Chevrolet, one of the largest automakers in the world has unveiled its new electronic car (Bolt EV), on 6th January, 2016 at Consumer Electronic Show (CES), as reported by Daniel Howley; a Yahoo Technology Reporter. This is coming after much anticipation by the company’s loyal customers across the globe.
The big deal about Chevy’s Bolt EV is that unlike other competing electric vehicles, it is expected to get up to 200 miles on a single charge and cost less than $30,000. In other words it will cost less than a Tesla, and get more mileage out of a charge than Nissan’s Leaf.
Its price-point and range make many people in the auto industry see the Bolt EV as the first truly consumer-friendly electric vehicle.
How friendly is it in actual use? To find out, I spent some time driving the Bolt around a course set up in a parking lot outside the Las Vegas Convention Center. The verdict: I was impressed, said Daniel Howley; a Yahoo Technology Reporter.
Just as with all electrics, acceleration is extremely quick. And, since there is no transmission, you never hear or feel any gear shifts.
Like BMW’s i3, the Bolt EV offers one-pedal drive which, when active, automatically slows the vehicle to a stop whenever you take your foot off the “gas.” Doing so even recharges the Bolt EV’s battery, thanks to its regenerative brake. It’s jarring to use though, as it causes the car to brake rather aggressively. Fortunately, the feature is only active when you switch the shifter into Low. In Standard drive, you activate regenerative braking by pulling on a paddle to the left of its steering wheel.
The Battery
According to Chevy – the company, the Bolt EV can charge from empty on a standard 120-volt outlet in 36 hours. With a 240-volt outlet (the same kind you’d plug a washer or drier into), the Bolt EV will charge from empty in just two hours, and if you use DC fast charging, you can charge the car in an hour and a half.
Inside, the Bolt EV is deceptively roomy, thanks to some innovative space-saving features. Its seats, for instance, have been designed to add an extra inch of legroom for backseat passengers. To achieve this, engineers used just 10 millimeters of padding on the Bolt EV’s seats and a special plastic membrane with a suspension system that absorbs bumps and bounces while driving the electric car. The result is a driver’s seat that’s far thinner than the normal driver’s seat, yet surprisingly comfortable. There’s plenty of room in the back seats, too; even the trunk is relatively large for a car of the Bolt EV’s size. The Bolt EV is basically a clown car in that respect.
The User Interface
There is no doubt; a high-tech car needs a slick dashboard interface. The Bolt EV certainly checks that box.
First, there’s the 10-inch touch screen display with a customizable interface divided into four sections. Not only can you customize which features you want displayed in each of those four areas, but you can magnify each section so it takes up most, the screen or shrink it to a small box.
The setup looks bright and clean, and is relatively easy for most smartphone users to figure out. If you don’t quite understand what you’re looking at, there’s a ‘Help Button’ at the top of the screen that, when pressed, tells you exactly what the screen you’re looking at does. Behind its wheel is an 8-inch digital cluster that displays everything from your vehicle’s charge state to your speed.
The company says the Bolt EV will also launch with Android Auto and Apple Car Play integration, so that you will be able to use your smartphone and certain apps behind the wheel; hands-free of course.
The Bolt EV also comes equipped with all manner of driver assist technologies including lane keeping and blind spot warning. One other unique feature of the electric car is the additional camera that the manufacturer strapped to the back of the car that runs a feed directly to the rear-view mirror.
If you want to activate its video feed, you simply flip down the mirror and immediately see an unobstructed view of what’s behind you. It’s a pretty neat trick to show your passenger and provides you with a much greater field of view than the traditional mirror. And if the camera gets dirty, Chevy equipped it with a special spray washer you can apply to clean it.
So will the Bolt be the car that blows the EV market wide open for the average consumer? It’s too early to tell, as the manufacturer is yet to announce exact pricing details of the electric car, and we still haven’t seen a final production version. But based on my quick test-drive, it absolutely has the potential.
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