A Needed Jolt
January 13, 2026
Jay RameyChevy brings back the Bolt EUV after an absence of a few years, and it ticks many of the right boxes even though it's really built to a price.
We’re not even two weeks into 2026, but you can already get a 2027 Chevy Bolt. That’s right: It’s a car from the future! Just how futuristic it really is in this day and age is perhaps up for debate.
But what is not up for debate is that it’s now the most affordable EV on sale in the US.
The Bolt itself, you may recall, has been taking a looong break since December 2023, which feels like some time ago in the EV space. In fact, that was the same month that the Cybertruck started shipping. (Remember the Cybertruck?) And the 2027 Bolt… hasn’t really changed much on the outside.
But it is quite different under the EUV (and EUV only this time around) bodywork, including a new and more efficient 210-hp motor, courtesy of the Equinox EV driving the front wheels while drawing juice from a new 65-kWh lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery good for 262 miles of range.
The interior has been updated as well, now sporting a 11.3-inch infotainment screen, and there is a NACS port allowing it to charge at Tesla stations.
The more important number is $29,900 for the launch LT Comfort Package model, which allows it to slide just under the starting price of the new Nissan Leaf, which until now held the title of the most affordable new EV with a $31,485 sticker for the S+ trim.
Another important number is 150 kW, as that’s a far more modern charging rate than the 55-kW peak rate the 2023 Bolt offered. This will allow it to get juiced up from 10 to 80% in 26 minutes, which will make a world of difference when it comes to charging outside the home: Drivers will no longer be holding up charging stalls for hours.
At first blush, these specs aren’t all that futuristic in an era when everything has to be Ludicrous, (allegedly) self-driving, or eye-catching enough to be readily identifiable from a mile away to get any attention in the EV sphere. And they don’t need to be, as that’s not the point of the Bolt.
Rather, the Bolt is that now-rare small and thrifty EV in a sea of pricey luxury electric crossovers — the kind of EV that the industry has lost sight of in a race for range, dazzling and distracting tech, and tire-shredding launches. It’s also far more affordable than the duo of aging best-sellers from Tesla, coming pretty close in spirit to the once-promised Tesla “Model 2.”
And an even more affordable version of the Bolt is on the way later this year with a $28,995 starting price.
Just how close is the Bolt to the Leaf when it comes to all-important numbers in this segment, since EVs are still judged by their range numbers and starting prices?
The Leaf edges out the Bolt a bit when it comes to range, promising a range of 303 miles for its $1585 bump in price. And that bit of math could be enough to make some shoppers head for a Nissan dealership. But the Leaf has just about as much horsepower with 214 hp on tap along with an identical 150-kW peak charging rate.
So the Leaf is perhaps the model for the slightly more range-anxious among us.
The 2027 Bolt is rare in one other way: It’s only available “for a limited time,” GM says. This suggests this could be a seat-warmer for a truly clean-slate model due sometime before the end of the decade, since the 2027 model is not vastly different from the 2022 refresh.
In light of that, it’s difficult to expect it to hang around all that long, so this could be a shortened product cycle before Chevy readies a new pocket-sized EV crossover.
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