7-Month 2023 Chevy Bolt EUV Review and our Top 4 Observations as New Electric Vehicle Owners
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- čas přidán 23. 10. 2023
- This was supposed to be a 6-month review that took a little longer than expected so 7-month Review it is! We've driven 8,314 miles at this point and feel pretty comfortable with having switched to electric so much so that, given the option and in our present circumstances, we plan on buying all electric vehicles from now on.
Lots of people don’t believe in electric cars. My wife and I love our Bolt and will never buy a gas car again.
The Bolt is no longer canceled FYI. I think Chevy announced around end of July 2023 that the Bolt was coming back...
@phillipbanes5484 Sorry for the confusion. It's definitely no longer canceled. See www.npr.org/2023/07/27/1190569344/chevy-bolt-electric-vehicle-gm-ev
What I meant was I wasn't sure the date when they announced that it was no longer cancelled.
@@phillipbanes5484 I’m 72 and not afraid to try new technology. How would you like a car that gets 144 mpg?
I have a Bolt also. Barring long trips-it’s the best car I have ever driven and owned. People who don’t own an EV have no clue.
@@davidtrebich4638 so true!
I bought my Premier brand new back in 2019 and am still honeymooning with it. The best car in my life, ever.
Thanks for watching and for commenting. Same! We really are loving it.
We just made the switch and found a 2019 bolt Ev with 10,000 miles that was virtually a brand new vehicle, the dealer gave us a new car warranty with it also and we just love it and would not switch back to a ICE vehicle. we are here in Nova Scotia Canada so now that it is heading into winter with temps going towards the freezing point we are charging about twice per week but that is not an issue because of our level 2 charger in the garage, it costs us between $5.00 and $9.00 per charge here at off peak times this I have to say is the best vehicle that we have owned so far and just love it. very low maintenance.
Thank you for watching and for your comment. It really is a revelation owning an electric vehicle 💡
Thanks for the video. I've had my '23 Lt1 euv for nine months, and concur with everything you've said here. I didn't want super cruise, sunroof, or the 360 camera (after the 360 camera failures I read about), so the Lt1 euv with the driver confidence and comfort packages -- both of which come on the base model Bolts in Canada -- was my choice, saving $thousands on the purchase price and subscriptions.
I've been a gearhead my whole life, but honestly don't see myself getting a fossil-fuel vehicle again; after a few months with the Bolt, I sold my camper, pickup, and classic Mercedes and Volvo. Gas and diesel vehicles just stink to me now, and I don't want to change oil anymore either (though I still do on my lady's Prius).
The things I'd change are exactly what you stated, plus putting the brake lights back where the pre-facelift bolt had them, and having a heat pump as an option -- in Canada, I'd pay extra for that for better winter range. FWD is no problem here with winter tires (I run 205/65x15" michelin x-ice on 15" chevy sonic aluminum wheels); not many people actually need AWD if quality winter tires are used.
In BC Canada, 87% of electricity is from hydro-electric generation, with 0% from coal or nuclear, making the choice to go EV even easier for me.
Thank you for watching and for your comments. Yeah - we really love electric and that surprised us a little because we aren't against gas cars (except the fumes). Another benefit to living in Florida is that we don''t miss changing to snow tires every fall! That is interesting about BC having that high percentage of hydro-electric energy.
@@paradisetoday -- When the new hydro generator come on line in 2024 or '25, we'll be up to about 92% hydro-electric.
Wow! That's really great.
I’ve had my EUV for about 6 months. No regrets at all.
There is a tire compressor included with the EUV in the under-under truck. (The basement or third floor down in the trunk). Also,!some tire foam and other stuff.
As for the driver memory, although there is no seat or mirror memory, you can set each of the two key fobs to your own settings for everything else in the car. The radio, the lighting, the climate, etc etc etc. When my wife powers up the car with her key fob, it identifies her by name and turns on the radio and sets everything the way she wants it. When I get in the radio is off and all the pages of settings get set to my way.
Thanks for watching and for your comment! That's great that yours came with the kit! They must have removed that at some point. My husband knew about the radio personalization for the key fobs but not the lights. Thanks for the info!
@@paradisetoday Have the Compressor here but was $100 additional.
Best EV on the market.
Thank you for watching and for your comment!
