Episode 91 - 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV Review 

One of the most useful Bolt reviews I've seen so far. Down to earth, good production quality, straight talker. Thanks for making this available.

Thanks for another interesting, informative episode! Love the colour of the Bolt Oasis Blue MY2020 . Nice car! Enjoyed your unbiased, well explained review, commentary, and watching your drive. Nice donuts, lol!! . . Btw, I saw your short vid about the snow in your area. Almost the middle of May! Our global climate is in dire crisis. Wish you well. Take care and stay safe.

Great video, nice to see you in the review mode again!

Happy to see some Canadian content and you're in Caledon, cool! You've gotten a new subscriber.

2017 was 60 kWh: 2020 is 66.You forgot the regen paddle on the steering wheel. Good overall review - balanced.

Great review. Thanks for sharing!

Here on Vancouver Island I didn't see any Bolts until about two years ago. Now see them everyday... along with lots of Kona's. So good to see something other than Model 3's and Leafs of which there are plenty. Even seeing EV's getting advertised, I suspect because that is the only car's that are selling right now.

Really great review. I had a bolt this past summer on a 24hr test drive and I experienced lots of the same observations you did. After I got over the amazing tech from my 2012 volt I found the ride was rough. The lane correction felt like I was a drunk driver with how hard it over corrected on the highway. I had a real bad pain in my right side after driving it because the seats were so hard. The range was incredible though it was like that battery range was never dropping. I can't believe gm wants 53k plus tax for this car it's just not worth it. Here in Manitoba we only get the 5k off so it doesn't really help much. I heard the 2020-21 model was supposed to get upgraded seat padding. Anyways great review

Thanks Ken. A well balanced review. We have a 2017 Bolt and like it. Our friends Leaf is a more comfortable car, no question. But we were and still are put off with the lack of water cooling for the Leaf battery. As well, even the new 62 kWh Leaf doesn't have the range of our current Bolt. So when we bought, the Bolt was head and shoulders above the competition. The $14,000 Ontario rebate sure helped too. It is very disappointing that GM has coasted with this car. The biggest improvements in 3 years is a little more range and a better backup camera. Wow. At this point if we were in the market I would be looking at Kia and Hyundai. The Bolt seats are not comfortable for us but we bought the car as a second car. I have fast charged just once, at about 40 kW. Our lifestyle means this is a home and cottage charged vehicle so I can put up with the seats. Something you didn't cover is this is a torque monster. No problem spinning tires at 60 kph. The acceleration doesn't die like the Leaf at highway speed either. So good for passing as we live in 2 lane country. Would I buy it again? Probably not because others have caught up. Will we keep ours? Definitely, it was a good purchase, and we have a good dealer.

Late! But im still watching! Little later than usual i want a bolt so bad! I even kind of dig the color

Nice job Ken 👍

Currently lease a 2019 Leaf e+ in the states. Test drive a Bolt about 2 years ago. Good drivetrain and range....horrible seats. Even with my Leafs lack of internal BMS, it’s still soooo much nicer then the Bolt. Love the Propilot and on interstates and large two lane roads I use a wrist weight on the bottom of the steering wheel for FSD with my supervising of the vehicle. Love the seats, heat pump, and space in leaf as well. I’ll take a look at the Airya and E when they come out too. Good videos keep up the good work!!!

Yep. That’s a great colour!

Enjoyed the review. This is the car that I purchased at the end of March. I love the car, love the Oasis Blue color. I do think that the aluminum roof racks are unattractive and overkill. I am a big guy, 6'3"( almost 2 meters in the rest of the world ) and well over 250 pounds. I find the front seats to be very comfortable, and I love the ride and handling. I was going to try to drive to Montreal in September ( from Philadelphia ) in September, but don't know if the border will be re-opened.

I love it when people mix up climate with weather. Great job.

I hope people will buy it, the new color is very attractive and I think it will help introduce people to the wonderful world of EV driving.

Like the overhead camera view.

Good fair review Ken. Your DC charge rate was slow because the battery was just a bit on the cooler side. The battery likes to be above 30C to hit maximum rate. The 2020 Bolt EV also has a new BMS that smooths out the charge curve on the high end which also improves DC charging a bit. As you probably know we own a 2018 Bolt EV. We drove it to Florida and back last March with no major issues. The seats are narrow and firm but personally I don't have an issue with them either. Some people may just prefer a more cushy seat. The suspension is also on the firm side. This is a tradeoff for better handling. The Bolt EV suspension was actually tuned by the Corvette team and apparently handles quite well despite it's rear torsion beam setup. Personally I don't like in car navigations because they mostly suck. Hard to beat google maps these days. GM's my chevrolet app also now has route planning through android auto but it still isn't a very smooth experience and needs some polishing to make it really useful. Of note GM has two Bolt's coming. A fully refreshed Bolt EV (same size) that was supposed to launch early this fall but because of Covid has been delayed to early 2021 (and will now be a 2022MY car). And in addition there will be a larger Bolt EUV which will have more features like a sunroof and the first GM non Cadillac to have a Supercruise option. This vehicle too will launch in early 2021 as a 2022 MY vehicle. Both of these vehicles were shown at GM's EV day in early march to the attendees. Rumour has it the refreshed Bolt EV will see a substantial price cut as well but continue with the same 66KWh battery.

