Chevrolet Bolt COTY Review: A One-Year Wonder That Left Us Wondering Why

Are you caught up on the saga of the Chevrolet Bolt? If not, here’s the TL;DR. The 2017 MotorTrend Car of the Year was discontinued after 2023, but then General Motors suddenly decided to bring it back because the world needed more affordable EVs. Then the political and financial headwinds started blowing in a different direction, and just as suddenly, GM decided it needed the plant space for other, more profitable vehicles and announced the little Chevy EV would only be offered for a single model year. Got all that?

The 2027 Bolt is an updated version of the larger Bolt EUV. Although it didn’t migrate to GM’s UItium platform that underpins its other EVs as originally envisioned, it does break some new ground, most notably its new 65-kWh lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery, which reduces cost. You can get a base Bolt for less than $29,000, making it the cheapest EV available in the U.S. until the Slate Truck arrives.

Judges had mixed emotions and varied reactions to the Bolt. Some felt it was a decent daily driver, thanks in part to a mild upgrade to its driving dynamics. “The biggest surprise was the ride” said guest judge Johan de Nysschen, a former Volkswagen, Audi, Cadillac, and Infiniti executive. “Given the short wheelbase, the Bolt dealt with the rough-road section remarkably well and was one of the more comfortable small cars over that surface.”

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But push it harder, and its limitations become obvious. Although its overall acceleration can feel satisfying, and its single front-mounted motor delivers 210 horsepower, a bit higher than before, the 169 lb-ft of torque is down substantially, so it’s not quite as quick. There’s plenty of understeer and body roll, and despite its decent ride over the rough-road section, it can get unsettled over big bumps. In addition, its steering is numb, the brakes can feel mushy on application, and its top speed is capped at 93 mph.

We appreciated that we could one-pedal drive with the Bolt, and its integrated NACS charging port is a plus, but its charging speeds are just average. In addition, although the EPA-rated range is 262 miles, we achieved just 217 miles in our Road-Trip Range test.

It’s also cool that you can get GM’s Super Cruise with its automated lane change and freeway-to-freeway navigation. But it’s only available on higher trims, and it’s a spendy $3,255 option, knocking the teeth out of the Bolt’s value equation. Oh, and the lane keep system tends to ping-pong inside the lane.

In the cabin, our Bolt test car came fitted with a black interior featuring perforated leatherette seats and a lot of hard plastic surfaces. “It makes me feel like it’s like a Happy Meal toy,” senior features editor Kristen Lee said. It does have some nice touches, however, such as the white trim on the dash that pays homage to the original Bolt.

There are an astonishing number of shelves and storage cubbies inside, which amplifies the interior’s usefulness: two shelves below the glove box, another in the center console, two phone trays, more cubbies. One drawback to the layout we found, though, is when the seat is far forward, your elbow hits the edge of the center armrest instead of resting on it.

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Most of the rest comes with a lot of buts. The infotainment screen is well integrated into the dash, but it runs Google-based infotainment only, meaning no CarPlay or Android Auto. Its cruise and lane keep controls are on the steering wheel, but you must use the screen for drive modes. There’s no start button. The car turns itself on and off as you enter and exit, but if you need to turn it off manually, you have to tap a tiny icon on the upper edge of the touchscreen. There’s decent headroom in the front seats but not so much for rear passengers, who get two USB ports but no air vents or other amenities.

Add up all the buts and downsides and rehashes of the prior model, and most judges’ overall opinions reflected those of Mexico editor Miguel Cortina: “I don’t feel anything here that’s exciting. It feels like an old EV with no personality or charisma.”

While a decent and affordable EV overall, one of the Bolt’s biggest problems is if you option it up with the good stuff like Super Cruise and the like on the RS model we tested, its price starts to butt up against the Tesla Model 3, which offers more performance, fun, and functionality for similar money. One year wonder? More like, we’re wondering why it got a year at all.

This review was conducted as part of our 2027 Car of the Year (COTY) testing, where each vehicle is evaluated on our six key criteria: efficiency, design, safety, engineering excellence, value, and performance of intended function. Eligible vehicles must be all-new or significantly revised.