We've owned Bolts for over 7 years now, great cars, our 2023 EUV is the best.
Thanks for watching and for your comment!
Thanks for this video, I just totaled my Buick Encore and saw your video. This really helps make my decision 👍🏾
So sorry for your totaled Encore :( but glad our video was helpful ❤️ Thank you for letting us know you liked the video!
The eV haters really should take one of these for a test drive. Our Bolt eV is so easy to live with. I reported the reflection issue to a GM survey and it has been raised on the bolteV subreddit.
Thank you for letting us know that!
Great video! Love it. I am buying one soon. Wish me luck
Thanks so much for your comments and enjoy your new EV!
The range issues remain real, but cars are tools. We have a little gas burner for long trips, a Bolt for a 40 mile round trip commute, and a jeep wrangler for dirt roads. You don't drive a nail with a screwdriver or turn a screw with a hammer.
Thank you for watching and that's a great outlook!
I invested in a portable tire inflator that can inflate all 4 tires in a couple of minutes. The inflator that is highly rated and recommended is the Fanttik X8 APEX
Thank you for watching and for your comment. We actually just bought a small Kobalt 12V air inflator. We'll do a video when we use it to see if it works well or not.
@paradisetoday Hopefully, that will work for you.
Great video! I agree with your review 100%.
Awesome, thank you!
I have a 2023 Premier EUV and the only thing I miss is the (I don’t know the real name) but the suicide handle above the driver door like there is on the passenger side. I would use that to get in and out of the car and to lean forward and times when needed.
We've lived in the Shores with our EUV PREMIERE for 14 months and find it to be the ideal car with many more luxury features too long to list. In the Sun Belt states the 4 windows down feature by pressing the " unlock' button twice on the fob when approaching the car will sir out the heated interior and turn on the A,/C. To unlock the rear doors with the handle button, press that button twice.
That's interesting about the windows going down. My husband just looked in the manual and got it to work. Thanks for the tip! We'll have to do a video on all these tips we're getting!
As a fellow EUV owner, I concur about the experience! I love my BOLT!
Thanks for watching and for your comment!
I'm not sure about the EUV but on the Bolt EV if you double press the exterior lock / unlock button on the driver side door handle, it unlocks all off the doors on the car, including the hatchback. Mine was that way by default so that should keep you from having to make any changes to the settings.
Thanks for watching the video and your comment! We have changed our setting to unlock all 4 doors at the first button push. We just forget to push it before trying to open the back door if we've just arrived somewhere 😂 It's just habit because our old car had the buttons on the back door handles too. Someday we will probably stop expecting to see the button back there hee hee...
I like that, when I press the button on the passenger's side front door, it unlocks all the doors. That's smart, because the entrance of a passenger implies the entrance of a driver & allows for other passengers to enter the rear.
We like that feature too! Thank you for sharing and for watching our video.
@@paradisetoday On my Ford if I press the door unlock button once, just the drivers door unlocks. Twice and it unlocks all the doors. Have you tried that? I found it by accident.
I have the 2022 EUV. It's a nice car for around-the-town driving. I don't like long road trips because of the slow fast charging rate.
Thanks for watching and for your comment!
The door button thing is easily solved. I set my door locks to open all doors on the "unlock" (with buttons on doors, or key fob). THEN I set the car to automatically lock when I walk away, it takes about 20 seconds. Since the key is always in your pocket (or purse) you can easily unlock the car if needed. Also, if you leave the key/purse IN the car, it won't lock, but would also open with the key button on the door handle. So, try my way so you can easily access the back doors most of the time.
And, after February, we will be able to charge at Tesla Superchargers, which changes the whole game. We can get an adapter from A2Z adapters (mine is on the way). GM is supposed to be releasing an APP for charging at Tesla chargers around February 1st.
I love my 22 Bolt EUV. It's a GREAT car !! The first "new" car I've bought in 40 years, that's how much I was impressed by it. And most of it's design and features exceed the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y. It's more comfortable, quieter, and the 360 view is a 4K camera system, not sonar with shapes only.
Thanks for watching and for your comments!
I love the video and review, thanks so much. Do you find you need to air up your tires more often with your new vehicle?
Thank you for watching and for your kind comment! No. We haven't needed to adjust the air very much. We did have to when we drove it home from Michigan and we just needed to add air recently due to the temps finally cooling down here. So, twice in 7 months.
