Well, I drove Bolt today. It was the dealer unit, not for sale, basic LT version with cloth seats, and L3 charging port (they all have it, I was told). I didn't get to fiddle with it too much, but took it locally and freeway with my wife.
My observations:
When you sit down sideways to pivot the legs in, the edge of the seat is quite sharp, at least on the LT model. Perhaps leather will soften the "impact" of that.
Right of the bat, car feels narrow. Whether it's visual or not, I'm not sure at this point. I forgot to extend my right hand if I can reach the other side. Once seated, the seat feels narrow as you wedge your butt between those sharp edges, so no big butts need apply here--you won't be comfortable or even able to squeeze in. It holds you in tight if you fit, that's for sure.
I tried to let my wife in on the other side. I could not find lock/unlock button. It's on the door panel positioned vertically, forward, past the mirror adjustment set. No fahrvergnügen here. It's not a good spot, certainly not vetted by ergonomics Bolt crew (joking here). It's very odd and not readily accessible. Once locked, the knob drops flush into the door panel. I am concerned about this as a safety issue. If you fall into the river and your electrics are down there is NO way for you to mechanically open the door by pulling on the knob as it is not accessible. Imagine, your car is on the proverbial fire, the rescuer breaks the window, and now what? Can't open the door because not only the knob is inaccessible, the lock/unlock is hidden out of sight as well. Lawsuit just waiting to happen, Ms. Ibarra. You've been warned.
The center infotainment screen is slanted to about 50-60 degree angle, which looks odd. I didn't play with it at all, but I saw no space to support the palm when punching stuff; the climate buttons are butted up right to the screen bottom. Folks at GM, it is hard to punch stuff on screens while driving! But I'm sure you knew that, didn't you... No?
I saw no OFF button for the climate, unlike Leaf, Spark EV or Kia Soul EV. I could not be sure it was actually off.
The cruise control, my favorite perennial pet peeve. I can (somewhat) live with the fact GM loves it on the wrong side of the steering wheel. However, it's covered with this thick rubbery material that is too tough to push. It's for Russian fingertips (you know, bears and such). I drive/live by cruise, so this is one very important feature for me. GM, hey, look at '92 Accord for me to see what it's supposed to look like, will ya? For once do something right?
The shift knob. It's an improvement from Spark, but doesn't come close to the ease and comfort, yes, fahrvergnügen, of the Leaf. Leaf was crap, but had the BEST shift knob. Period. THE BEST. Anyway, Bolt's works best when switching between L and D, and it finally has a park button I loved using on my Leaf at the red light (because it was so easy to get back to D or L) -- not sure about Bolt in that regard, it was confusing. GM, you see, added the side button to the shifter you have to push to change to N or R, both of which should be REVERSED by the way (R is at the end of the run and to the left, while N is at the top. Seriously, this is not a gas car, GM! Things work differently in EVs, okay? I had a hard time putting car in R, had to make sure the button was pushed correctly. Also, there was a SLIGHT DELAY to get gear in R, so I found myself in N a few times. So, I still don't know what happens if you hit park and want to proceed on green if I have to push that side button to gen in gear or not. I certainly hope not. Something's not entirely okay there, I can attest to that, particularly with R. I mean, GM, how many times does one need to go to N? Like never? When being towed perhaps? Coasting down the hill? Nissan solved it wonderfully, Check it out and IMITATE, please. For your own good.
I engaged the paddle (max regen mode) at the 9 o'clock of the wheel a few times, but could not see anything on the cluster if it was on or off. (The dealer set up the cluster to plain Jane, and I had no chance to go through all the cluster options.) Strong regen though, super strong. And yes, I did manage to stop the car with no braking at all, as described by GM. Wow!
Car drives well, of course, mirrors are big and so on. It was road-noisier than I expected from a 40+ thousand dollar car, and certainly by far inferior to Soul EV which is super quiet. I find it disappointing. I did hear the engine whine at certain speeds as well, which is not good. I've had plenty of that in Leaf and there is none whatsoever with Soul or even, curiously enough, Spark. Weird or what?
And one more gripe: once I looked in the rear view mirror I could not believe my eyes how prominent the defrost wires were; they must be triple gauge of normal defrost wiring with 3 extras going down slope as well. The setup looks like a prison cell bars. VERY BIZARRE and awful. I have never seen the like of it and have no idea what's GM doing in that regard. It's SUPER INTRUSIVE and ANNOYING to look at those wires embedded in the rear window. It's crazy. One would be hard pressed to avoid it all together and rely on the camera-based rear view mirror that comes with the Premier.
I sat in the back for the second half, my wife drove. I hit my head but good going in, but was okay at 6" riding in the back seat.
