2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV

With an MSRP of $36,500, the entry-level Bolt LT is a bit on the expensive side. The price of the Premier Bolt EV is $41,700. On top of that, Chevrolet charges $995 for destination and handling fees. It's comfortably cheaper than the BMW i3, which it beats in every way, except for interior quality.

The Hyundai Kona, on the other hand, is a better car, and with a starting price of $37,390, it's no longer more expensive than the Bolt. The Nissan Leaf, which has a more upmarket interior and more safety features, starts at $40,470. It is worth keeping in mind that most states in the USA include certain cash incentives for purchasing eco-friendly vehicles.

The Chevy Bolt makes excellent use of the EV skateboard design. The battery is placed low down between the front and rear axle. Not only is this good for packaging and cooling, but it's also great for handling. This means the Bolt has a low center of gravity, resulting in minimal body roll through the corners. The tires struggle to keep up with the power, but that's just the result of fitting low-resistance eco tires to a powerful car. It's worth keeping this piece of information in mind when hooning it, as it will keep you from scraping the roof.

The steering is tuned specifically for city driving with a short turning circle that is perfect for getting into difficult parking spots and bombing around town. It maintains its composure at highway speeds, which it gets to quickly.

The brakes feel slightly unnatural, however. The regenerative braking system allows the driver to pull a paddle on the steering wheel to engage the system. This regenerative action is quite strong, and after you spend enough time with it, you'll hardly ever touch the brakes.

The Chevrolet Bolt is an excellent option in the EV segment for US shoppers, but the substandard interior drags it down. The Premier specification fixes this problem by adding leather seats and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. But you can't ignore that the base LT Bolt still offers a lot of car for the money. It has a brilliant infotainment system, and the digital cluster looks special. The abundance of space inside also makes it easier to forgive Chevrolet for the inferior quality plastics, even though it means you have to sacrifice some trunk space.

The Chevrolet is good in all the departments that matter. It has more range than every EV, except for the Tesla Model 3. That makes it an enjoyable, realistic alternative to the top-selling EV - perfect for those who want something that isn't a Tesla.

The base LT's price is attractive, but we'd go for the Premier trim. There are a few reasons for this. As standard, it has full leather upholstery with heated seats and a leather steering wheel. It elevates the perceived quality of the interior quite a bit. Add the Infotainment and Driver Confidence II packages, and you have a car with all the necessary luxury and safety features, including pedestrian monitoring, automatic high beams, and forward collision alert.

The Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Bolt have a similar approach to EV motoring, though the Bolt is around $5,000 more expensive.

The Bolt is superior in several ways. First, there's its 259-mile range, which trumps the Leaf's 226 miles. The Chevy handles better thanks to a low center of gravity, and it has more luxury items as standard. The Leaf has a more upmarket interior, but the Bolt's interior is more modern in terms of features. It's also more fun to drive, but the Leaf offers more safety kit as standard.

The two are relatively evenly matched, but if you look at the things that matter to the average EV buyer, such as range and tech, the Bolt seems to be the batter choice.

The Prius is the original pumpkin patch kid, a poster child for greener living. Since it's a plug-in hybrid, it has the ultimate backup in case the battery runs dry, and it will do 50 mpg.

The Prius also represents a massive $12,000 saving over the price of a Bolt. But since it still uses gas, it kind of defeats the purpose.

The Bolt is one of those EVs that gets exceptionally close to offering the same experience as a fossil-fueled car. Not only does it have a 259-mile range, but fast-charging means you can top-up 100 miles in as little as 30 minutes.

The Bolt is also more modern, has better luxury and safety features, and is way cooler.

Hybrids were always meant to be a stepping stone toward full electrification - a sort of in-betweener until EVs finally got to a point where they offered a realistic range. That time is now, so the Bolt wins.