I'm happy with my Bolt. I chose it becasue it was a lot cheaper than a tesla but i kept upgrading the options so it didn't end up too much cheaper.
Thanks for watching and for your comment!
After waiting more than 3 months for my dealer to get an allocation for the basic 2023 Bolt for which I had contracted, last August, GM sent a Bolt EV with the L2 features. It seemed that I had to choose it, for about $3500 more, or not get one before GM stopped production. With the leather seats, 360-degree cameras, & 7-speaker sound system, I am reluctantly enjoying my first luxury car.
Great video, thanks guys!
Our pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it!
Just sold our 2023 EUV after 9 months to a family that needed it more than we did. We LOVED driving that little car, and we always chose it over our Highlander and F150 for local trips that didn’t need a hitch (bike rack, boat towing). It was a wonderful experience, and we’re waiting to see if the larger Equinox (now delayed) or Blazer (more expensive) will fit our needs better (an AWD EV that can replace the 7 year old Highlander). I passed the federal tax savings I’ll get in a few months on to the buyer by selling my EUV for just under $26k. We were able to drive our EUV for no loss in vehicle cost for 9 months and 7600 miles.
Thanks for watching and, nice!
You are both smart and generous
I am currently renting a Bolt EUV. It's the first electric car I have ever driven. My first charge took 2 hours because I used a slow charge to recover the first 20 miles I used up. My second charge took forty minutes with a fast charger in Electrify America. I find it to be a convenient car to consider buying at some point because I don't often exceed 20 miles of driving daily and I think the infrastructure is starting to be there. I think this car is a good starter EV car.
Thank you for watching and for your comment!
Agreed. Have a 2023 Bolt EUV and would not go back to ICE any time soon.
Thank you for watching and for your comment!
Thanks for the info, I own a 2017 Nissan Leaf, but am ready to upgrade to a BOLT EUV.
You're very welcome!
Haven’t tested this myself yet, but I saw in another video that if you press the outside door unlock button twice it will unlock all the doors.
Or just once if you set this option in your set-up menus.
@Peter-lj3bv Thanks for your comment. We have ours set to unlocking all of the doors when we push the outside unlock button.
@DM-zq8qy Thanks for your comment and for watching. That's how we have ours set up.
Just did 1000 miles round trip with Bolt EUV, Super Cruise works well, and it is a must to have for me. I believe this is the problem on Cadillac Lyriq that has difficulty to sale. This is because the majority of them do not have Super Cruise. I had been looking for one unfortunately never had any luck.
Thank you for your comment and that's interesting that the Lyriqs you've looked at don't have Super Cruise. We would have loved a Lyriq I'm sure but it was too expensive for us but even if it wasn't it was too big for our garage... And we definitely wanted Super Cruise!
Very good report! I checked out a Bolt EUV at the Chevy dealer while getting my Buick serviced the other day. Very impressed with the fit and finish as well as the technology. Also surprised by how roomy it was.
Thanks for your comment! We really like ours.
I can't say I don't like. Because I do.
From Clearwater Beach Florida USA. I drive 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV.
Thank you for watching and for your comment!
Thank you Chevy for making an affordable EV
Thanks for watching and for your comment! We agree!
I really liked your review on your bolt and I think the new bolt coming in 25 for the 26 yr will have those changes plus a longer range and faster charge time, also you might want to look at the Chevy Equinox ev 3LT AWD long range
Thanks for watching and for commenting. It is interesting to see the new EV products coming out.
Previous model years of the Bolt had exterior unlock/lock buttons on the rear door handles, I believe they were removed from the 2020 year models and on-wards. In 2020 the rear vision and surround vision cameras were upgraded to HD, and in 2021 DCFC became standard on Premier trims. I'm not sure what the changes were for 2022 and 2023 were, the list I found didn't include those years. There were some color differences throughout the years too: 2017 and 2018 had access to orange burst metallic and arctic blue metallic. 2019 had access to slate gray metallic, green mist metallic and shock. 2020 and 2021 had access to slate gray metallic, oasis blue, and cayenne orange and offered no dark silver grilles (with cayenne orange, oasis blue, mosaic black).
GM makes some "interesting" decisions that sometimes baffle me.
