Chevrolet recently sent a 2020 Chevrolet Bolt to my door so I could take it for a spin. The 2020 model year looks a lot like previous years, with the exception of a few cool new feature like the HD rearview mirror cam.  But that doesn’t mean you should dismiss it.

On the contrary, this Little EV That Could has proven itself to be reliable, fun, and the perfect urban commuter. That’s why GM is targeting the Bolt for new technologies in the coming years, such as Super Cruise (previously only seen on Cadillac vehicles). That’s why it – spoiler alert – ended up being my next car. And here are 10 reasons why it should be yours as well.

1. It’s quiet.

I went to pick up an all-weather mat for the back of my Bolt at the Chevy dealership. While there, the Parts Department windows began to rattle and a deafening thrum made it impossible to keep talking. I glanced out and saw a modified Camaro chugging through the service bay. After it passed, the techs were excitedly talking about “Hemi” this and “modified” that. I got in my Bolt, pressed the power button, breathed a sigh of relief at the lack of vehicular drama it created, and tooled off in virtual silence.

The Bolt might not satisfy the gear heads out there. Hearing them talk excitedly after the Camaro idled by, I understand more why the upcoming Mustang EV will have a selection of “engine” noises. But those of us who don’t need to announce our driving to the world and just want an oasis from the thrum and roar of a regular ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle, the Bolt is a well-mannered oasis. The Bose speakers in the premium trim get loud, but only because you enjoy loud music – not because you need to drown out noises from the car itself.

2020 Chevrolet Bolt (Image: Anthony Karcz)

2. It’s decked out.

Did I name drop Bose speakers in the previous section? I did, and I don’t regret it. That’s because the premier-trim Chevy Bolt, with the infotainment and safety and security packages added, is an embarrassment of riches.

There are (deep breath) leather seats, a leather-trimmed and heated steering wheel, all four seats are heated, USB chargers for all four occupants, a 10.2-inch color touchscreen (that comes standard on every Bolt), Android Auto and Apple Carplay, lane change assists, self-sealing run-flat tires, pedestrian detection (with auto-braking), rear cross traffic detection, collision detection, blind spot detection, high-res back-up cameras, parking cameras, surround vision, a rearview mirror that converts to an HD camera display, remote start, Wi-fi, satellite radio, wireless device charging, and automatic smart headlights.

It’s a lot. When you sit in the Bolt for the first time, it’s hard not to be impressed by the embarrassment of vehicular riches before you. The dashboard is an interesting combination of chrome, textured white plastic, and black leatherette that’s all accented by a glowing blue LED at night.

In fact, the Bolt is so decked out, the absence of adaptive cruise control – about the only option that Chevrolet doesn’t offer for the Bolt – is notable. All the components are there (collision detection, automatic braking), so why not bequeath their only EV with the ultimate driving convenience? I mean, it will be fixed in future releases of the Bolt, but I want it NOW.

3. It’s fast – both ways.

When you press the pedal, you have access to all the power the Bolt can give, instantly. There’s a reason the companion MyChevrolet app tracks “hard accelerations,” and that’s because you’re going to be doing it. A lot. While rabbiting away from stop lights and zipping around slow traffic is probably not the best way to conserve energy, it’s a lot of fun.

Luckily, almost as quickly as you can start, you can also stop the Bolt. The vehicle is meant to regenerate charge from the brakes, and they are, as expected, extremely aggressive. Especially if you drive in low mode, there will be an adjustment period. When you take your foot off the gas (if you’re driving in low) or activate the brake paddle on the steering wheel or press the brake pedal, you will stop. Fast.

We’re talking “make sure no one is following too closely” and “it looks like you slid into home plate and came up a foot short” fast. (And, yes, there are three ways to stop the Bolt; it’s a car that wants to get all the power it can from deceleration.)

4. It will ruin you for all other vehicles.

I’ve mentioned low mode a few times, and it’s the main reason why I love the Bolt and grumble whenever I have to drive a “regular” vehicle. Bumping the shifter back twice (yeah, it’s weird, you get used to it) switches you from regular drive to low. In low, the regenerative braking will engage when you take your foot off the accelerator, allowing you to stop the car without ever touching the brake pedal. Chevrolet calls it “one-pedal driving” and it’s absolutely brilliant.

You’ll also get frustrated when you can’t instantly zip up to the speed limit and get around a slower rolling roadblock in front of you. Waiting for the gears to engage in my Mazda, even when it’s in sport mode, is an agonizing wait after driving the Bolt.

5. It’s bigger on the inside.

Why the Chevrolet Bolt is the darling in Chevy’s EV cap is because it’s the perfect urban vehicle. It’s small enough to fit in just about any parking spot anywhere (and the available front, rear, and bird’s-eye cams make it even easier). But it’s also roomy on the inside. With no encroaching engine cavity or bulging transmission hump, the Bolt can remain small on the outside while retaining the interior space of a much larger sedan.

