I was able to drive a late-prototype Chevy Bolt EV around the campus of GM’s Warren Technical Center, which is still a sight to see, still redolent with midcentury optimism. The Bolt is an all-electric, B-segment hatch with a claimed range of more than 200 miles, 200 horsepower, sub 7-second acceleration, and a starting price, after the $7,500 tax credit, of around $30,000 (state credits may also apply). In the march to the practical, affordable electric car for the masses, those are magic metrics. Due date: Q4, 2016.
My pocket review: It’s a toaster, for an age when toast will be weirdly hip.
The Bolt is built on the Uncertainty Principle. The significance of Chevrolet’s Bolt is that it marks the final readiness of EVs for the masses. No more measured praises, no more wait-and-see. Whichever way the market goes, the machine is sufficient to the task. You can’t object that the Bolt is too expensive, because it won’t be; you can’t say it doesn’t have enough range, because it certainly will. You can’t say EVs aren’t quick enough, because no one ever said they weren’t quick.
All this the Bolt accomplishes, or will, when it hits the showrooms late this year, a year ahead of of Tesla’s EV commuter-car, the Model 3.
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Still, as much as GM might like to say otherwise, the Bolt is not a conceptual breakthrough but rather a triumph of procurement, namely, the small, lightweight and powerful battery concealed under the floor. Comprising 288 lithium cobalt prismatic cells arranged like rows of business envelopes, the Bolt’s battery pack holds a mighty charge of 60 kwh (with 140 kW peak output, or 200 hp) while weighing 960 pounds, including all the thermal management plumbing. There will be an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on the battery.