Thank you for watching and for the information on previous years. Yes - not sure why they would remove the buttons from the rear door handles. They're so convenient and we're still trying to push "phantom" buttons 8 months later 😆
Just FYI, you can buy small portable air compressors that use 18 or 20 volt rechargeable batteries, from Home Depot and Lowes. I know of two brands that are good, (Ryobi and Rigid) but I'm sure there are others.
Thank you for the tip! We'll probably get one. It's funny because there used to be so many 12volt portable air compressors for cars back in the day. They're hard to find now.
They used to plug into the cigar lighter to use. Now they have internal batteries, so that makes them much more portable.
@@paradisetodayHarbor Freight sells a little plastic 12v inflator for $10, and a nicer metal one with a carry bag for $40.
@@paradisetodayIf you or your husband has any cordless tools. Just buy whatever air compressor can use the batteries you already have
Hi, I have a 23' Premier trim level just like yours.
2:25 I was wondering ... Do your rear inside door handle pockets have NO rubber paddings unlike the front doors?
Hi! Yes - good observation! Our rear handle pockets don't have that rubber-like material in them either. The front does.
@@paradisetoday thanks for confirming that. Also, only passenger front seat has back-pocket. Well ... I guess GM is sicken cheap on cost cutting.
Nice review. I bought a used 2020 Bolt back in November. My only complaints are the horrible seats and the sun glare on the infotainment screen.
I bought a $100 purple seat cushion to fix the seats
Thank you for watching and commenting! Glad you were able to make the seat more comfortable for you.
I think that they improved the seats since 2020 and I wonder if they are compatible with your car. The seats in my '23 are just fine.
I could see that because I often find seats uncomfortable in cars so the fact that these work for me means they're pretty good.
Hi there, enjoyed your video. We are trading our 2018 volt for a 2023 bolt euv , curious about the mats in you car. are they factory or aftermarket.
Hello! Thanks for watching and glad you liked the video! They are Chevy floor liners for the Bolt EUV. We had to buy them from the Chevy dealer since they weren't available at the time we ordered our Bolt. Luckily we were able to use our Chevy reward points from having purchased our EUV to help pay for the liners. Good luck with your purchase.
I've had an EUV for about 9 months now. I don't take many long trips. The farthest I've gone is about 70 miles. For longer trips, we take my wife's car. I definitely agree about the reflective trim on the steering wheel. It's brutal when the sun hits it. My biggest want for this car would be a percent of charge display, like on my cell phone. It's available in the app, but it can be a hassle to use it and it's unreliable. The mileage estimate, i.e., "guess - o meter", isn't accurate. On the other hand, if the battery is at 70%, I know I have about 140 miles or so, for example.
Thanks for watching and for your comment! We hadn't really thought about % vs. the estimated mile range. We've only just taken our EUV down to 53 average miles left of charge before charging and didn't worry at all about it.
I'm surprised no one sells a cover for the shiny part of the wheel yet.
GM really should provide something. We may actually just paint the top part of the logo a matte black to solve that problem.
@@paradisetodayWould a black (or blue)sharpie work?😂
Nice vid. I've heard with ev's the remote start drains the 12 volt battery because the main battery in the floor of the car isn't on when you do this. Any idea if that's true / have you had any issues with your 12 volt?
Thanks for watching and for your comment! We follow what's in the manual which has details on the 12 volt and high voltage batteries and we haven't had any problems with it.
@@paradisetodayI understand that the 380v battery is “activated” withe the “start”. So there should be 0 load on the 12v battery.
@patrick7228 Inside the traction battery is a set of Contactors. When you get in the EV and press "start", the 12v battery is used to close those Contactors which energizes all the High Voltage systems.
Actually, the air conditioning system in the Bolt (and all EVs) is identical to the A/C system in gas vehicles. Any difference in generating cool air is probably just a perception issue, not a real difference. EVs do use either resistance heating or a heat pump system for heat, however, which can be much quicker to create heat than waiting for the engine to warm up. For inflating your tires I highly recommend spending $30 on an electric pump for your home/garage, especially as gas station pumps are becoming less common, less reliable, and they are no longer free. The other option is to just stop at a tire store, they always have free air.
