I bought my wife a Chevy Bolt and myself a Model 3 Performance. I don't have the Tesla any more, but we do still have the Bolt.
The Bolt has CarPlay. The screen is much nicer in the Tesla, but CarPlay brings a lot of additional functionality and flexibility.
The Bolt is lighter, more nimble, smaller. For city driving, it's really handy.
The Bolt has normal door handles that don't require any special movement to open them. Normal locks, mechanical glove box latch, full windshield wiper controls, a normal shift handle to select regen (good because my wife hates regen, I love it).
The Bolt has slightly stronger regen, especially with the paddles. And it has a saner regen-to-stop mode, which only functions in drive. Unlike Tesla, which makes you use the accelerator pedal to get the car to reverse down the driveway (which just feels weird).
The seats are crappy on both. I prefer cloth to vinyl, though. And I especially don't like the slippery vinyl on Tesla's steering wheel.
The Bolt is vastly cheaper. Like, half as much.
The Tesla charges much faster with DC fast charging. If you only charge at home they are identical in this regard.
Overall, I feel like the Bolt is a much, much better deal if you factor in the cost. The Tesla is much faster, has more range, heated rear seats, and it makes fart noises. Of course, it also has AP, which some people like.
The Bolt feels like a car that happens to be electric. The Tesla feels like a computer that happens to have wheels.
My wife would be happy with another Bolt when the lease on this one expires next year. I won't buy another Tesla without CarPlay and proper wiper controls, but my next EV will need to be faster than the Bolt. So I'm thinking Taycan.
The Bolt makes me wish that VW would make an electric Golf R. Same size, better interior, more power. Aside from getting screwed over by LG's flubbed manufacturing of the batteries, the Bolt really over-delivers compared to what I expected from it.
VW is making the ID.4, and next year they'll start at $35k. While it's bigger than the Model 3 and Bolt, it's still a crossover and not full SUV size. It's more value like the deal that the Bolt is, than like Tesla.
I have a VW ID4. The infotainment software sucks but can be avoided for the most part by using CarPlay. The comfort, build quality, and turning radius (!!) are all exceptional.
I own an id.4 for about 6 months now. It has problems but nothing insane, it was also a good 10k less then a model y, 20k less if you factor in autopilot. I think Tesla should be commended for getting electric cars to happen, and I hope they continue to improve, but I wouldn’t count ford, Volkswagen, or GM out yet, they don’t have to be better, just close enough to feel like preference. I really think we’re only 2-3 model years from them reaching near parity on evs.
Fords electric cars have gotten very good reviews. I've driven the Chevy electric cars, and feel they'd be pretty popular among hacker news types. It's a normal car that happens to be electric, bringing all the advantages motors bring(silent, incredible torque), without feeling like the half baked feel Tesla can have.
The Bolt has CarPlay. The screen is much nicer in the Tesla, but CarPlay brings a lot of additional functionality and flexibility.
The Bolt is lighter, more nimble, smaller. For city driving, it's really handy.
The Bolt has normal door handles that don't require any special movement to open them. Normal locks, mechanical glove box latch, full windshield wiper controls, a normal shift handle to select regen (good because my wife hates regen, I love it).
The Bolt has slightly stronger regen, especially with the paddles. And it has a saner regen-to-stop mode, which only functions in drive. Unlike Tesla, which makes you use the accelerator pedal to get the car to reverse down the driveway (which just feels weird).
The seats are crappy on both. I prefer cloth to vinyl, though. And I especially don't like the slippery vinyl on Tesla's steering wheel.
The Bolt is vastly cheaper. Like, half as much.
The Tesla charges much faster with DC fast charging. If you only charge at home they are identical in this regard.
Overall, I feel like the Bolt is a much, much better deal if you factor in the cost. The Tesla is much faster, has more range, heated rear seats, and it makes fart noises. Of course, it also has AP, which some people like.
The Bolt feels like a car that happens to be electric. The Tesla feels like a computer that happens to have wheels.
My wife would be happy with another Bolt when the lease on this one expires next year. I won't buy another Tesla without CarPlay and proper wiper controls, but my next EV will need to be faster than the Bolt. So I'm thinking Taycan.
The Bolt makes me wish that VW would make an electric Golf R. Same size, better interior, more power. Aside from getting screwed over by LG's flubbed manufacturing of the batteries, the Bolt really over-delivers compared to what I expected from it.