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I just recently got a Chevy Bolt. 240 mile range for 1/2 of the cheapest Model 3 (used, paid in cash). It has the typical GM fit-and-finish, nowhere near what I

I just recently got a Chevy Bolt. 240 mile range for 1/2 of the cheapest Model 3 (used, paid in cash). It has the typical GM fit-and-finish, nowhere near what I'd demand out of a car with an MSRP at ~$43k with the trim level I have. GM took so many shortcuts with materials and design choices in what I assume was an attempt to not take a loss on each Bolt sold. Aside from a pretty nice big infotainment screen, it lacks the features, fit, and finish that I'd demand from a $20k car. I still love it, very peppy electric motor, drives well, plenty of space for a baby seat and passengers, decent cargo room. It's still a bargain GM car at luxury prices, you'd be nuts to pay full MSRP for this vehicle. I got a great deal on a used one; tons of great deals were to be had on cars coming off of the first batch of 3-year leases until the battery recall put a stop-sale on everything at GM dealerships. I know they don't stack up good against other brands comparing MSRP to MSRP, but I have to wonder how bad Tesla's "initial quality" really compares against all of the electric options out now.

dragontamer 6y ago
> 240 mile range for 1/2 of the cheapest Model 3 (used, paid in cash). Do you get near the 240-mile rated range? I ask because... https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/electric-car-range-and-consumption-epa-vs-edmunds.html https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/electric-car-range-and-cons... 2018 Tesla Model 3 Performance: 256 miles under test. 310 miles EPA-estimated. It seems like some EPA EV ranges are not very realistic. -------- Edmunds tested 277 miles on the 2020 Chevy Bolt. But I'm interested in hearing your personal experience.
- bluesquared 6y ago
  Right now with the cold, the car is telling me ~150 miles. But this is during below-freezing temperatures in the midwest, and I've only had it for a few weeks. My commute is ~3.5 miles, around town trips of no more than 10 miles round-trip, and I don't typically precondition before my drives. From what I've read, the 240 mile estimate is pretty accurate - some more spirited driving will obviously have you fall short of that number, and some users have reported getting more than 240 miles.
- rootusrootus 6y ago
  I have a 2020 Bolt, and a 2019 Model 3 Performance. In my experience the Bolt's range prediction is dead on. The Tesla overestimates by a lot. So much, in fact, that I just switched the range display to battery percentage.
- jsight 6y ago
  That test is 60% city. On the highway at 75 mph, the Bolt would likely drop to 200 or a little below. The Model Y LR AWD does ~240 under similar conditions.
  - judge2020 6y ago
    Yep - Augusta to Atlanta (Lithonia Supercharger) is also brutal going 75mph and up 400ft in elevation, and there's no supercharger in between the two cities. A 3 SR+ RWD will average maybe 150 miles of range along that route.
    - jsight 6y ago
      Yeah, that'd be cutting it pretty close. I'd be tempted to bring a CHAdeMO in case it looked risky mid-route. I bet there's at least one CHAdeMO along the route.
- xedeon 6y ago
  That Edmunds test is flawed in so many ways. Not only they fudged the numbers: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-tsla-the-investment-world-the-perpetual-investors-roundtable.139047/page-12110#post-5327968 https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-tsla-the-inves... There was also a fatal flaw. They did not perform the testing under the same conditions. They tested the Teslas with temps being 10F (~60F) colder and using the cabin heat. https://twitter.com/AEONde/status/1359599422733172736?s=20 https://twitter.com/AEONde/status/1359599422733172736?s=20 While other being tested under ~70+F with no heater used. Any EV owner knows that will significantly affect range. I guess they don't really care about being an authoritative source. Other offenses: https://twitter.com/enn_nafnlaus/status/1331154577387905024?s=20 https://twitter.com/enn_nafnlaus/status/1331154577387905024?...
  - dragontamer 6y ago
    https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/best-cars/electric-cars-best-real-world-range https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/best-cars/electric-cars-b... Its not just Edmunds who are reporting lower range than expected. Also autocar (of UK) reports lower Tesla range. > In our tests, the Model 3 Performance achieved 239 miles of real-world driving. > Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus, 181 miles > (The Model S) is now available in a choice of different battery capacities, with the current entry-level 75kWh model managing 204 miles of real-world range -------- All tests have their flaws. But real-world testing by 3rd parties is far more reliable than the government-mandated tests. Its like they say: any official benchmark will be cheated, gamed, etc. etc. You really only figure out who can beat the test, as opposed to figuring out reality. A series of trusted 3rd party tests (by magazines and smaller communities) is small and unique enough that no major automaker can really "gamify" the tests, leading to more realistic results in the aggregate.
    - xedeon 6y ago
      The issue is that Edmunds fudged the numbers. Twice! Therefore, it's a hard sell calling them a "trusted 3rd party" as I mentioned here: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-tsla-the-investment-world-the-perpetual-investors-roundtable.139047/page-12110#post-5327968 https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-tsla-the-inves... https://twitter.com/enn_nafnlaus/status/1331154577387905024?s=20 https://twitter.com/enn_nafnlaus/status/1331154577387905024?... Your Autocar link did not even give any data on their testing methodology. It's even more vague than Edmunds. What were the conditions? These things matter to an informed consumer who value objectivity. I hope you're not implying that one should just blindly trust that article. Speaking of 3rd party tests. A realtime one conducted on the same day, like this one has more merit. https://youtu.be/ZH7V2tU3iFc?t=1535 https://youtu.be/ZH7V2tU3iFc?t=1535
rootusrootus 6y ago
I think the Bolt is one of the better car choices we've made in a while. But we didn't buy it, we leased one last year. $6K for 3 years at 18K miles/year, residual is in the mid-20s, which is what I could have bought one for brand new with all the discounts they had running. For the first 5K miles it's been really great, better than I expected, really. If it's still this good in a few years, maybe I'll buy it when the lease ends. But only if I can pay something close to the auction value and not the stated residual value :)
- MrMan 6y ago
  It’s a great car
MrMan 6y ago
The Chevy bolt is a much better car than a Tesla don’t start propagandizing against it here. Mine has never required any service of any kind and there are absolutely zero fit and finish issues. It is nit a luxury car but there is a lot of virtue in just being and excellent car without luxury

