2022 Bolt EUV Initial impressions

It's been a month, still enjoying the Bolt?

 

11,600 miles in 7 months. That's about 20Kmiles/yr pace. That's about twice the distance we are driving on a single car now. Today is the last day to get Bolt with the full $7500 credit. Starting tomorrow, the tax credit will be halved. At least until GM shift their battery sourcing to NA. I have been looking for a base model Bolt EV LT1 since the beginning of the year, but could not find one. But at least, for now, I don't really need a second car, so I am going to wait and see how thing goes with my work schedule. My workplace has lifted the COVID restrictions completely in accordance with the fed guidance this month. There is a chance I may have to go back to on-site commuting. If that happens, I will look harder to find a suitable commuter car.

For now, our 2022 Escape PHEV is working very well. In 4 months, we put a little over 3,000 miles. I have to do some math to compare the saving after switching from PP and Pathfinder to Escape PHEV. It is not as efficient as PP, but consolidating two cars into one should have had a positive cash flow. The only thing is that the car is programmed to use more ICE in cold than PP. So I have not been getting fuel savings by the longer EV range. With cold days over, we are finally able to drive in pure EV mode lately. BTW, Escape also has a charge setting that allows me to set a target charge level just like your Bolt. With our current driving needs, 85% is just enough for almost all our daily drives. It gets ~45 miles of EV range from 85% charge. Or a little over 50 miles from a full charge if we need it.

Of course, in our area driving in EV mode does not save money. The gas price has come down while the electricity has gone up. Right now, EV mode cost slightly more than HV mode on this car, just like it was for the PP most of the time I had it.

 

I enjoy very much reading about your guy's experience with new cars ( Jerry's Bolt and Salamander_King's Escape) and especially information about your journey with solar power for you home!

+1 on Maine being a beautiful place.

 

Yeah, if the Bolt continues to get a full $7500 credit* and if I decide to buy one this year, then I will be doing a similar thing I did last year.

Last year, I was planning to purchase Solterra, but it fell apart with a delay in production, higher than a predicted price tag, then recall. And the change in the tax credit law was the final nail in the coffin. No tax credit, and a higher price tag for not-so-great spec BEV. It just did not make economic sense. I canceled my reservation and got the reservation fee of $250 back. But by then, I already had my retirement fund venue converted to Roth to increase the tax liability for the 2022 tax year. I had to buy the 2022 Escape PHEV to get my excess tax withholding for the year. So, if I buy a BEV this year, I will do a similar thing again. Or, alternatively, I can use the money to buy solar panels to get a 30% tax credit. The solar tax credit can be rolled over, so if I go with solar instead of a BEV, then no need to plan for Roth conversion. I can simply roll over the unused portion. But then I hit a snag... see below.

*EDIT: I just found out Bolt does indeed qualify for the full $7500 credit after tomorrow. That is good news. Now I can extend my search for Bolt EV LT1 for purchase this year with full credit.

Relating to the electricity cost, I signed up for community solar with no money down or no share of my own. It is just a contract to buy a certain amount of produced supply of electricity at a 15% discount. I thought there is nothing for me to lose, but as turned out their allocation system is a mess. I sometimes get far excess of what I actually use and sometimes no allocation at all. And the cost of solar discount is passed onto the ratepayers as an increased electric rate. I don't want to save 15% on my electric bill and raise the rate for everyone. I am thinking of dropping the contract and putting in my own panels. The problem is that the utility is not giving out the permit to have solar connected to the grid. That means I have to do off-grid battery backup solar. That can get very, very expensive. So expensive that the payback will be like 25-30 years. I am not sure if I want to invest in something that may not pay back within my lifetime...

Have a safe trip. Hope no more COVID restrictions along your way.

 

The Bolt's doing just fine, the new battery throws about 25 extra miles on it. The Spark EV (the Bolt's older brother) is getting a workout now that it's getting warmer out.

I'm a member of chevybolt.org, but I don't go on there much. I'm on facebook more, showing people that they're mostly wrong in their comments and lack of understanding about EVs. It's an uphill battle.

 

The time has past.

 

I usually drive w my foot glued to the floor of the prius everywhere I go. Has anyone doe that w a Bolt yet to see what happens

 

That's a wrong answer. Just like on FB
No way floggy an EV will use up the power like that.
In fact I say it's a negligible increase in power usage when accelerating quickly vs slowly, in an EV.

 

Oh, yes wind resistance is always what the car is using power to push through.
Noobs always ask what's the most energy saving speed: As slow as possible, as long as it's above the background energy used in the EV.

I thought you were talking about quick vs slow accel rates.
I'm still not clear on the physics: 0-60 in 10 seconds vs 0-60 in 60 seconds. Which uses more power?, especially if it's part of, say, a 10 mile measured run?

Full throttle squirts to your cruise speed might not be that bad, if even a measurable difference.
But then the Bolt gets into Hybrid territory: It burn electrons and rubber!

 

Would you be comfortable if the Bolt was your only long-range-ish car? I really like my Prius Prime but with the $7500 federal tax credit and $3000 state credit, plus the Level 2 charger installation, I'm actually considering ordering an EUV. It seems like it would be a bit of a step down in terms of comfort and features, but I could always trade it in after a few years once there are more choices in EV or PHEVs.

 

I think you'll have to define long-range-ish. The slower fast DC charging rate of the Bolt will mean more time charging the longer the trip gets.

 

I guess it just depends on the charging infrastructure on your route. I think I'm asking more about comfort and features, and reliability

 

Have been looking for Bolt EV LT1 in stock at local dealers' lots for a while with no luck. I still don't know if I need a second car depending on what happens to my back-to-commuting routine. But one thing is for sure, if I need a daily commuter, the Bolt EV will be perfect as a second commuting-only vehicle. Unfortunately, for our use cases, a BEV, even a long-range Tesla will not satisfy our requirements. So, a BEV is only good as a secondary car for us. For long trips over 200 miles, I will keep our Escape PHEV.