👍🏾👍🏾 great review

I'll have to ask if my 2017 can be retrofitted with the new pedestrian sound. Ours is too subtle and sounds like white noise. I disagree about built-in Nav. Most vehicles it is seldom or never updated but my phone maps are constantly up to date. I would only get it on a Tesla and only because it takes terrain into account for travel range.

Love my 2020 Bolt.Best car I've ever owned.

Lovely blue color. I wish they made right hand steering for Australia. With a Holden badge....

Nice review, are you able to find out if it will be released to the Australian market ?

Super show number 91 Ken and one day to try out the new model Y.🙂😎👍

You forgot to mention the steering-wheel mounted region paddle and what about some performance testing in the twisties or a 0-100 run?!

Did you forget to talk about the regen paddle in when you talked about the regen option? Good review nonetheless!

Well done ken

Thanks for the review. I agree the headlights should be LED as should both the front and rear turn lights. The front indicators should move to a combination LED DRL strip that changes to amber and the rear lights have GOT to move out of the bumper....I can’t stand that look (the Kona does it too). Leave the required reflectors in the bumper, change the reverse lights to white LED’s and move the turn lights up and incorporate them into the running/brake light LED’s. Did you happen to look behind the windshield rear view mirror? Are they including a USB slot behind the mirror? I’ve long wanted car makers to include that so drivers can mount a traffic camera and have a convenient spot to plug in for power. Better yet, makers should include (or make it an option) integrated forward, rear, right and left side cameras connected to a small (but easily accessible through an app?) 4 channel DVR...off topic I know. Thanks again from the states.

Did they fix the front seats yet?

I think the reason companies are using standard bulbs for turn signals is because of the additional switch/resister pack needed for making LEDs flash slow and long. It's an additional cost and there is still a lot of reliability issues with LEDs when they are turned on and off a lot.

Ken, you forgot to mention the regen paddle on the steering wheel. It can bring the car to a halt very quickly in either D or L mode. I have the 2018 Premier, which I love. The 2020 has some nice improvements including wider seats (from 2019) and the high-def cameras and views. The charging curve is slightly better than the 2018, although I understand you can get a software update to improve the 2018 curve. I drove a 1400-mile trip with the Bolt alongside a friend's Tesla Model X dual-motor long range and honestly, the difference in range and charging speed didn't make much practical difference between we both charged during meals and at night at the hotels. When the charging network in the western U.S. gets better, it will make even less difference.

Cant wait to get one in a year or 2! I'd say this is the best non-Tesla electric car. Especially on the used market. Maybe the 2nd gen leaf e+ is better, but they are still way too expensive used

Is there anything spec difference on US vs CA Bolts? Just a curiosity.

In US, I can buy a loaded LT for under $24K for a 2020. Is it a bargain at that price?

Last June paid $27,300 US in NJ, with no state sales tax.

"When I finally parked it(Bolt) at my home charging station, it had gone 322 miles on a single charge. Not bad for a car rated at 238 miles per charge. Even more impressive was the fact that I didn't really try very hard to get that many miles out of it. I spent plenty of time in traffic, which helped, but there were a few sections that I was moving along at 65-70 mph as well. No matter how you look at it, 322 miles out of a Bolt is pretty impressive." - Ed Hellwig Edmund's

Where do GM get their battery packs and motors from?

It could be much better if you can put a white tape on the top of the wheel while showing lane keeping feature.

If you would have let the charge session go all the way to 90 or 95%. You could have gotten an idea of the charging curve. It’s my understanding that it maintains a consistent charging speed for longer and thus you get a overall shorter charging speed. Some vehicles with higher charging rates throttle the charging speed early.

Was 60KWh battery, now 66KWh...

Why is the Leaf more expensive even though the bolt has so many more advantages to it? is it exporting costs?

The lights should be able to be changed to LED cheaply. I changed all minibulbs on my 13 Camry for 12.99 used Chinese co on amazon with good reviews. Also LED front and fog lights can be bought cheaply with built in fans and heatsink. An easy and cheap way to upgrade.

Crazy short warranty! Here in NZ some brands like Honda, Mazda and Ford get 5 year unlimited km warranty. And the Kona EV gets a 10 year battery warranty, the first models even had unlimited mileage warranty on its battery, unfortunately now they only have 160,000 km but still 10 years :-(

Cant wait until you review volvo (recharge),polestar(2).

The Bolts lane assist is not Lane keep. It is made to help you stay in the lane as you drive. Not like Nissan or Tesla. Bolt is supposed to be getting Super Cruise for next model year I've heard. though.

Ken you should know that evs put the cost in the drivetrain not creature comfort unless you are a luxury maker like Tesla jag etron and porshe

It used to be a 60 kWh battery. It's up by 6

Unfortunately it will be not available in Europe. Even the European brother Opel Ampera-e is hard to get here.

