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The First Chevrolet Bolt Reviews Are Overwhelmingly Good, One Question Remains

Representatives from a few media outlets had the chance of driving a pre-production Chevrolet Bolt down the coast of California, and then tell us all about their impressions - which would basically be the definition of a drive test.
Chevrolet Bolt 1 photo
Photo: Chevrolet
The consensus among the journalists was that GM's new EV was, before anything else, a very good car. If you ignored the electric powertrain, there would still be plenty of favorable things to say about the Bolt. For instance, it is very roomy. If the trunk isn't too impressive, the interior space can host five adults, and they will travel in comfort, which isn't something you could say about all hatchbacks this size.

Then there's the handling. Much like the Tesla - and most other EVs -, having the battery pack mounted in the floor gives the Chevy enviable driving characteristics thanks to the low gravity center. Combine that with a decent power output - 200 hp, in case you forgot - and you get a car that's quite fun to drive. The 0-60 mph acceleration time of 6.5 seconds might not give Tesla any nightmares, but it's on par with the performance of some hot hatches, so there's nothing to be ashamed of either.

But the one feature that excited everyone the most was the car's maximum range. The journalists were given a 240-mile route to cover, which is a full two miles longer than the EPA-rater maximum range of the Bolt. That must have raised a few questions, but since GM presumably had the tow trucks ready, the guys started driving without thinking about battery reserves.

At the end of the route which took them through almost any imaginable driving conditions - including highways and up and down a small mountain - all Bolts made it to the destination. Some even had as much as 60-miles of range left on the screen, and that's without driving "conservatively," they say.

One of the crews involved pointed out that the Bolt used low-resistance tires which, by lowering the friction levels can increase the maximum range. Of course, the tradeoff is that they offer less grip, meaning that sporty driving is highly discouraged. This summary was made based on impressions from Wired, Green Car Reports, Los Angeles Times, Car and Driver, The Verge, and Roadshow by CNET.

However, as encouraging as the first reports are, there's still one question looming: what about charging? Right now, the fastest way you can charge a Bolt is using DC Fast Charging. In theory, that can pump up to 50 kWs every 60 minutes into the car's battery.

Since the Bolt has a 60kWh battery pack, it will need more than one hour and a half for a full recharge under these circumstances. But the thing is "these circumstances" are pretty rare. 50 kW stations aren't so easy to find, and even if they were, a one hour stop would grant the vehicle about 180-miles worth of range, which is far less than what a Tesla can get at a Supercharger.

So while the Bolt's range is indeed high, its ability to put that on the road efficiently is lacking, and GM made it very clear it's not interested in investing in fast charging infrastructure. Well, if enough people buy the Bolt, maybe it will change its mind.

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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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