{"id":3071,"date":"2017-01-25T01:45:03","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T01:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rsoftsolution.com\/blog\/driving-the-2017-chevrolet-bolt-ev.html"},"modified":"2017-01-25T01:45:03","modified_gmt":"2017-01-25T01:45:03","slug":"driving-the-2017-chevrolet-bolt-ev","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbsitsoftwaresolution.in\/blog\/driving-the-2017-chevrolet-bolt-ev.html","title":{"rendered":"Driving the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Driving the Chevrolet Bolt is a bit anticlimactic at first; it feels a lot like driving an ordinary car initially, albeit one with more pick-up than the average compact four-door can offer. It\u2019s still fun, but the real fun starts when you fully embrace the car\u2019s electric side.<\/p>\n

The Bolt is designed to be approachable and at least a little familiar at first, even though it\u2019s actually a very different kind of car under the hood, thanks to its 60 kWh battery and electric motor. Chevrolet knows that a lot of its owners will be first-time EV buyers, and that there\u2019s a learning curve when you\u2019re coming from a long history of driving gas-powered cars.<\/p>\n

Bolt is intended to say \u201cHi\u201d in a way the average driver can understand, but if you make a little effort and look deeper into what makes this purely electric vehicle with class-leading range unique, you\u2019ll definitely be rewarded.<\/p>\n

I got to drive the Bolt EV at an event set up by Chevrolet in Palo Alto, hosted in part at the beautiful, modern abode of one of the Bolt\u2019s first buyers, and also across a broad stretch of Northern California\u2019s most appealing roadways, including snaking, narrow roadways with the Bolt handled with ease, even in unusually wet weather. The ride also included the Pacific Ocean-skirting 1, a highway so scenic it\u2019s almost a shame to drive it fast.<\/p>\n

The Bolt isn\u2019t exactly a speed demon itself \u2013 but it\u2019s no slouch, either. Its 6.2-second 0 to 60 mph time won\u2019t win it a place atop the list of the world\u2019s fastest production vehicles, unlike some other EVs. But it feels fast, and fun \u2013 both in its basic drive mode, and with the Sport feature engaged, which gives you a very noticeable boost when it comes to pick-up, but taxes your battery reserves quicker as a trade-off.<\/p>\n

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No, in general the Bolt doesn\u2019t feel like a sports car, but it isn\u2019t one; it\u2019s a spacious, small vehicle perfectly at home in urban driving conditions, with comfortable space for a family of four and convertible storage that offers a lot of room for bags, particularly if you\u2019re using the fold-flat back seats in their closed position. You could reasonably get checked backs for a family of three in the back with a tight fit, for instance, or a week\u2019s worth of camping provisions for a duo using the full fold-flat storage space.<\/p>\n

Bolt does feel like is a family car with some fire, however, and a fun quotient that deepens if, as I hinted above, you venture out of the car\u2019s default drive mode and take advantage of some of the unique features it can offer specifically because it is an EV.<\/p>\n

In Drive, which you enter by simply pushing the new electronic shift down, the car feels very similar to whatever fossil fuel-based ride you might be used to; It accelerates when you hit the now-inappropriately named \u2019gas\u2019 pedal, and coasts when you remove it, decelerating slowly and smoothly. Tap that electronic shift down once more, however, and you enter \u2018Low\u2019 mode, which is where the Bolt\u2019s regenerative breaking swtiches on by default\u00a0\u2013 and where the car\u2019s character really starts to shine through.<\/p>\n

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If you haven\u2019t used a car with regenerative breaking before, it\u2019s going to take some getting used to; effectively the car is not \u201cbraking\u201d in the traditional sense. Instead, it\u2019s offering resistance via the motor, and using your momentum to push against that resistance and harvesting the resulting collected power to put back into that battery, recouping charge.<\/p>\n

Using regenerative braking, you don\u2019t actually need to use the brake pedal all that much, depending on how good you are at predicting when you need to stop and timing your deceleration. Removing your foot from the accelerator will result in what feels like a fairly aggressive \u2013 though not sudden \u2013 brake, and you can use this technique to coast to stops at intersections accurately and easily with a little practice.<\/p>\n

We got plenty of time to test the regen braking features, which also include a way to do this using a steering wheel-mounted paddle, which you can employ either in Low mode to accelerate the rate of deceleration (yep, that is really what I mean) or in the regular Drive mode, to manually trigger it even when it\u2019s not otherwise engaged. I liked both methods, but eventually it started to feel like driving in \u201cLow\u201d was the true default.<\/p>\n

