amps, a sub, two pair of component speakers, Dynamat, a sound processor to remove the factory EQ, a bunch of installation $, and months of tweaking crossover points and EQ curves on a laptop.

I'm pretty sure I could get away with just adding an aftermarket all-in-one Bazooka amplified sub in a RAV4 EV and it would sound fine; that car's stereo sounds not-awful. Dunno if that would be good enough in the Bolt but it's a low-cost starting point, and maybe you'd decide living with it was better than repeating my time and wallet draining ordeal.