1 Year review of Owning an electric car (EV), a Chevy Bolt!

I bought my '23 Lt EUV as a commuter only, but I ended up loving how quiet and smooth it is, and sold all my ICE vehicles. Charging at home the Bolt costs 1/4 to 1/3 what my awd Prius did to run, and it averaged 60 us mpg from new. The longest trip I've done is 450 miles, and I didn't have problem finding chargers. I left the evse that came with the Bolt in the hatch, and added a thick extension cord in case I need to charge from a regular 110 plug.

Same exact experience with my Bolt EUV after one year. Charge it 99% of the time at home while I'm sleeping, and haven't used the charge credit yet. 10 times cheaper to drive than my gas vehicles, and going to the gas station now seems like an antiquated chore, as do air filter and oil changes. Using it as my primary also prolongs the wear and tear and maintenance intervals on my gas cars. Never had range anxiety because I use it for its intended purpose. I'll also add, I chose hopping in my Bolt over my gas cars 99% of the time, not only for the economy, but for the driving experience. It's just pleasant. It's like a cordless drill vs a corded. Sure, need the big guns every once in a while, but the rest of the time, I'm taking easy street.

We bought a Bolt became, with local and federal tax incentives, it was super cheap. I also loved the maintenance schedule. Only tire rotation and cabin air filter changes for at least 100k. Same as the OP, we just use it for shorter trips, less than 200 miles round-trip. We tend to fly to visit relatives (2000 miles) or the beach (1000 miles or more) for longer trips. Normal days, it just plugs into a ordinary 120v wall socket, and drives 5 or ten miles. It takes a few days to fully charge, but that's fine. I suppose if we ever had 200 mile trips planned for back to back days, we'd use a faster charger. That's never happened. We also have charging credits we've pretty much never used. If ever wanted to take a long road trip, we'll just rent an ICE car. We did that just before our Bolt was delivered, because we didn't trust the ancient car we had on long trip, and it cost $200 to drive 2000 miles. Range anxiety solved.

I've had my Bolt Premier since brand new for over 4 years now (including 4 Canadian winters) and am still very happy with it. The smartest car choice I've ever made. Thank you GM, you've created a masterpiece.

I like your videos. They are entertaining and informative. This one is very good as EV's are not for everyone. We have 2 a Volt and a Tesla Model S.. We love them both.. We also Have a GMC Denali truck... it now lives a slow life of dump runs and boat hauler.. Keep up the good work..

When we bought an electric vehicle almost two years ago I figured we could use our Tacoma pickup for road trips. Turns out we don’t. With the exception of towing our camper or accessing remote trailheads back on rough dirt roads, we prefer the EV even for 1,000+ mile road trips. Most of our charging is at home which is cheaper and easier than going to a gas station.

I have owned 2 short range EVs for almost 5 years, don't worry about these paranoid fantasy emergency scenarios. What if your gas car breaks down, what if you get in an accident, what if an aneurysm bursts while you're driving. EV are safe, cheaper to maintain & fuel, better for the environment.

So u get around 44 miles for only $1. 😮 that's amazing

I've had my Bolt about a year myself, and like you, I had a Volt for 7 years prior! I totally agree with you, I really like my Bolt, too!!

Good review. If I didn't live in an apartment building which makes it difficult to recharge an electric car, I would look into buying one.

Great video, I am looking to buy one to use exactly as you do.

Great video! My insurance rate for my 2023 Bolt 2LT is very low. I’m retired and for my 2016 Honda HRV I was paying $490 a year, when I added the Bolt it went to $595 a year. It the cheapest car to insure that I’ve ever owned.

You are the perfect customer for this sort of car and this sort of car is perfect for you.

I have owned many types of cars including Vettes and Cadillacs. My 2023 Chevy Bolt is a wonder to behold! Yes, it takes a bit longer to charge. However, it is so great not to need gas, oil, and antifreeze. Hey, they can't steal my catalytic converter either. Why? I don't have one. Now, I do have one big problem! What am I to do with the $15,000 to $50,000 I saved not buying any other EV. Did you know that this front-wheel-drive vehicle beat out a bunch of AWD EVs on a snowy mountain road in an endurance run.

I love common sense reviews about the EV. I got the IoniQ5 and I had an idea about how I would charge the battery which would primarily be at home. And since I work at home, and don't need to travel to the office, I don't have to charge that often. I still say to anyone considering and EV to figure out where you plan to charge up and go for it.

Thanks for the video. You don't notice a difference driving an EV over an ICE? I've been driving EV's for over seven years, the first thing I noticed is there's no transmission shifting especially going up and down hills. You have an EUV not a Bolt EV which is bigger, I wouldn't call it tiny, in fact it has more room than your Volt did. I'd call it a compact hatchback with the back seats down we get all our winter produce from the farm in it. I think people complain about charging because reviewers are ill informed and focus on it. A 500 mile trip only means about a half hour or hour more wait to charge. I don't know about you but the number of 500 mile trips we take are few, it's not bad for a couple of times a year. Personally we think the Bolt is one of the nicest EV's you can get, nice size, really inexpensive to own and run - a real bargain.

I really like my Bolt and I recommend it to almost everyone unless you can afford an EV that level 3 charges faster but it'll cost you much more!

hi, I’ve chevy volt and has the same daily commute about 90mile. how many % or kw uses a day?

After 7 years I am retiring my Nissan Leaf. So we now own a Hyundai Kona Electric. I welcome the bigger battery but I surely will be missing my Leaf.

I was honestly waiting for you to do a follow up before I went and got one. For a commuting vehicle, this will be perfect for me, especially since my job has a EV charger, and I live in an apartment (no charger).