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Comment by 6DM | Hacker News Reader

If I'm going to buy an electric car, I don't want to buy a hatchback or something weird looking.

Compare this: http://blogs-images.forbes.com/brookecrothers/files/2016/01/...

to this: https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/images/model-3/gal...

In my opinion that's why Tesla has big fans. It's not because people are rallying around the "little guy", it's because we want a car that looks nice and actually has technology from this decade in it.

Edit: I don't mean to knock on the hatchback in particular. I can't articulate it, but this car just communicates the typical EV look. As opposed to something more serious imo.

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I know my taste is unusual (after all, I like manuals) but I like the Bolt. I like hatchbacks - I can't stand sedans. If I can put an office chair in my hatchback, and it doesn't fit in a sedan, I want the sedan.

The Model 3 is, all-around, very unusual to be a car that appears exotic, but costs much less. Of course, it's being "paid for by purchases of the Model S and Model X," which means... at some scale (i.e. 500k+) Tesla is clearly losing money on the exotic sheet metal.

On the other hand, GM is building a car they can sell, and it won't be a bad business model.

Of course, since the masses love sedans, the 3 will easily outsell the Bolt anyway... but all of this will be a turbulent footnote to a different future where electric cars are commonplace. Neither of these cars will be the most popular electric cars on the road 10 years from now.

> If I can put an office chair in my hatchback, and it doesn't fit in a sedan, I want the sedan.

s/I want the sedan/I want the hatchback/ ? Or do you just hate office chairs? ;)

The Bolt looks exactly like about half of the cars on the road here (Netherlands, but it's about the same anywhere else in Europe), that alone should be a pretty good indicator of its potential. I'm not so sure things would be different in the US, maybe they need to make a saloon at some point but other than that most cars I've seen on the road in the US are hideous as well...

As an aside, I personally think the Model 3 is absolutely hideous to look at. The Model S is very good-looking on the outside but not more so than most non-EV saloons in the higher segment. I don't think 'good looks' are going to save Tesla.

In my opinion, if you want to win over people who think ev's are a joke, the car at least needs to look good. It can't be another wonky toy that a large company threw out there for PR points. The car looks like something they're taking seriously.

Plus, Tesla's usually have a lot of technology packed in them as well. So it's not just good looks that are going to save them.

>> It can't be another wonky toy that a large company threw out there for PR points. The car looks like something they're taking seriously.

I agree, but my point was that the Bolt actually does look like something people take seriously, as demonstrated by the fact that the roads here are crowded by cars that look exactly the same. I'm 100% convinced that if you took a Bolt for a drive here, almost no-one would even notice it. It may surprise car enthousiasts, but that's a very powerful property of car design in the mid-range segment.

I never understood why hatchbacks are so unpopular in the US, maybe that's the reason you think it looks like a 'wonky toy'?

The US doesn't buy wagons or hatchbacks unless you call it a CUV. Then they go nuts for them. The Bolt is just plane ugly though. So is the i3. The Model 3 has some sex appeal to it.

Apples ought to be compared with apples: http://blogs-images.forbes.com/brookecrothers/files/2016/01/...

That car looks terrible also. I'm biased because I ordered a Model 3, but the Chevy Bolt looks like it was purposely made ugly to steer people towards combustion engine vehicles. They would have done better to make the Chevy Malibu body electric or hybrid.

Malibu (Opel Insignia) is a significantly larger car (it's about 4.8 m long, Bolt is 4.2 m, and Malibu/Insignia has the same curb weight of about 1600 kg even though it is a gasoline engine version that has no battery (which in Bolt weighs 440 kg).

Sure, Malibu/Insignia looks different but it also takes more space.

The pressure has been reduced somewhat since the bailouts, but the car industry does enforce a perceptible hierarchy to keep lower-end models from poaching sales from high-margin vehicles/brands. It's frustrating to see the practice extended to EV vs. combustion though.

True, was just going by what's in the article. I updated with that image for future onlookers.

I actually prefer the design of the Bolt; it's really practical.

It also has a ton of great tech in it. Does this look like it's from the appropriate decade? http://insideevs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Chevrolet-vo...

What's wrong with a hatchback? I'd love for every single sedan to be converted into hatchbacks so I don't have to screw around with tiny trunks anymore. If nothing else, give it a 2-3" lift and it becomes a crossover, which is wildly popular in the USA.

I don't know about this model, but on another Tesla the trunk is pretty huge.

Usually when I think of something that I want to load stuff into, I go with at least a mid-size SUV. Those you can lay the seats down and put stuff in it. It also will have places for roof racks and potentially a little hitch if you need a trailer.

Also I don't mean to insult anyone's taste in hatchbacks. Just compare this hatchback to any other hatchback. Even by those standards it doesn't look as good imo.

SUV's suck for loading stuff. Their high floor and emphasis on style over capacity means they store much less stuff than similarly sized vehicles. Hatches, wagons and vans can generally haul a lot more stuff than a comparably sized SUV.

Agreed. Hatchbacks (and wagons, although they are harder to make sporty/fun) give you cargo room rivaling smaller SUVs in a lighter platform. It's common for the back seats to fold flat which is helpful for odd-shaped or bulky items.

While larger SUVs, crossovers or even sedans might have more total cargo volume, they may be narrow in a certain dimension (why I hate trunks vs. 5th doors) or just are much deeper. Usually you don't use all that space, and you end up carting around all that extra vehicle weight. If you need that spaces less than a few times a year, you're better off renting a large vehicle for those jobs or trips.

I also like how the wheels tend to the corners on hatches, it gives them great driving dynamics and still leaves a lot of room for legs and shoulders for 4 adults.

Cargo space in a small car is the reason the first generation Scion xB is one of my favorite cars of all time. In a car the size of a Honda Fit, with the back seats down there is more cargo room than a Chevrolet Suburban, and since the roof is completely flat you can mount a massive, 22 cubic foot cargo box on top. The only issue was a weak engine, which a supercharger kit easily fixes. Too bad Toyota axed it and replaced it with a larger (and yet less roomy) car.

The Bolt looks very normal for the european market.

The US has a strange obsession with 3 box styling - they even sell Fiesta sedans here

Why compare the picture of a chassis in an assembly line to an advertisement picture of another? Of course the first one looks unfinished, because it is unfinished.

Hatchbacks are practical. If I just want a car that looks as nice as Tesla, I can get a Ford Mondeo.

That's what I could find of the car from the article, I updated with a better picture from another commentor.

Even the Model 3 is too big for many European Cities, the Model S is a complete giant.

The Bolt can even be considered a tad too big, but at least you'll be able to park it in London or Paris.

Despite the use of bad photos to compare the two, I do agree with the sentiment of this post. The Tesla 3 is significantly better looking than any of the possible alternatives in my opinion. The Bolt is just weird looking to me. Sure a hatch back may be more practical for some, but all I need is a car to get me to and from work.

These two vehicles would not be compared if they were ICE vehicles. Just not the same class. Model 3 is aiming towards the luxury market and the Bolt is the mid level economy car that looks hilarious.

The BMW i3 is more of a Bolt competitor than the Model 3.

How does it compare to the most popular cars in Europe?

VW Golf https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/VW...

Ford Fiesta https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Fo...

VW Polo https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/VW...

Renault Clio https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/20...

Opel / Vauxhall Corsa https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Op...

Peugeot 208 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Pe...

Nissan Qashqai https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Ni...

Opel / Vauxhall Astra https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/20...

Ford Focus https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Fo...

Skoda Octavia https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Sk...