Very nice, we don’t get these here in Great Britain 🇬🇧

Holy crap, I agree the ride is awful rough!

GM: Americans asked for an uninspiring underwhelmingly designed compliance EV, and we listened. Feast your eyes on the very best that one of the largest and longest running car makers in the world came up with... the Bolt! This car's sales record speaks for itself. Watch out Tesla and Hyundai!

Will these cars need tires every 50,000 kilometers like Teslas do?

Good, fair Review. Not much different than my 2017 Bolt Premiere. Some differences on the infotainment screens and the camera operation at rest. Did not note if the rear view mirror camera, is that still a feature? The lane assist is not very good as you note, looks like no improvement over 2017 model. Your DCFC experience mirrors mine. At best, mid 40s on the charge. Disappointed no upgrade in that capability. Seats are too thin although after 3 years I'm used to them. Don't notice so much. I have 60K miles (96,560 Km) on my Bolt. I estimate my battery degradation about >8%. As far as navigation, I don't mind that I use iPhone with Waze, shows up on the screen as if it was built in, updates are more easily accomplished, the phone is usually plugged in anyway and the iPhone can multi-task. Bottom line with me. I save much $$$$$ ($200 US/month) EV vs ICE petrol fill-ups, oil changes, etc. But longer treks are problematic both because of the not so fast charging rate and the lingering scarcity of DCFC on the US side of the border here in WNY. A little less painful taking a trip in Southern Ontario due to the ever increasing charger network, but the charging rate makes each stop a test of patience. And the car is really fun to drive, especially in traffic (401!) with its quickness when you need it.

Ken the bolt will get super cruise in 2021 or 2

How do you turn the noise maker off?

I am interested in a BEV (currently have a PHEV) and the Bolt looks interesting. But I've gotten used to some features that the Bolt doesn't have which would have me looking elsewhere. No ACC is disappointing. No power driver's seat would be a big step back for us.

Wow lane assist is only good for safety, not for maintaining lane for real. That kind of ping pong will get you pulled over quickly.

I would not bother buying one right now until GM takes responsibility for the current recalls where the vehicle bursts in flames

Nice, but still missing the Tesla Supercharger network

i like the bolt more than the leaf and i had the tesla its shit as a car suspension needed changing after 6 months also battery replacement after 11 months EXPENSIVE SHIT bolt is amazing also the lane assist is just so you dont crash not to let the car go autonomous wich is also stupid in a tesla

To get more kw from a fast charger... the battery was too full... try going to 5% and then you will see a peak rate.. something lik 55Kw ...it will start tapering already at 25 to 30% to that 40 ish rate. I'd be surprised if you can get faster charging with a leaf... yes the new leaf can do > 50Kw, but almost none of the chargers can. most Chademo chargers are last gen, and top out at 50kw... in terms of pricing... MSRP on a Tesla Model 3 is like 1.5K$ more... and you get a much prettier car, electric seats, built-in maps on a much nicer screen, better drive, more room, charges more than twice as fast ( >100 kw), with a better (more stalls, more places, easier usage) DC charging network... if there is not a chunky discount on the Bolt... there is no contest. On the other hand, I guess you were testing the Premier Trim? There is a base model with MSRP @ 44K$ which is a much more basic proposition, and perhaps easier to justify (spending a lot less to get a lot less, but still a good car, just less goodies.)

Very nice car. The price compared to a Tesla makes it a winner for me, especially given the current economic climate. Much better colors to choose from as well at cheaper prices rather than red, black, white.. boring.

"Not as good as a Tesla" - no reviewer can escape it. But one has to compare what you actually pay, not MSRP. I lease 2 2019 BEV for less than lease $ of ONE M3+.

And I thought Teal colored cars died in the 1990s...

Electric seats are awful unless they have at least 2 driver memory as they are so slow to adjust

gm haven t change the model since the beginning of life

The Chevy Bolt's lane assist is a disaster! It needs to be reprogrammed with a hotfix.

Bigger battery than over priced tesla m3 base model

A couple of days ago, we had 'rain with a chance of snowballs' in the suburbs east of Melbourne! NO GLOBAL WARMING HERE____MOVE RIGHT ALONG, PLEASE!

$53,000.00 for that little puppy turd of a car! You can keep it GM!

Just my first 'glance'_____BORRRRRRRRING DESIGN [imho] zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

global warming FTW

it looks like a toy

Dont understand why this GM massive company comes up with crapy technology ev when there is a deadly severe competition with Tesla. If you make something make it good. Or dont make one or you will get a bad impression and no one will ever care to look at your future good cars. What a joke

Ugly ass color ooof, no sunroof, no cooled seats, no memory seats, no powered seats, no adaptive cruise control, hell no pass a day, I love my 2019 ford fusion titanium hybrid, get a Tesla Model 3!!!! There the same damn price about especially a premier Bolt no brainier duhhhh