A week’s worth of groceries? No problem. (Image: Anthony Karcz)

The rear seats are elevated (they sit on the battery pack) and have seat warmers and individual USB chargers (in the premium package). The front seats have more than enough leg room, plus plenty of space for all the bags you might have. The rear hatchback can easily swallow a week’s worth of groceries.

6. It’s electric.

Why is this #6 when it’s probably the main reason people look at the Bolt in the first place? Because if a car doesn’t make sense for the average commuter, it doesn’t matter how it’s powered.

Your garage is your “gas” station. (Image: Anthony Karcz)

Since the Bolt is a thoroughly enjoyable vehicle in every other way, the electric drive motor is icing on the cake. It keeps the car peppy, quiet, and saves you money at the pump. It’s also good for the environment and quite possibly the only way you’ll want to fuel up a vehicle from now on. Why?

7. Because range anxiety is a myth.

Think about it. When was the last time you pulled into your garage and panicked because you only had three-quarters or half a tank of gas? I got out of my Bolt this evening, saw that I had 177 miles of range available and didn’t bother pulling into the garage to plug it in. Unless I’m planning on driving more than 177 miles tomorrow (I’m not), there’s no reason to keep the battery topped off. But if I wanted to, I wouldn’t worry about that either because…

8. Fueling it up costs less than your ICE car.

This isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison, but it costs about $2.30(ish) for a gallon of gas that gets me around 25 miles per gallon in my Mazda CX-9. To get 60 miles in my Bolt, I need a kilowatt hour (kwH) of charge (which, on my level 2 charger at home, takes far less than an hour). That costs me, at my most expensive electric rate, $.08.

Even if my regular ICE vehicle were a gas-sipping Camry, those numbers are always going to work out in the Bolt’s favor.

9. It’s got great incentives (for now).

I will be the first to admit that the Bolt is no Tesla 3. Unfortunately, that’s not reflected in the $43,735 price. For that, you can get a standard Model 3 for around the same price as a fully loaded premier-trim Bolt. Where the difference lies is that, unlike Tesla, Chevrolet has decades of car finance experience behind them. Why that matters to you can be summed up in one word: incentives.

Tesla’s price is Tesla’s price. There’s no President’s Day blowout or manufacturer rebate. GM, on the other hand, is doing everything it can to move Bolts before the vehicle loses its federal tax incentive completely in April of this year. After that, they’ll have to chip in even more up-front cash to compete with competitors like Kia.

With that said, the early 2020 deals for leasing and buying the Chevrolet Bolt have been incredible so far. You want 0% financing and $5,000 cash back? Done. You want to lease a Bolt for under $300 per month? Pick your color and drive off the lot. It’s been so good that I finally took the plunge and leased my own Bolt.

When my old trusty Toyota Avalon was going to cost me more in one month than it would in four months of leasing a Bolt, the decision became abundantly clear which was the better choice. In fact, the day the GM fleet manager called to let me know they finally had a Bolt in stock for this review was also the day I took delivery on my very own 2020 Bolt Premier.

10. It’s something you can do for the environment right now.

Take another look at reason #7. The oil industry doesn’t exist to help you get from point A to point B. If that were the case, then gas prices wouldn’t wildly fluctuate based on the season, or have spikes in demand, or any other random thing that causes the prices at the pump to be woefully unreliable. The entire fuel complex is there to make as much profit as it can from the pockets of drivers. Being environmentally conscious isn’t just inconvenient to that; it’s bad for business.

You can deny climate change all you want, but it was 70 degrees in Antarctica less than a month ago. That’s the kind of thing that should have had the entire planet collectively screaming, “We need to do something!” Instead, everyone sighed and flipped back to videos of the entire continent of Australia on fire.

Although it might be a drop in the bucket, globally speaking, taking one gas-burning, fluid leaking, fume-belching vehicle off the road is a shift in the right direction. As EVs become more normalized in our vehicular environment, the opportunity to take more ICE cars off the road increases.

I’m not saying that all gas-burning cars have to be eliminated. That’s naive thinking, at best. There will always be a place for cars that can go anywhere and don’t need a deep infrastructure to keep them running. However, for city dwellers, our attachment to our “normal” cars is slowly killing us. If the majority of your driving is short range, it’s cheaper and cleaner in the long run to get an EV, and the Chevrolet Bolt is as close to an “everyperson” vehicle as there is on the market right now.

If you want to learn more, I highly recommend heading over to the Chevrolet Bolt homepage and finding out where you can slide in for a test drive. You won’t be disappointed.