- In addition to a price drop, the 2022 Chevy Bolt EV also gets a new exterior design and a more comfortable and contemporary interior according to the automaker.
- Underneath the new design, some updated tech features, and the now-standard 55-kW DC fast charging support, the battery range and powertrain are the same as the 2021 Bolt.
- The 2022 Chevy Bolt goes on sale this summer.
Chevy has a bit of a problem. General Motors, along with Tesla, has already sold enough EVs that its products no longer qualify for the federal tax credit that still lowers the purchase price of an EV from Hyundai, Volkswagen, Ford, and other brands. So what do you do when the government won’t help you bring down the price? You do it yourself. The 2022 Chevy Bolt starts at $31,995, a price drop of $5500 compared with the 2021 Bolt that’s currently on sale. It’s also $2000 cheaper than the brand-new, just introduced 2022 Bolt EUV crossover.
It’s not just less expensive, though. The 2022 Bolt has been improved based on customer feedback, GM says, claiming the seats are more comfortable and the interior is more contemporary. And, in fact, rather than the 8.0-inch digital layout of the dash cluster that carries over from the current Bolt, the dash and interior look more like a regular Chevy and less like a futuristic electric car. A 10.2-inch display houses GM’s latest infotainment system and supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connections. A wireless charger is optional, and the company has updated the shifter to a push-button system that sits in the center console.
The 2022 Bolt also now has a button on the center console that lets the driver enable one-pedal driving, which uses regenerative braking to bring the vehicle to a stop without using the brake pedal in certain driving situations. When drivers lift their right foot off the accelerator, the EV begins to slow down, instead of coasting like a traditional gasoline vehicle. It’s as if the person behind the wheel had placed their foot gently on the brake. As the vehicle slows down, it recharges the battery. With a little practice, EV drivers can drive around town using only the accelerator pedal.
While the look got an upgrade, the size of the Bolt is nearly unchanged. It’s the same 69.5-inch width, but a half-inch taller at 63.4 inches and about 0.8 inch shorter, lengthwise, at 163.2 inches. This makes the Bolt EV roughly the same size as the now more expensive 2021 Kona Electric. Trunk space is 16.6 cubic feet, 0.3 cubic foot less than the 2021 model. With the 60/40 split seats down, that goes up to 57.0 cubic feet. The Bolt bests the Kona with the seats down by 11.2 cubic feet but loses to the Hyundai in trunk space by 2.6 cubic feet.
While the interior and exterior look different, the vehicle specs themselves are nearly the same as the 2021 Bolt. The 2022 Bolt still has a targeted 259 miles of range from a 65.0-kWh capacity battery. That’s down 1.0 kWh from the 2021 numbers. AC Level 2 charging has gotten a bit of a boost and supports up to 11 kW, but DC fast charging, which is now standard on all models, sits steady to support up to 55 kW, just like the previous generation. Chevy says that via DC fast charging, drivers would be able to add 100 miles of range in about 30 minutes.
The 2022 Bolt EV is still powered by a single motor delivering 200 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque to the front wheels. The underlying tech beneath the vehicle remains the same because the Bolt is still based on the BEV2 electric-vehicle platform, not GM’s new Ultium platform. In fact, GM’s executive chief engineer of the Bolt and Bolt EUV Jesse Ortega said during a call, “There are no plans to incorporate the Ultium system into the Bolt EV or Bolt EUV.”
While the 2022 Bolt EV doesn’t get access to GM’s Super Cruise technology like its new sibling, the Bolt EUV, the 2022 Bolt comes standard with the Chevy Safety Assist package that includes lane-keeping assist and safety features including automated emergency braking and forward-collision alert. Adaptive cruise control and rear cross-traffic alert are optional.
Overall, the 2022 Bolt is more of the same, with a design refresh that takes into account customer feedback but at a much lower price. It’s looking a bit like a placeholder in the Chevy lineup while GM as a whole transitions to electric vehicles built on the Ultium platform. Its lower price for basically the same product with the same amount of range shows that EV prices will continue to drop as the market matures. The 2022 Chevy Bolt EV will be in showrooms this summer.
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Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