Thanks for watching and for your comments. The actual devices used to generate cool air may be the same or similar but the power delivery to them is not handled the same and tuning for gasoline emissions (depending on manufacturer/model) can make things even worse for getting cold air in an ICE vehicle at idle. I've been in plenty of hot ICE cars that won't deliver cold air until you actually start driving. That's another reason why it's not safe to leave kids/animals unattended in hot vehicles even if the engine is running and A/C on. It might not be able to keep up with the heat outside. We do plan on getting an air compressor at some point.
@@paradisetoday I mean, I'm glad you love your Bolt and that the A/C works great, but really, the A/C systems in EVs are functionally the same as in ICE vehicles. Of course there can be a difference between various vehicles, but that is not because one vehicle is an EV and the other is not, it is because one system just works better than the other. (Certified Professional Engineer with 35 years work experience at GM and Ford Motor in New Vehicle Product Development.)
They definitely are NOT the same. in ICE cars the AC compressor is powered by the gas engine via an alternator, which means the gas engine must be running for the AC to operate. In an electric car, the AC compressor is powered by the battery. This means you can run the AC while parked without spewing fumes. You just have to be willing to accept a decrease in range.
@@dperrenop
@@paulclement4961 That is a technicality. The actual system is identical. Hybrid cars also use an electric motor to drive the compressor. Whether driven by an electric motor or a belt, the compressor and the rest of the system performs the same.
Gr8 vid as usual. I'm hoping to pick up my Bolt EV that I ordered in December sometime this week. I plan on keeping it for about three years or so. GM's next Bolt will be an Ultium Chevy Bolt that will be fitted with Tesla charging ports. I'm guessing it will be a 2027 model. At that time I'll have to decide on getting one of those or the Tesla Model 2. That Tesla should be out by 2027 as well. 🚙 🇺🇸 🔌
Thank you for your comments! We would love to get a vehicle with the new ultium batteries but our next car isn't budgeted until about 10 years from now. It will be interesting to see what's out by then. Congrats on your new Bolt!
Hi. We are thinking of buying this car but I just found out it’s being discontinued are you at all concerned about this. For resale value, service etc. thx
@@donnad7999 I'm not concerned whatsoever. I took delivery of the car last week and I'm in love with it. I really don't know what the discontinuation will do to the value. Good luck. 🚙 🇺🇸 🔌
@donnad In July 2023 Chevy announced that the Bolt is no longer discontinued. Here's a news link from NPR www.npr.org/2023/07/27/1190569344/chevy-bolt-electric-vehicle-gm-ev
@@paradisetoday It's true that the Bolt will live on, but the current generation is scheduled to end production on December 20th, 2023. The new Bolt, some speculate, will begin production in about 2 to 3 years from now. However, the recent strike could have affected this timetable. 🚙 🇺🇸 🔌
We want to buy one but heard this will be the last year for this car. Online comments say you shouldn’t buy a discontinued car because of resale value, parts and service. Are you concerned about Chevy supporting this discontinued car?
@donnad7999 Thank you for watching and for your question. Chevy announced in July that they aren't discontinuing the Bolt after all AND they will be adding the Ultium batteries to the Bolt. That said, even when it was discontinued, no we weren't worried. The vehicle does have warranties and the batteries are warrantied for 8 years so we were confident that Chevy could service our car. Your other concern of resale value is a concern for us already since our vehicle won't have the upgraded batteries or whatever other new technologies available in subsequent years and that's why we don't count on resale value when deciding on buying a car. We don't mind driving our Bolt for its entire natural life if we're unable to trade it in in 10 years. (I also replied to your other comment with a link to an NPR article - www.npr.org/2023/07/27/1190569344/chevy-bolt-electric-vehicle-gm-ev)
Good question. EVERY new car depreciates RAPIDLY the first 2-4 years. That is why I just bought a 2020 Bolt for $14,000 after $4,000 tax credit (plus “closing costs”)
Wow, that's really strange your modern EV does not have memory settings for the driver's seat, I wonder if that feature is also lacking in the earlier Bolt years as well ?
I'm not sure if earlier Bolts had seat memory or not. Hopefully they'll add that option!
