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If you believe the intended positioning, the Bolt and the Model 3 are cars with EV power plants, but intended for different segments. The Model 3 is intended to

If you believe the intended positioning, the Bolt and the Model 3 are cars with EV power plants, but intended for different segments. The Model 3 is intended to be positioned as a premium vehicle (BMW 3 series, etc), while the Bolt seems to be similarly positioned to the Prius. So, its not a winner-take-all proposition.

mikeash 11y ago
How does that intended positioning work, if not through price differentiation? Is it just a matter of the marketing?
Grishnakh 11y ago
I could be wrong, but judging by the photos, the Bolt does not appear to compete with the Prius: the Prius is much larger. The Bolt looks like it's maybe the size and shape of a Honda Fit. I'm pretty sure Priuses (the regular kind) have quite a bit more interior room than that.
- Grishnakh 11y ago
  Typical HN bullshit downmodding. If I'm wrong, write a post telling me how I'm wrong.
- _Robbie 11y ago
  The 2016 Toyota Prius is 4.54 meters. The Bolt is 4.17 meters. Bolt specs: http://media.chevrolet.com/media/us/en/chevrolet/vehicles/bolt-ev/2017.tab1.html http://media.chevrolet.com/media/us/en/chevrolet/vehicles/bo...
  - Grishnakh 11y ago
    The length is a pretty crappy way to compare cars; but that alone shows the Bolt is significantly shorter. A better measure is the interior volume (for instance, a car and an SUV from the same mfgr will frequently share the same chassis (the SUV is a taller derivative but with same bottom stampings, suspension, engine, subframes, etc.), with the exact same wheelbase/width, but the SUV clearly has more interior volume). If you compare your link to the Prius (http://www.toyota.com/prius/features/weights_capacities/1223/1224/1225/1226 http://www.toyota.com/prius/features/weights_capacities/1223...), you'll see the Prius has larger dimensions for passengers (for instance, 1st row legroom is 41.6in Bolt, 42.3in Prius; 1st row hip room is 51.6in Bolt, 53.4in Prius), however less overall passenger volume (52.2 + 42.2 = 94.4 cu-ft Bolt, 93.1 cu-ft Prius, unfortunately the Prius doesn't list separate 1st vs 2nd row volume, but I suspect the Prius wins because the Bolt beats it in rear-seat legroom 36.5 vs 33.4, so the Prius is sacrificing rear-seat room), but the Prius has greater cargo capacity by quite a lot: 24.6 cu-ft vs. 16.9. (There's also a special "Two Eco" Prius which has a whopping 27.4 cu-ft cargo volume for some reason.) Overall these aren't that far apart, but it does seem to me the Prius is a generally larger car, with more cargo space and a more spacious front seat but with crappier rear-seat legroom. Also, the Prius has a much longer wheelbase (106.3 vs 102.4), and its height is much lower (58.1 vs 62.8). That explains why the Bolt gets similar volume from so much less length: it sits up a lot higher, sorta like a mini-SUV. Also, the Bolt's page even makes note that the EPA has no category for "crossover", so they call it a "small wagon", meaning GM itself would prefer to refer to it as a crossover. The Prius has never been called a crossover; it's clearly a hatchback car.

mikeash 11y ago

How does that intended positioning work, if not through price differentiation? Is it just a matter of the marketing?

Grishnakh 11y ago

I could be wrong, but judging by the photos, the Bolt does not appear to compete with the Prius: the Prius is much larger. The Bolt looks like it's maybe the size and shape of a Honda Fit. I'm pretty sure Priuses (the regular kind) have quite a bit more interior room than that.

Grishnakh 11y ago
Typical HN bullshit downmodding. If I'm wrong, write a post telling me how I'm wrong.
_Robbie 11y ago
The 2016 Toyota Prius is 4.54 meters. The Bolt is 4.17 meters. Bolt specs: http://media.chevrolet.com/media/us/en/chevrolet/vehicles/bolt-ev/2017.tab1.html http://media.chevrolet.com/media/us/en/chevrolet/vehicles/bo...
- Grishnakh 11y ago
  The length is a pretty crappy way to compare cars; but that alone shows the Bolt is significantly shorter. A better measure is the interior volume (for instance, a car and an SUV from the same mfgr will frequently share the same chassis (the SUV is a taller derivative but with same bottom stampings, suspension, engine, subframes, etc.), with the exact same wheelbase/width, but the SUV clearly has more interior volume). If you compare your link to the Prius (http://www.toyota.com/prius/features/weights_capacities/1223/1224/1225/1226 http://www.toyota.com/prius/features/weights_capacities/1223...), you'll see the Prius has larger dimensions for passengers (for instance, 1st row legroom is 41.6in Bolt, 42.3in Prius; 1st row hip room is 51.6in Bolt, 53.4in Prius), however less overall passenger volume (52.2 + 42.2 = 94.4 cu-ft Bolt, 93.1 cu-ft Prius, unfortunately the Prius doesn't list separate 1st vs 2nd row volume, but I suspect the Prius wins because the Bolt beats it in rear-seat legroom 36.5 vs 33.4, so the Prius is sacrificing rear-seat room), but the Prius has greater cargo capacity by quite a lot: 24.6 cu-ft vs. 16.9. (There's also a special "Two Eco" Prius which has a whopping 27.4 cu-ft cargo volume for some reason.) Overall these aren't that far apart, but it does seem to me the Prius is a generally larger car, with more cargo space and a more spacious front seat but with crappier rear-seat legroom. Also, the Prius has a much longer wheelbase (106.3 vs 102.4), and its height is much lower (58.1 vs 62.8). That explains why the Bolt gets similar volume from so much less length: it sits up a lot higher, sorta like a mini-SUV. Also, the Bolt's page even makes note that the EPA has no category for "crossover", so they call it a "small wagon", meaning GM itself would prefer to refer to it as a crossover. The Prius has never been called a crossover; it's clearly a hatchback car.