Tested: The 2027 Chevrolet Bolt Strikes Back

6/29/26 UPDATE: This review has been updated with instrumented test results.

Amid the electrification boom in 2023, the Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EUV were the two least expensive electric vehicles in the marketplace. Then one day—poof—they were gone. General Motors had a whole legion of flashy new battery-powered SUVs and trucks waiting in the wings, leaving little room for the company's lowest-hanging fruit, so the Bolt's Michigan-based assembly line was packed up and shoved to the side. But there was a reason for it: The Little Chevy That Could's hardware and electrical architecture had maximized its potential—and little did we know, Chevrolet had already begun work on the 2027 Bolt before the last sheetmetal stamp was put away.

If you think the new Bolt's body looks a lot like the former EUV's, that's because they're nearly identical. Those body stamps found their way to Kansas, where the Bolt is now assembled. However, underneath that familiar shape—now bookended by new front and rear fascias and lighting elements—lie new electrical systems and a new electric motor, both of which give the Bolt a new lease on life, though perhaps a shorter one than we'd like.

In its previous existence, the Bolt did most things exceptionally well, except for one key EV attribute: charging. Its lithium-ion battery pack capped fast-charging at just 55 kilowatts, which is hardly tolerable by modern standards and even less so for other drivers waiting for an old Bolt to leave the local DC fast-charger. The 2027 model, though, packs a new lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery with cells that are a smidge heavier and have a lower energy density. But the LFP pack is cheaper to build, it stores the same amount of electrons (65 kWh), and, most important, it charges quicker. Chevy says the LFP battery accepts up to 150 kilowatts of juice through the Bolt's NACS (a.k.a. Tesla) port. In our fast-charge test, we observed a peak of 148 kilowatts and charged from 10 to 90 percent in 38 minutes, averaging 94 kilowatts along the way. That's a 54 percent improvement in charge time over the Bolt EUV, which needed 83 minutes and averaged just 41 kilowatts with a peak of 57.

Not only is it quicker to charge, but the Bolt travels further on its available electrons now too. Our 75-mph highway range test ended at 230 miles, 40 more than the former Bolt EUV and just 20 miles off the Nissan Leaf Platinum+ with its larger 75-kWh battery.'

The battery feeds a smaller, more efficient motor pilfered from the Equinox EV. In the Bolt, it's good for 210 horsepower, an improvement of 10 ponies over the previous-gen model. Torque, however, is down a whopping 97 pound-feet to just 169. To liven things up, Chevy upped the final-drive ratio to 11.6:1 from 7.1:1. In our testing, 60 mph arrived in 6.7 seconds, and the quarter-mile concluded in 15.2 seconds at 95 mph, a tenth quicker in both metrics than the Bolt EUV.

HIGHS: Double the charging speed, fantastic base price, still nice to drive.

With the accelerator to the floor, thrust arrives in a linear fashion. Sport mode adds intensity, but this isn't the neck-straining EV stuff we've grown accustomed to. Sport now also tightens up the steering rack and dials up brake-pedal sensitivity. Lean the Bolt into a corner, and the steering effort builds nicely before the new 17-inch Michelin e.Primacy All Season rubber gives way at the stability-control-inhibited 0.82-g threshold. The brakes always prioritize regeneration before dialing in the friction stoppers, and the transition between the two is clean. Stops from 70 mph require 179 feet, shorter than the old EUV. In an era of bulging curb weights, the Bolt crossed our scales at 3793 pounds, or just 14 more than the previous version.

Speaking of braking and regeneration, fans of the former Bolt's steering-wheel-mounted regen trigger will be sad to learn of its departure. It's replaced by a one-pedal-drive function with three modes. The Off setting decelerates like an internal-combustion car might and is our preferred mode here. Normal is considerably more aggressive, and High—well, the engineers might have been exactly that when they approved this much regen.

LOWS: Limited-time availability, no smartphone mirroring, nicer interior materials would go a long way.

Inside, the Bolt's spacious interior has been remodeled with a new dash featuring a customizable digital instrument cluster and a larger 11.3-inch infotainment screen operating on embedded Google software. No, you can't use Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, but wipe away those tears, because Chevy includes eight years of map and music streaming data through native apps.

Sure, there are plenty of low-rent plastic surfaces, and the seats are still flat, but we're talking about an electric vehicle that has 230 miles of highway range and starts at $28,995, remarkably just $1500 more than the 2023 Bolt's window sticker and thousands less than the least expensive Nissan Leaf. For more niceties, the $32,995 RS trim adds heated and ventilated faux-leather seats, blacked-out wheels and trim, and a heated steering wheel. GM's excellent hands-free Super Cruise tech is available on both trims, making it the most affordable way to put Super Cruise in your driveway. Pile on all the goodies like our rig had, and the as-tested price climbs to a still-reasonable $38,940.

VERDICT: We hope that whatever succeeds the Bolt is equally as good and affordable.

Chevrolet says the Bolt will be "a limited-run model," likely spanning a single model year. Its future beyond that is unclear; the Bolt's short life span could lead into a replacement small EV, or it could just be a temporary worm on a hook to lure buyers into something larger. However long the Bolt might be around, though, we're glad to see it back.

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Specifications

Specifications

2027 Chevrolet Bolt RS
Vehicle Type: front-motor, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchback

PRICE
Base/As Tested: $32,995/$38,940
Options: Super Cruise package (3-years OnStar One with Super Cruise subscription, driver attention assist, front and rear park assist), $3255; dual-panel panoramic power sunroof, $1495; Technology package (rear camera mirror, wireless phone charger, rain-sensing wipers), $1195

POWERTRAIN
Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC, 210 hp, 169 lb-ft
Battery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 65 kWh
Peak Charge Rate, AC/DC: 11.5/150 kW
Transmission: direct-drive

CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/torsion beam
Brakes, F/R: 10.9-in vented disc/10.4-in disc
Tires: Michelin e.Primacy All Season
215/50R-17 95H M+S TPC 4031

DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 105.3 in
Length: 169.6 in
Width: 69.7 in
Height: 63.9 in
Passenger Volume, F/R: 55/44 ft3
Cargo Volume, Behind F/R: 56/16 ft3
Curb Weight: 3793 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 6.7 sec
1/4-Mile: 15.2 sec @ 95 mph
Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 6.6 sec
Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 2.5 sec
Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 3.6 sec
Top Speed (gov ltd): 95 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 179 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.82 g

Interior Sound
Idle: 29 dBA/1 sone
Full Throttle: 73 dBA
70-mph Cruising: 69 dBA/25 sone

C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 103 MPGe
75-mph Highway Range: 230 mi
Average DC Fast-Charge Rate, 10–90%: 94 kW
DC Fast-Charge Time, 10–90%: 38 min

EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 120/134/106 MPGe
Range: 262 mi

David Beard studies and reviews automotive related things and pushes fossil-fuel and electric-powered stuff to their limits. His passion for the Ford Pinto began at his conception, which took place in a Pinto.