The Bolt is interesting. It doesn't feel like any car I have been in before. It feels "prototype-y" in a good way... the seats manually adjust, the accoutrements inside are pretty rudimentary (weight reduction) to get the greatest battery life, the knobs and switches are all lightweight... and all that appeals to me in my "commuter car". I don't want to commute in a Bentley. I want a utility vehicle for commuting, and the Bolt feels like that... but "more" due to the fancy tech. After 10 years of running my own business, carefully tracking all of my mileage and expenses, I have zero range anxiety. ANY recent electric vehicle is going to have PLENTY of battery for my type of use. (Plus, we have the Rav4 and the motorcycle and the RV, if we need another vehicle.) I think driving any of these all-electric vehicles is going to change your perception of driving, from "all the comforts of home, in the car", to transportation as utilitarian need. I'm interested in that mental journey. HOWEVER. Went to lunch yesterday with a coworker in her new Honda Civic (or whatever their little commuter car is called nowadays). It was AMAZING. Comfortable. High-tech. Efficient. And I could have TWO of them - new - for the price of a Bolt or Volt. ahem.
Interesting, and that makes sense considering range is the name of the game with EVs right now and weight from extra BS = less range. I wonder though how that will change when widespread use of autopilot enters the game, since my assumption is that autonomy is more likely to show up in all the EVs/hybrid/tech-y cars before the gassy ones (totally talking out of the air here). Once you remove the passenger from driving, it seems like the trend would go towards making the interior more home-y rather than less. I guess it makes the most sense to think two branches will emerge: one cheap utilitarian set of vehicles, and a set of luxury ones. Those new Civics keep popping up in my life lately as a lot of my friends and family are getting them and loving it. I got to drive one over the weekend and yeah. If they could stuff a battery in the bottom I'd trade in my Prius for it yesterday. I think driving any of these all-electric vehicles is going to change your perception of driving, from "all the comforts of home, in the car", to transportation as utilitarian need.