2023 Chevy Bolt EUV for my daughter
 

It's time. My daughters 2006 Camry SE (3.3L V6) is reaching the end of its useful life. At nearly 200,000 miles, it's become expensive to maintain, plus my daughter who currently works with autistic children, has to do a bit of travelling from client to client, and the Camry is not exactly fuel efficient. So we looked at a few different cars:

Toyota Corolla hybrid
Honda Accord
Hyundai Kona EV
Chevy Bolt EUV LT

We were able to test drive a Corolla hybrid, she didn't like it, coming from 4 years of driving a V6. Plus it's completely not available until end of this year. The Honda Accord was a bit over her price range, so we looked at the Kona EV, which is around the same price as the Accord, but the lower cost of operating and no maint made it more attractive, but Hyundai no longer gets that Tax credit, so lastly we looked at the Chevy Bolt EUV, which with the Clean energy tax credits and additional discounts GM is offering (recent grad credits, working in a medical related field etc) the price is going to be around $19,995. That is just insane!

The model we are looking at is the 2023 Bolt EUV. It has a 200 HP 266 ft-lbs torque electric motor, EPA rated economy of 104 MPGe combined, and 247 miles of range. We looked at a ton of reviews, and for its price, it's listed as the best EV value. It's going to cost her almost nothing to drive, needs almost no maint, and it drives better than any four cylinder or hybrid.

I've already test driven it, and this Friday my daughter has an appointment to do her own test drive. GM is offering incentives for leasing, we may go that route, or my wife and I may put the money down (buy it cash) and have our daughter make monthly payment directly to us. We'll decide on Friday when we sit down with dealer on Friday. I'll post more details and pics on Friday or Saturday

Friend of mine got one just over a month ago for his wife. Like you, they found the pricing too much to resist. Theirs is the top Premier Redline trim (MSRP $33,790), and net cost after rebates was $22,290, including free installation of a 220V outlet for the included combo charger (32A@220V).

They're quite happy with it. They got 3.2 mi/kWh on the drive back from the dealer 175 mi away.

That price your friends got is just insane. I may talk her into going a higher trim

$11,500 in rebates ($7,500 federal, $4,000 state) will do that for you. :)

My daughter is going to love that! A 22 year old, just graduated (last summer) with a ton of college debt making her way into this world. That's a pretty generous state rebate, California's is only $2000 for battery electric vehicles

from everything i've watched and read, good choice!

i think this vehicle is very under appreciated. from what i recall, its only weakness is it doesn't charge that fast?

Yep, it only supports up to 55 kW DC charging, but her daily drive is no more than 50 to 70 miles in a day, so she will never have to use a fast charger. I'll be installing a second Level 2 charger she will just plug it in every night when she gets home

Very underappreciated. I test drove it, and it's perfect as a commuter car. Plus she has a led foot, so it's not too torquey and is perfect for her driving style

i also think i read gm loses money on every one! and now they're basically giving them away, i guess to be 'in the game'. :egads:

GM makes between $1344 and $2150 per vehicle. Not sure if this is Electric Vehicles or in general

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...1bb0686037.jpg

I did a recent write-up on the Bolt EUV myself, and was quite impressed with it. Since you have already test-driven one, and read other reviews, you may not need or want mine, but I'll include it just in case. The only big question with it, right now, is potential reliability...but that is also a problem with some Teslas.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-bolt-euv.html

Undeniably great value. GM had earlier said they were not making any money/losing money on each Bolt created, but I don't think that extends to the EUV.

Yes, I did see your review, thanks for that. I know several people who own Bolts going back to 2019 and I've run into several people when travelling to SoCal who were travelling as far as Oregon, and they love their Bolts and only one person told me they had to have the battery pack changed under a recall. It also has an 8 year 100,000 mile warranty on the battery packs, so for the price she will be getting it for, if it lasts her 8 years than it would have paid for itself already

solid choice - good luck and keep us posted!

I think an ICE vehicle would fit your daughters need more. ICE don't need that much maintenance and new cars are covered for the first couple of years. They will also sell better if and when she decides to purchase a different car. A sedan will also have more space and cargo room. I would go for the new Accord.

EV's are better suited for those who don't drive much in a city like location(imo). But the Bolt is a nice looking little EV.

With all due respect, you are saying stuff that's just not true to someone who has owned two EV's over the last 3 years, and am around lots of other EV owners. EV's need virtually ZERO maint. No oil changes, no filter changes. No transmission service, no plugs etc etc. Rotors and brakes, every 100K. Tires would be the biggest expense. Secondly, my daughter is not one who changes cars (she hates change), she will probably be driving this car 10 years down the line. Also, she will never have to visit a gas station ever again and will charge every night and wake up with a full tank. Her cost of fueling will probably be less than $30 a month, while an Accord will be at least $160 a month in gas. And she doesn't have to deal with a crappy CVT.

The last thing I want to say is that this is a commuter, she will not be making long trips in it, but that said, I've made lots of long trips from NorCal to SoCal (390 miles each way) with zero issues in my Polestar. On one of my trips, I did over a 1000 miles over 4 days, zero issues. I can tell you with 100 percent assurance that as someone who has owned and driven all types of ICE vehicles since I was 16 (I'm now 55 years young :D), I will never, ever in my life buy another ICE. As much as I still love and respect them, ICE vehicles are inefficient, wasting 80 percent or more of their energy into heat before the power even hits the wheels, while EV's are 85 to 90 percent efficient, drive better, have virtually zero NVH, don't need much maint. It's a no brainer for me, and my daughter did the calculations and it's a no brainer for her as well