Maybe that's a expensive feature from a manufactuer's perspective, since it would a mini motor, kind of sucks still, my wife really loves that feature, anyway, I have just as pressing a concern, and not sure how to get the answer without going into a Chevy dealership and bothering them with this question: ? Do you know which package was needed in the 2017 to 2019 Chevy Bolts that offered the remote start with climate control option? I think it's got something, to do with which models had the smartphone app feature, I thought this was a standard feature even on the LT trim back in 2017, but some other owner who has a Premiere said he didn't think that was standard at all, it all depends, and that feature is really important for us in the SouthWest where it gets over 115 degrees in the summer:
Sorry - I didn't see your question until now :( Unfortunately, I don't know what package would have gotten the combination you're looking for.
I am 70 years old and since the 1970’s I have never seen soot on my car by the exhaust pipe.
Thanks for watching! You're lucky! Wish we could say the same.
I have a Tesla and a bolt. The bolt controls are more confusing and unnecessary lol
its a peaceful driving car without engine vibration or frequencies. the one pedal driving is a game changer for me. My range is 320-332 miles.
Thanks for watching and for your comment! I use the one pedal driving too!
Sorry about your ding!
Thank you! Still hurts 🤕
I have been driving EVs for the past 10 years. Based on my experience with four Bolt EVs, Bolt EVs are extremely efficient and reliable vehicles. 2017-2021 Bolt EVs seats are not very comfortable. Make sure to rotate your tires and keep the tires properly inflated at 38 PSI.
Thanks for watching and for your comments! I'm glad we find the seats comfortable in the 2023 model.
Just get a Ryobi air compressor or something.
Yes - we plan on getting something at some point. Thanks for watching and for the suggestion!
Buy a $20.00 air compressor at Harbor Freight.
Thanks for watching and for your comment. We ended up getting a Kobalt 12V compressor. We'll probably do a video about its performance.
We have very bad memories of GM vehicles and would NEVER buy one again. Those minor "annoyances" is why GM vehicles are poorly engineered. Toyota, Hyundai, and yes, Tesla engineers sweat the details and don't make you get annoyed that a metallic trim on a steering wheel blinds the driver during daylight. Oh, and was your Bolt EUV recalled yet for exploding batteries? I do like how you have two solar panels for charging, which is a great idea. We have our entire roof covered in solar panels, so when I do get an EV (Toyota or Hyundai, of course), I'll be charging it at home with my own green electricity. Soon, all the EV charging ports will be NACS compliant, so even if you don't buy a Tesla, you will have the ability to use Tesla charging stations (which Wawa food and gas stations have in FL and throughout the East coast).
Thanks for watching. Based on the well publicized recalls on Toyota, Hyundai, and Tesla vehicles (including fires), there are plenty of annoyances with their products too. I don't think we can single out any vehicle manufacturer as being immune to problems. There are lots of choices for all of us consumers so we can all do our research and find the right products that best meet each of our needs. We would love to get some more solar panels but are leery of mounting on the roof what with the hurricanes and all.
I have had great experiences with my three Malibus, two Corsicas, Terrain, and my current Bolt. You are right about the glare. I suspect the marketing department overruled the engineers. People like their new “toys” to sparkle. (I.e. better sales)
To me the functionality of an EV for the price of a Bolt can’t be beat. Fires were RARE and not GM’s fault. And the battery will still be under warranty when I die, trade, or start taking driverless Uber rides. 🤣
Soot on your car... Yeah right 😐
Why is it that revuewers/owners feel it necessary to end their positive comments with personal insignificant bitches. There are NO perfect cars but IMHO the Bolt EUV is as close to one that that will ever be. I love my EUV PREMIERE and cannot pick nits with this extraordinarily well designed, engineered and assembled vehicle which would label me an insufferable whiner. That said: I will allow myself one butch in that GM did blunder by discontinuing the Bolt series.
Disagree. I think it's important to include all feedback. Manufacturers DO watch CZcams videos about their products and they should know about things like the solar glare blinding issue. Each customer who makes their individual preferences known could ultimately be used in a cumulative data set that leads a manufacturer to a product enhancement.
I got a rental car (Bolt) EV .....Never again. Trip from Fort Myers to Daytona 8hrs with charging. NO THANK YOU !
Fort Myers to Daytona Beach is 210 miles. Our vehicle can do that on a full charge no problem.
You are right about long road trips as a ROUTINE in this car. But we made it easily from Myrtle Beach to FL with just a one hour charge OTW.