The earlier Chevrolet Bolt was a strong EV with an inexpensive price ticket and sufficient battery to satisfy the wants of most homeowners. However a questionable type issue and a cabin that merely wasn’t as much as par held it again from attaining mainstream enchantment.
Whether or not the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV will sway clients from the raft of opponents coming alongside is one other matter. Sure, this new Bolt variant appears to be like and feels extra like a crossover, however in the identical approach that placing on an Ushanka hat makes you feel and look extra like a Russian. On the similar time, the up to date Bolt wears flashier, extra trendy design, however its proportions are nonetheless solidly on the awkward facet. The place the EUV deserves unrestrained reward, although, is with its new inside and the addition of GM’s wonderful Tremendous Cruise driver-assistance system.
Editor’s Observe: As a result of the Bolt EUV debuted only a few weeks again, Chevy used early pre-production automobiles for this take a look at. The corporate granted us an hour of seat time alongside a highway-heavy mounted route and in a lead-follow format, ostensibly to check the Tremendous Cruise system. For that cause, we aren’t issuing a verdict rating or discussing vary/charging till we will absolutely assess the Bolt EUV. Anticipate a follow-up first drive with retail-production automobiles in Could.
Zip, Zap, Zop
So, what are you getting within the EUV over a normal Bolt EV? By way of precise automobile, not a lot. There’s an additional 2.9 inches between the EUV’s axles, and it is a wholesome 6.5 inches longer general. But it surely’s barely wider and, worryingly for a automobile that GM is doing its darndest to pitch as a crossover, the general top will increase simply two-tenths of an inch.
Unsurprisingly, the inside measurements are virtually similar, too. Sure, second-row legroom expands from 36.0 inches to 39.1 inches, and that is the form of substantial enchancment that is value writing dwelling over. However different modifications to the size are each negligible and barely in favor of the EUV – cargo quantity is down barely, from 16.6 cubes to 16.3, for instance – even when general passenger quantity expands from 93.9 to 96.5 cubic toes. Besides for people within the newly embiggened second row, sitting within the Bolt EUV seems like sitting in final yr’s mannequin. That’s, till you begin wanting round and understand, “Hey, Chevy did an inside.”
Materials high quality represents an enormous enchancment over the pre-facelift Bolt. And bear in mind, we’re saying that about an early pre-production unit with some unfinished trim items. There is a honest quantity of plastic, nevertheless it’s properly executed – semi-soft and textured door panels distinction with a leatherette-trimmed sprint and engaging piano-black plastic. The painted aluminum-look end on the flat-bottom steering wheel (shared with automobiles just like the Trailblazer) is a minimize above the norm, whereas the seat upholstery and the matching sprint inserts tie the cabin collectively.
The brand new design works, with the Bolt EUV ditching the open format for the entrance seats and adopting a devoted heart console. A Honda-like gear selector system feels extra sturdy than the plastic shifter from yesteryear, whereas revised local weather controls are each engaging and straightforward to suss out.
Tech Takes Heart Stage
Beneath that tweaked physique sits the identical acquainted package deal, and that is nice. The lone front-mounted electrical motor remains to be good for 200 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque, and it really works alongside a decently sized 65.6-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. The EUV takes a small hit to vary, at 250 miles to the common Bolt’s 259, and a small improve in weight, from 3,589 kilos to three,679. Contemplating all this, we anticipated the EUV to drive similar to the Bolt and it did not disappoint – it is a relaxed, simple to handle, front-wheel-drive EV.
The large addition to the drive expertise is a devoted button for one-pedal driving. Beforehand, drivers known as up full regeneration by holding down a wheel-mounted paddle for so long as they needed the impact, however the EUV provides fixed regen at a press of the button. The Bolt remembers, too, so when you activate the regen, it stays on. This seems like a extra trendy strategy than the outdated paddle (which stays), and may encourage extra one-pedal driving.
However the place the EUV distances itself is with Tremendous Cruise, which lastly – lastly – involves a non-Cadillac product. It is as spectacular as ever, dramatically decreasing the driving force’s workload whereas touring on highways. Throughout our hour-long session, the system impressed confidence, managing the automobile and its velocity progressively and reacting properly to sudden intrusions in our lane.
Whereas the Bolt EUV’s older electrical structure cannot help the entire host of Tremendous Cruise’s talents – computerized lane modifications, as an example – that is nonetheless a sensible piece of know-how, providing clear indicators for when it is obtainable, working, or unavailable. We might suggest it wholeheartedly.
Tremendous Cruise apart, although, the tech suite right here is acquainted. Chevy retained the Bolt’s outdated 8.0-inch digital instrument cluster however added a brand new working system for the central 10.2-inch touchscreen. We have skilled this technique in different GM merchandise, nevertheless it felt sooner and extra responsive within the Bolt EUV. We might count on a equally speedy replace when the common Bolt arrives too.
Extra Of The Identical
The EUV is a greater expertise than the usual Bolt, however solely simply. On the very least, it feels extra just like the crossover Chevy pitched the unique as. Our hour-long take a look at was sufficient to reveal that the Bolt is an efficient, inexpensive EV whether or not it’s 163.2 inches lengthy or 169.5.
But it surely additionally put into stark aid that whereas Chevy has a extra crossover-like EV, it’s nonetheless a featherweight dealing with down a gaggle of middleweights. Volkswagen, Nissan, and Ford all have EVs now (or will quickly) that match the Bolt’s vary, provide as a lot or extra space, finest its efficiency, or surpass it by way of model. However greater than that, they provide dual-motor layouts and the all-wheel-drive impact it supplies.
This transient drive confirmed us the promise of Tremendous Cruise in an electrical automobile has been definitely worth the wait.
Sure, they’re dearer – the Bolt EUV begins at simply $33,995 and the Premier trim rings up at $38,495, whereas the ID.4 and Mach-E every begin at or above $40,000, relying on spec. However Ford and Volkswagen can pair their bigger automobiles with tens of hundreds of federal tax credit obtainable, and whereas GM has been beneficiant with incentives for the Bolt, its provide of Uncle Sam-backed rebates is lengthy gone. The worth benefit for this sub-compact isn’t as giant as the corporate would really like you to consider.
This transient drive confirmed us the promise of Tremendous Cruise in an electrical automobile has been definitely worth the wait. But it surely additionally left us considering that GM’s ultra-competent driver assist, and maybe some further rear leg room, is the one good cause to think about the EUV over the usual Bolt within the first place. This remixed Bolt seems like a missed alternative for a corporation that is recognized little else in its quest to affect.
