Author: Brooke Crothers / Source: Forbes
Not everyone looking for an EV needs the Model 3. Here’s an argument for probably the best alternative.
Disclaimer: I don’t own a Model 3, have not driven one, and probably won’t until Tesla begins offering Model 3 test drives at the end of July at the Tesla Century City (Los Angeles) store.
Disclaimer notwithstanding, you can’t talk about (or recommend) an EV these days without considering the elephant in the room — the Model 3. So my headline is trying to convey the fact that pretty much every trending EV story (including reviews) these days is about the Model 3. As a result, Bolt EV stories/reviews get buried under a mountain of Model 3 headlines.
Why every new EV buyer should (at least) consider the Bolt:*
Price: within reach of many more buyers than the Model 3. MSRP of $37,495 before federal and state incentives.
I drive a 2018 Bolt (leased). Prior to leasing, I did my fair share of shopping around Los Angeles and, I later realized, declined some pretty good lease offers when I first started looking. For instance, I was offered a config roughly between the base model and the Premier for $27o a month with $2,500 down (which I can cover with California $2,500 rebate). I ended up paying a little bit more when I finally signed a lease a couple of months later.
The important thing to remember is this: GM 36-month leases make a long-range EV within reach of many more car buyers than the Model 3 as currently offered by Tesla¹. Check out this Tesla Model 3 “order now” page and compare it to the deals being offered by an aggressive Chevy dealer and you’ll see what I mean.
We’re typically talking about a price difference of at least $10,000 between the Bolt and Model 3.And needless to say, you can walk into a Chevy dealer and walk out with a Bolt the same day.
Range: almost like a gas car. The Bolt EV has better rated range than the base-model Model 3: a rated range of 238 for the Bolt vs. 220 for the Model 3.
The tl:dr is: it’s like having a 12-gallon gas tank. Which means I don’t have to constantly worry about “filling up.”
Though I typically charge it every night, there are times when I don’t. So, I can fully charge once (at home or a local EVgo charging station) and then not worry about charging for a few days. For instance, last week, I didn’t charge it for five days despite driving all over northwest Los Angeles on three of those days. And I still had about 120 miles of range remaining.
This is a marked improvement over 1st gen EVs. A while back, I had 2016 Chevy…
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