Our 2012 TDI went back to the dealer last week. I present its replacement, a 2017 Chevy Bolt Premier:
We knew that an higher range EV made a ton of sense for a TDI replacement. Although we had also placed a deposit on a Model 3, Tesla's history of not delivering vehicles on time pushed us in the direction of the Bolt.
This car has both packages (infotainment and driver confidence). It's an interesting combination of a lot of nice features (wireless phone charging pocket, 4 heated seats, auto high beam, LTE hotspot) and some economy car interior materials (hard plastics on the door panels, etc). The steering wheel is nicely chunky, and the controls overall are very well designed.
The dash displays are very bright and easy to read, although entirely different than those offered in any other GM product. The IP display is very configurable, which is nice, and gives you a lot of information in real time about your range/regen/use depending on mode.
The driving experience is surprisingly good. It's quick (200hp/266 lb-ft of tq) and you never feel like it's out of breath even when 4 up. It handles surprisingly well, with the low center of gravity counteracting the tall profile. The ride is quite well judged, taught but never harsh like our old 2004 Prius was, and it disguises the relatively hefty weight well (3650lbs).
Interior packaging is excellent. There is plenty of room for 4 adults (it's far better than my Mk7 GTI in that respect), and the battery bump under the rear seat means you have theatre seating which is nice. There is more cargo room than I expected; there is a false floor that has about another 10-12" of space beneath (no spare tire though). Visibility is excellent overall, even to the rear which surprised me.
My only quibble is the comfort of the front seats. They are a space and weight saving design, which means they feel like a 'thin pad' coach seat on a domestic airline. Fine for short trips, but I found myself shifting around a bit after 2+ hours.
The big question: What about range? Is 238mi realistic? Well, we took it to Vancouver BC a couple of weekends ago, which is ~145mi from our house. On the drive up, we didn't use a lot of HVAC (nice day) and didn't hit any bad wind or weather. Even with a 30min wait at the border crossing, we arrived in Vancouver with 80mi range left; not bad given we were doing 70+ most of the way up with a bit of stop and go. On the way home, we had a stiff headwind, rain, were using HVAC/seat heaters/wipers/radio/lights, and doing 75+mph most of the way as we were a bit pressed for time. We also hit nasty stop and go traffic twice. We arrived home with just over 35mi of range left. That's without a charging stop up or back (but charging overnight at the hotel).
In daily use, it's been fine. You could go a week without charging if you wanted. We installed a JuiceBox EVSE at home for relatively quick charging.
My biggest issue is with the current DC Fast Charging infrastructure. It's meager at best, even in the EV-loving Pacific Northwest, and there are too many standards currently. This is where Tesla truly wins at the moment. But given this car's typical remit, we'll be fine with it for now.
Overall, I'm very impressed.
We knew that an higher range EV made a ton of sense for a TDI replacement. Although we had also placed a deposit on a Model 3, Tesla's history of not delivering vehicles on time pushed us in the direction of the Bolt.
This car has both packages (infotainment and driver confidence). It's an interesting combination of a lot of nice features (wireless phone charging pocket, 4 heated seats, auto high beam, LTE hotspot) and some economy car interior materials (hard plastics on the door panels, etc). The steering wheel is nicely chunky, and the controls overall are very well designed.
The dash displays are very bright and easy to read, although entirely different than those offered in any other GM product. The IP display is very configurable, which is nice, and gives you a lot of information in real time about your range/regen/use depending on mode.
The driving experience is surprisingly good. It's quick (200hp/266 lb-ft of tq) and you never feel like it's out of breath even when 4 up. It handles surprisingly well, with the low center of gravity counteracting the tall profile. The ride is quite well judged, taught but never harsh like our old 2004 Prius was, and it disguises the relatively hefty weight well (3650lbs).
Interior packaging is excellent. There is plenty of room for 4 adults (it's far better than my Mk7 GTI in that respect), and the battery bump under the rear seat means you have theatre seating which is nice. There is more cargo room than I expected; there is a false floor that has about another 10-12" of space beneath (no spare tire though). Visibility is excellent overall, even to the rear which surprised me.
My only quibble is the comfort of the front seats. They are a space and weight saving design, which means they feel like a 'thin pad' coach seat on a domestic airline. Fine for short trips, but I found myself shifting around a bit after 2+ hours.
The big question: What about range? Is 238mi realistic? Well, we took it to Vancouver BC a couple of weekends ago, which is ~145mi from our house. On the drive up, we didn't use a lot of HVAC (nice day) and didn't hit any bad wind or weather. Even with a 30min wait at the border crossing, we arrived in Vancouver with 80mi range left; not bad given we were doing 70+ most of the way up with a bit of stop and go. On the way home, we had a stiff headwind, rain, were using HVAC/seat heaters/wipers/radio/lights, and doing 75+mph most of the way as we were a bit pressed for time. We also hit nasty stop and go traffic twice. We arrived home with just over 35mi of range left. That's without a charging stop up or back (but charging overnight at the hotel).
In daily use, it's been fine. You could go a week without charging if you wanted. We installed a JuiceBox EVSE at home for relatively quick charging.
My biggest issue is with the current DC Fast Charging infrastructure. It's meager at best, even in the EV-loving Pacific Northwest, and there are too many standards currently. This is where Tesla truly wins at the moment. But given this car's typical remit, we'll be fine with it for now.
Overall, I'm very impressed.