That's all in a nutshell. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble (mine for sure). I had high hopes for Bolt. I'm going in again tomorrow to look at VOLT, folks. I am not spending 47 grand on this vehicle.
My observations:
When you sit down sideways to pivot the legs in, the edge of the seat is quite sharp, at least on the LT model. Perhaps leather will soften the "impact" of that.
Right of the bat, car feels narrow. Whether it's visual or not, I'm not sure at this point. I forgot to extend my right hand if I can reach the other side. Once seated, the seat feels narrow as you wedge your butt between those sharp edges, so no big butts need apply here--you won't be comfortable or even able to squeeze in. It holds you in tight if you fit, that's for sure.
I tried to let my wife in on the other side. I could not find lock/unlock button. It's on the door panel positioned vertically, forward, past the mirror adjustment set. No fahrvergnügen here. It's not a good spot, certainly not vetted by ergonomics Bolt crew (joking here). It's very odd and not readily accessible. Once locked, the knob drops flush into the door panel. I am concerned about this as a safety issue. If you fall into the river and your electrics are down there is NO way for you to mechanically open the door by pulling on the knob as it is not accessible. Imagine, your car is on the proverbial fire, the rescuer breaks the window, and now what? Can't open the door because not only the knob is inaccessible, the lock/unlock is hidden out of sight as well. Lawsuit just waiting to happen, Ms. Ibarra. You've been warned.
The center infotainment screen is slanted to about 50-60 degree angle, which looks odd. I didn't play with it at all, but I saw no space to support the palm when punching stuff; the climate buttons are butted up right to the screen bottom. Folks at GM, it is hard to punch stuff on screens while driving! But I'm sure you knew that, didn't you... No?
I saw no OFF button for the climate, unlike Leaf, Spark EV or Kia Soul EV. I could not be sure it was actually off.
The cruise control, my favorite perennial pet peeve. I can (somewhat) live with the fact GM loves it on the wrong side of the steering wheel. However, it's covered with this thick rubbery material that is too tough to push. It's for Russian fingertips (you know, bears and such). I drive/live by cruise, so this is one very important feature for me. GM, hey, look at '92 Accord for me to see what it's supposed to look like, will ya? For once do something right?
The shift knob. It's an improvement from Spark, but doesn't come close to the ease and comfort, yes, fahrvergnügen, of the Leaf. Leaf was crap, but had the BEST shift knob. Period. THE BEST. Anyway, Bolt's works best when switching between L and D, and it finally has a park button I loved using on my Leaf at the red light (because it was so easy to get back to D or L) -- not sure about Bolt in that regard, it was confusing. GM, you see, added the side button to the shifter you have to push to change to N or R, both of which should be REVERSED by the way (R is at the end of the run and to the left, while N is at the top. Seriously, this is not a gas car, GM! Things work differently in EVs, okay? I had a hard time putting car in R, had to make sure the button was pushed correctly. Also, there was a SLIGHT DELAY to get gear in R, so I found myself in N a few times. So, I still don't know what happens if you hit park and want to proceed on green if I have to push that side button to gen in gear or not. I certainly hope not. Something's not entirely okay there, I can attest to that, particularly with R. I mean, GM, how many times does one need to go to N? Like never? When being towed perhaps? Coasting down the hill? Nissan solved it wonderfully, Check it out and IMITATE, please. For your own good.
I engaged the paddle (max regen mode) at the 9 o'clock of the wheel a few times, but could not see anything on the cluster if it was on or off. (The dealer set up the cluster to plain Jane, and I had no chance to go through all the cluster options.) Strong regen though, super strong. And yes, I did manage to stop the car with no braking at all, as described by GM. Wow!
Car drives well, of course, mirrors are big and so on. It was road-noisier than I expected from a 40+ thousand dollar car, and certainly by far inferior to Soul EV which is super quiet. I find it disappointing. I did hear the engine whine at certain speeds as well, which is not good. I've had plenty of that in Leaf and there is none whatsoever with Soul or even, curiously enough, Spark. Weird or what?
And one more gripe: once I looked in the rear view mirror I could not believe my eyes how prominent the defrost wires were; they must be triple gauge of normal defrost wiring with 3 extras going down slope as well. The setup looks like a prison cell bars. VERY BIZARRE and awful. I have never seen the like of it and have no idea what's GM doing in that regard. It's SUPER INTRUSIVE and ANNOYING to look at those wires embedded in the rear window. It's crazy. One would be hard pressed to avoid it all together and rely on the camera-based rear view mirror that comes with the Premier.
I sat in the back for the second half, my wife drove. I hit my head but good going in, but was okay at 6" riding in the back seat.
That's all in a nutshell. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble (mine for sure). I had high hopes for Bolt. I'm going in again tomorrow to look at VOLT, folks. I am not spending 47 grand on this vehicle.