dragontamer 6y ago

> 240 mile range for 1/2 of the cheapest Model 3 (used, paid in cash). Do you get near the 240-mile rated range? I ask because... https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/electric-car-range-and-consumption-epa-vs-edmunds.html https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/electric-car-range-and-cons... 2018 Tesla Model 3 Performance: 256 miles under test. 310 miles EPA-estimated. It seems like some EPA EV ranges are not very realistic. -------- Edmunds tested 277 miles on the 2020 Chevy Bolt. But I'm interested in hearing your personal experience.

bluesquared 6y ago
Right now with the cold, the car is telling me ~150 miles. But this is during below-freezing temperatures in the midwest, and I've only had it for a few weeks. My commute is ~3.5 miles, around town trips of no more than 10 miles round-trip, and I don't typically precondition before my drives. From what I've read, the 240 mile estimate is pretty accurate - some more spirited driving will obviously have you fall short of that number, and some users have reported getting more than 240 miles.
rootusrootus 6y ago
I have a 2020 Bolt, and a 2019 Model 3 Performance. In my experience the Bolt's range prediction is dead on. The Tesla overestimates by a lot. So much, in fact, that I just switched the range display to battery percentage.
jsight 6y ago
That test is 60% city. On the highway at 75 mph, the Bolt would likely drop to 200 or a little below. The Model Y LR AWD does ~240 under similar conditions.
- judge2020 6y ago
  Yep - Augusta to Atlanta (Lithonia Supercharger) is also brutal going 75mph and up 400ft in elevation, and there's no supercharger in between the two cities. A 3 SR+ RWD will average maybe 150 miles of range along that route.
  - jsight 6y ago
    Yeah, that'd be cutting it pretty close. I'd be tempted to bring a CHAdeMO in case it looked risky mid-route. I bet there's at least one CHAdeMO along the route.
xedeon 6y ago
That Edmunds test is flawed in so many ways. Not only they fudged the numbers: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-tsla-the-investment-world-the-perpetual-investors-roundtable.139047/page-12110#post-5327968 https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-tsla-the-inves... There was also a fatal flaw. They did not perform the testing under the same conditions. They tested the Teslas with temps being 10F (~60F) colder and using the cabin heat. https://twitter.com/AEONde/status/1359599422733172736?s=20 https://twitter.com/AEONde/status/1359599422733172736?s=20 While other being tested under ~70+F with no heater used. Any EV owner knows that will significantly affect range. I guess they don't really care about being an authoritative source. Other offenses: https://twitter.com/enn_nafnlaus/status/1331154577387905024?s=20 https://twitter.com/enn_nafnlaus/status/1331154577387905024?...
- dragontamer 6y ago
  https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/best-cars/electric-cars-best-real-world-range https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/best-cars/electric-cars-b... Its not just Edmunds who are reporting lower range than expected. Also autocar (of UK) reports lower Tesla range. > In our tests, the Model 3 Performance achieved 239 miles of real-world driving. > Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus, 181 miles > (The Model S) is now available in a choice of different battery capacities, with the current entry-level 75kWh model managing 204 miles of real-world range -------- All tests have their flaws. But real-world testing by 3rd parties is far more reliable than the government-mandated tests. Its like they say: any official benchmark will be cheated, gamed, etc. etc. You really only figure out who can beat the test, as opposed to figuring out reality. A series of trusted 3rd party tests (by magazines and smaller communities) is small and unique enough that no major automaker can really "gamify" the tests, leading to more realistic results in the aggregate.
  - xedeon 6y ago
    The issue is that Edmunds fudged the numbers. Twice! Therefore, it's a hard sell calling them a "trusted 3rd party" as I mentioned here: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-tsla-the-investment-world-the-perpetual-investors-roundtable.139047/page-12110#post-5327968 https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-tsla-the-inves... https://twitter.com/enn_nafnlaus/status/1331154577387905024?s=20 https://twitter.com/enn_nafnlaus/status/1331154577387905024?... Your Autocar link did not even give any data on their testing methodology. It's even more vague than Edmunds. What were the conditions? These things matter to an informed consumer who value objectivity. I hope you're not implying that one should just blindly trust that article. Speaking of 3rd party tests. A realtime one conducted on the same day, like this one has more merit. https://youtu.be/ZH7V2tU3iFc?t=1535 https://youtu.be/ZH7V2tU3iFc?t=1535

rootusrootus 6y ago

I think the Bolt is one of the better car choices we've made in a while. But we didn't buy it, we leased one last year. $6K for 3 years at 18K miles/year, residual is in the mid-20s, which is what I could have bought one for brand new with all the discounts they had running. For the first 5K miles it's been really great, better than I expected, really. If it's still this good in a few years, maybe I'll buy it when the lease ends. But only if I can pay something close to the auction value and not the stated residual value :)

MrMan 6y ago
It’s a great car

MrMan 6y ago

The Chevy bolt is a much better car than a Tesla don’t start propagandizing against it here. Mine has never required any service of any kind and there are absolutely zero fit and finish issues. It is nit a luxury car but there is a lot of virtue in just being and excellent car without luxury