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Regen braking actually adds an element of fun to the driving experience that\u2019s completely unavailable when you\u2019re driving a gas-powered car: it gamifies driving as you try to master the ability to drive without touching the brake, and it encourages you to try to drive with maximum efficiency, getting back every mile you possibly can with the most effective use of regenerative braking you can manage.<\/p>\n

Reading that back, I\u2019m not sure if it sounds fun, but in practice, it is. And using the paddle adds a tactile control element that\u2019s extremely satisfying to this driver. Realistically, a Chevrolet engineer tells me that you\u2019re probably going to only get as much as 5 percent of your charge back via regenerative breaking, which translates to just under 12 miles\u00a0\u2013 not really enough to make a huge difference, but still something \u2013 and the real point is the fun you have trying to recoup that power, anyway.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s amazing about all of this is that Chevrolet went out of their way to engineer an experience that hides this completely; the default Drive mode, with its more \u201cnatural\u201d driving feel compared to traditional cars, is actually a fully software-driven artifice made to bridge the gap for novice EV drivers. It\u2019s a nice touch, but take it from me: Once you go \u2018Low,\u2019 you\u2019re going to stay there.<\/p>\n

In terms of creature comforts, the Bolt is also a strong vehicle, especially given how Chevrolet has decided to outfit even the base model trim. There\u2019s a 10.2-inch capacitive touchscreen display standard, for instance, as well as support for both Android Auto and Apple Maps out of the box. These options effectively replace on-board navigation \u2013 Chevrolet says it didn\u2019t think that\u2019s necessary anymore now that virtually all drivers are walking around with the world\u2019s greatest mapping services in their pockets, and I agree wholeheartedly.<\/p>\n

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And while I\u2019d still recommend either Android Auto or CarPlay as your primary infotainment interface, the native Chevy interface actually isn\u2019t that bad, with a number of preset options included \u201cFamily\u201d to choose from with different individual layout pieces, like media and quick access contacts. These can be customized, but if anything I found them a bit overwhelming and busy in their range of offerings and visual presentation. But plug in your phone and that big, beautiful touchscreen is put to great use, regardless.<\/p>\n

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The digital instrument panel is much better, with three different available settings based on your comfort level with the technology powering your car. An advanced mode, the one I liked best, offers a view of your remaining range, including both a high and low estimate, established based on your recent driving history and lifetime driving habits. This is super useful, especially if you\u2019re new to EVs, because range anxiety is still a thing even with 238 miles of travel in a full charge, and a number of factors can lead to significant changes in how many miles you\u2019ll actually get out of that capacity even trip-to-trip.<\/p>\n

Chevrolet\u2019s system is informative without being overwhelming, and will give you a guess of your real-world range that allows you to plan trips more accurately. It could still use input from other signals, including weather and road conditions, but it\u2019s doing a lot with the intelligence available in terms of adjusting estimates on the fly.<\/p>\n

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    Other aspects of the interior are equally well-designed. The trim accent with a pixel-like finish is attractive, and while it\u2019s white, the car\u2019s designers assured me it cleans easily and won\u2019t be quick to pick up dirt. The car is also designed to maximize interior space, and it shows \u2013 even though it\u2019s physically a small car, it feels a lot bigger on the inside, and I was able to fit my 6\u20192\u201d, 200 lb frame in the cockpit easily and comfortably, whereas I normally feel cramped in similarly sized vehicles, including the Nissan Juke.<\/p>\n

    In the end, the Bolt is the first EV that feels like a practical option I could actually see myself owning. The price is right, and it\u2019s fun to drive, with a decent amount of cargo space and enough range to visit the family\u2019s lake house\u00a0without having to stop to recharge. Real-world range testing will have to wait for a longer review, but driving California\u2019s highways and San Francisco\u2019s city streets was thoroughly enjoyable in the Bolt, making it an easy choice to recommend based on first impressions.<\/p>\n

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      Article source: https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2017\/01\/24\/driving-the-2017-chevrolet-bolt-ev\/?ncid=rss<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Driving the Chevrolet Bolt is a bit anticlimactic at first; it feels a lot like driving an ordinary car initially, albeit one with more pick-up than the average compact four-door <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17],"tags":[23],"class_list":["post-3071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-networking-and-communication","tag-network-and-communication"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t