Chevrolet’s new Bolt feels like the kind of electric car the market has been waiting for — an EV that’s genuinely affordable but doesn’t make major compromises. Starting at $28,995, it brings electric driving back into reach for regular buyers.
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Chevrolet includes a CCS adapter for older chargers, and there’s a native NACS port, meaning Tesla Supercharger access is built in from Day 1. The Bolt’s new bidirectional charging setup allows it to output up to 9.6 kilowatts of power, letting owners feed electricity back into their homes during outages or peak hours.
Inside, Chevrolet has modernized the experience with an 11.3-inch touchscreen and an 11-inch digital gauge cluster. The big omission is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which GM has decided to drop in favor of a native infotainment system with built-in connectivity. A 2023 McKinsey study revealed that roughly 50% of car buyers in the US would not consider a car without Apple CarPlay — so this feels like a big miss from General Motors.
Optional Super Cruise hands-free driving brings semi-autonomous highway capability, including lane changes, route following and automatic merging between interchanges. These features were once reserved for much more expensive EVs, but are now appearing in more affordable vehicles — a win for car shoppers.
Chevrolet is offering the car in three trims: The base LT at $28,995, an LT Comfort at $29,990 and the sportier RS trim for about $32,000. Deliveries will begin in the US in early 2026, with all models built at GM’s Fairfax, Kansas, plant. At a time when many electric cars still cost well north of $40,000, this one might just prove that the affordable EV isn’t dead after all.
Source: CNET.
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