Review of the Chevy Bolt

discostu1 · 02-01-2017 11:20pm #1

Are these going to be sold in Ireland/Europe at some stage and what are peoples thoughts on them. I have friends and relatives in the States who say they are getting a very positive response

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQo6-ta889I

q85dw7osi4lebg · 02-01-2017 11:23pm

Doesn't answer your question but Opel Ireland had an Opel Ampera-E on their company fleet in 2013 as far as I know. It's the Bolts European cousin. I'd imagine that was a trial regarding whether to import it or not.

discostu1 · 02-01-2017 11:30pm

Thanks I'm very new to this ev business so probably asking so dumb questions there is a very interesting thread here http://www.thepropertypin.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=63977 Mainly about Tesla and the financial model but some interesting bits about ecars in general

DrPhilG · 03-01-2017 10:54am

The Bolt will be known as the Ampera-e in Europe, but there will not be a right hand drive version. So sadly we won't be getting it.

03-01-2017 9:58pm

No right hand Ampera-E for the current production cycle, so perhaps in 3-5 years. Very, very sad, a 200 HP EV......

Maybe because the Ampera didn't sell well in the U.K could have been the deciding factor not to sell the Ampera-E (Bolt) , the Ampera was very expensive. They could have given the Ampera-E a chance.

bk · 04-01-2017 7:34pm

It is a real pity this car won't be available here, it seems perfect for my needs and I'd order it straight away.

The reviewer in the above video did 240 miles in it with 17 miles to spare. That sounds perfect for Ireland. It would easily do my relatively regular 160 mile trip to from Dublin to Cork. It could do pretty much Dublin to any where in Ireland without stopping for a charge. And out to anywhere in Wicklow for a day hike and back on the same day no sweat, without stopping for a charge.

Basically the perfect car for Ireland!

Yup this is exactly the BEV I've been waiting for. I can only hope Nissan comes up with a competitor soon.

04-01-2017 9:31pm

Nissan have to come up with a competitor, or they will be in trouble.

They won't compete on power shamefully, but that's the Nissan/Renault thing.......

Maybe Nissan will have more gadgets such as some automation to persuade people to buy the next Leaf rather than more power and range. No need for the ICE way of thinking, small engine, better fuel efficiency, electricity is cheap so make powerful EV's !

If I think of it, our old 2.0L petrol CRV needed a refill after 300 miles , that's not far off the Ampera-E.

bk · 04-01-2017 9:48pm

I don't think new gadgets will do anything to sell the Leaf, not in Ireland anyway. Irish people for the most part show little interest in gadgets and extra trimmings when it comes to cars, with the base models of cars almost always being the top seller.

What the Leaf needs is range, at least 200 miles real world, it is the only thing most people will care about.

No one cares about some gadget if owning a Leaf means it takes an extra hour and a half to get to Cork!

I was just watching an episode of fully charged where he interviewed the CEO of Pod Point, the UK manufacturer of charging points. He said 2020 will be the tipping point for EV's going mainstream. That is when you get lots of 200 to 250 mile EV's for £20,000.

I couldn't agree more with him. EV's are only going to go mainstream when we get affordable 200 to 250 mile EV's like this Chevy Bolt. Nissan better get it's act together or it will be left behind.

Water John · 04-01-2017 10:04pm

Right there BK. Ireland will need an EV able to do 250 miles and some to spare.
That's the point where it will be silly for most, not all, to buy an ICE.

Have you a link, I'd like to hear the pod.

Mancomb Seepgood · 04-01-2017 10:11pm

It's a shame that Open has no plans to launch the Ampera-e here.

Affordability and longer range are what are of most interest to me. I don't really care about having extra power or a pile of new gadgets or automation. Not that I'd turn down a Tesla, but I don't see a car as something that is worth spending a small fortune on, for me, anyway.

That's probably why I've been thinking about the 41kw Zoe, it would hit the sweet spot for nearly any journey I could see myself needing to make. Having done about 42000 km in almost 2 years in the Leaf I don't think I could go back to a petrol or diesel.

04-01-2017 10:13pm

I was more referring to the wider EV market.

I know what you mean though, a lot of cars now offer Adaptive cruise for little money and it is indeed highly useful but most Irish people do not pay for it despite it can avoid an accident.

bk · 05-01-2017 1:30am

Water John wrote: »

Right there BK. Ireland will need an EV able to do 250 miles and some to spare.
That's the point where it will be silly for most, not all, to buy an ICE.

Have you a link, I'd like to hear the pod.

Here you go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6KUYzv031M

Jump to 16:10 for these comments.

Deleted User wrote: »

I was more referring to the wider EV market.

In the long term once range is good enough, then features will make a difference. But the EV market is currently completely driven by range. The range of most, non-Tesla/Bolt BEV's is still far too short for the mass market.

