Buying an EV - help me decide (ioniq vs bolt)

[Anonymous]

OP. I feel like you asked a reasonable question and in DCUM fashion a lot of people with no experience have jumped in and gave a lot of information that does not really help that much. I drive an EV locally and cross country so I'd like to share this.

BOTH the Bolt and the Ioniq 5 are great cars, and they are VERY different with completely different use cases. Your use case will determine which one is a better car for you.

The Bolt is a city car. It is an excellent city car with nice features, BUT is does not DC fast charge well. This is really not an issue if you use it as a city car because you will be level 2 charging at home and not need the L3 DC fast charging requirements, but if you do need to road trip regularly, then:

The Ioniq 5 is your car. The Ioniq 5 is a modern E-GMP platform and it charges at L3/DCFC exceptionally well. So, to compare both, the Ioniq 5 will charge 3 to 4 times faster than the Bolt using a DCFC (The same speed at home on a 240V L2 charger). If you need to travel long distances, the Ioniq 5 is your car. If you are local, the Bolt will work admirably.

Either way, they are both great cars. You will enjoy them both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. I feel like you asked a reasonable question and in DCUM fashion a lot of people with no experience have jumped in and gave a lot of information that does not really help that much. I drive an EV locally and cross country so I'd like to share this.

BOTH the Bolt and the Ioniq 5 are great cars, and they are VERY different with completely different use cases. Your use case will determine which one is a better car for you.

The Bolt is a city car. It is an excellent city car with nice features, BUT is does not DC fast charge well. This is really not an issue if you use it as a city car because you will be level 2 charging at home and not need the L3 DC fast charging requirements, but if you do need to road trip regularly, then:

The Ioniq 5 is your car. The Ioniq 5 is a modern E-GMP platform and it charges at L3/DCFC exceptionally well. So, to compare both, the Ioniq 5 will charge 3 to 4 times faster than the Bolt using a DCFC (The same speed at home on a 240V L2 charger). If you need to travel long distances, the Ioniq 5 is your car. If you are local, the Bolt will work admirably.

Either way, they are both great cars. You will enjoy them both.

Thanks. This is helpful. Realistically i don't drive much at all these days (WFH, drive kid a mile to school and then some out and about on the weekends, maaaaaaybe one road trip a year). That could change if I change jobs but right now my driving is lighter than it's ever been. I am actually considering saving more money and buying something like a Civic. DS is 11 so I could drive it for 5 years, pass it down, and get an EV then when there are likely to be many more options. Thoughts on that plan? I am coming from a prius and hate to go back to ICE but my DH doesn't want to get another hybrid right now.. at this point in time they truly feel like transition technology and he doesn't want to have two types of engines that could cause issues. (which is funny because I've had the prius for 20 years with minimal issues...)

[Anonymous]

It sounds like the Bolt is the car for you as you are not planning long road trips. Again, you can do the road trips with the bolt, but they will take a long time because the car limits charging to 50kW. VERY SLOW for DCFC charging. If you use the car from home around the area, you will never have range issues and you will never have to deal with the slow charging profile.

As you are coming from a Prius, you will be stunned by the drive quality and efficiency of the Bolt.

I am not a fan of the new "buy a Civic" plan, but at the end of the day, it is your money. I'd buy the Bolt and pass that down in five years.