The new-for-2021 Chevrolet Bolt EUV is a compromise. With a slightly taller suspension and slightly more legroom, this car brings very little to the table that its shorter Bolt sibling already delivers. And what’s more, it costs an additional 2,000 smackeroos. Now we know, thanks to newly released EPA ratings, that by putting a Bolt on stilts it loses 12 miles of range. The standard Bolt is rated at the same 259 miles it was in 2020, while the Bolt EUV can achieve no better than 247, just short of the 250 GM had promised.
The Bolt EUV’s EPA rated efficiency clocks in at a reasonable 115 MPGe combined, hitting as high as 125 MPGe in the city cycle, and delivering an aero-hampered 104 MPGe highway. This compares unfavorably to the shorter Bolt’s 120 combined/109 highway/131 city. The standard Bolt EV’s efficiency rating has actually improved slightly, likely with programming updates, as the mechanicals and battery pack carry on unchanged. Despite better efficiency, the standard Bolt’s range numbers remain the same as last year.
The Bolt EUV aims to sate America’s hunger for electric hatchbacks on stilts, which remains totally insatiable, despite not making a lick of sense. The less-aerodynamic profile and less efficient design of the so-called EUV allow Chevrolet to market the Bolt as a crossover, despite it lacking all-wheel drive.
It is critical to remember that the Bolt EUV is more or less competing directly with cars like the Tesla Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E, despite both of those cars delivering available all-wheel drive and options for larger batteries and range over 300 miles. The Ford, however, is the only of the three mentioned here to still be eligible for the federal EV tax credit. While both the Y and Mach-E start at a much higher price than the Bolt EUV’s $33,995 price tag, Chevy not being eligible for the tax incentive really hurts its case.
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