I'd predict that unless Nissan brings out a competitor with the same range and price as the Bolt, then Leafs sales will completely fall off a cliff in the US and any other market where the Bolt is available.

Who in their right mind would buy a Leaf with half the range of a Bolt for the same cost!

05-01-2017 10:48am

I think it will not make a difference , electric cars could have 2,000 Kms range and Irish people still won't be all that interested, Irish people in General don't take to change very well. There's a huge amount of people in Ireland still burning solid fuels for heating FFS, that says a lot despite better and cheaper alternatives available.

I strongly believe the majority of people will change when they are forced to or when ICE is non viable. Hopefully I'm wrong, but electric cars in general do not interest the majority of Irish people.

grogi · 05-01-2017 12:19pm

Deleted User wrote: »

I think it will not make a difference

The only think that will change the market is additional motor tax on diesel vehicles. It is astonishing how much an relatively small annual tax increase changes the market in here...

Water John · 05-01-2017 1:03pm

People are adaptable. There is always a tipping point. Lower running costs and taxes will achieve that once range is no longer an issue.

grogi · 05-01-2017 3:05pm

Water John wrote: »

People are adaptable. There is always a tipping point. Lower running costs and taxes will achieve that once range is no longer an issue.

Yes, but Irish are far more adaptable when the cost is called TAX than anything else.

06-01-2017 1:02am

grogi wrote: »

The only think that will change the market is additional motor tax on diesel vehicles. It is astonishing how much an relatively small annual tax increase changes the market in here...

well one thing is quiet clear that Irish people do not really care about the dangers of diesel exhaust , so I expect them to care about electric cars even less !

Manic Moran · 23-03-2017 6:07am

Necro-threading, but a colleague of mine has just leased one to replace his Leaf. I had a look at it at the office charging station. It's a weird looking vehicle. I'm not a fan of things like the Honda Fit, and Bolt just takes it and makes it look worse. That's not disparaging the interior volume, which is fine enough: Said colleague is over six foot and it seems to suit him fine, just a personal impression.

The car made Motor Trend's Car of the Year, it really is that well regarded. The best thing about it is that it's making everything else cheap. Companies sell 'Compliance Cars' here in California, which are made only because the State has ordered them to. For a reasonable price, the Bolt blows them out of the water, which means that there's no particular reason to buy, say, the Focus or Golf instead. But Ford is still making them and needs to sell them. Not to make money, but to meet compliance. So, they're dropping costs so that they get moved. Dropping them a lot.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2017/02/lease-discounts-on-electric-focus/

To give you an idea as to how much, the government basically pays you to drive a Focus.
https://leasehackr.com/blog/2016/3/27/californians-lease-a-ford-focus-electric-for-free

For those of us who don't care about 200 miles of range, these compliance cars can be a great deal. I'm going to take a serious look at the Focus next year when the Passat TDi gets returned. Plenty enough range to get to/from work, well equipped, and for family outings, long-distance runs, date night or cargo space, well, that's why I've another car or two with a V8.

cros13 · 23-03-2017 9:59am

The Focus has CCS rapid charging now which is a big plus.... and a half decent battery. Not bad for a compliance car.

BoatMad · 26-03-2017 11:14am

Manic Moran wrote: »

Necro-threading, but a colleague of mine has just leased one to replace his Leaf. I had a look at it at the office charging station. It's a weird looking vehicle. I'm not a fan of things like the Honda Fit, and Bolt just takes it and makes it look worse. That's not disparaging the interior volume, which is fine enough: Said colleague is over six foot and it seems to suit him fine, just a personal impression.

The car made Motor Trend's Car of the Year, it really is that well regarded. The best thing about it is that it's making everything else cheap. Companies sell 'Compliance Cars' here in California, which are made only because the State has ordered them to. For a reasonable price, the Bolt blows them out of the water, which means that there's no particular reason to buy, say, the Focus or Golf instead. But Ford is still making them and needs to sell them. Not to make money, but to meet compliance. So, they're dropping costs so that they get moved. Dropping them a lot.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2017/02/lease-discounts-on-electric-focus/

To give you an idea as to how much, the government basically pays you to drive a Focus.
https://leasehackr.com/blog/2016/3/27/californians-lease-a-ford-focus-electric-for-free

For those of us who don't care about 200 miles of range, these compliance cars can be a great deal. I'm going to take a serious look at the Focus next year when the Passat TDi gets returned. Plenty enough range to get to/from work, well equipped, and for family outings, long-distance runs, date night or cargo space, well, that's why I've another car or two with a V8.

Of course trump has vowed to end the power of the state to force compliance on car companies and a showdown with California is coming. Of course trumps Record of success has been non existent to date , so maybe little to worry about

Review of the Chevy Bolt

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