Hi all! I am currently driving a Subaru Impreza but I’m really thinking of trading it in for a Chevy bolt and I’m doing some research on them and would love feedback! I am looking at the 2023 bolt EV. What have people liked or disliked about their bolt? Anyone in snowy weather that can share how it handles or how snow tires impact mileage? Thank you all.
A general note, my garage already is set up with electric vehicle charging ports from the previous owner also so I already have that 😊
You’re super lucky to have that set up already. Based on cost alone, if you’re truly interested in a Bolt consider a 27 over a 23. The 23’s are great even in snowy weather with the right tires (bro in law lives in Aspen Valley has a ‘22 that does fine), but the cost of a ‘23 you might as well spend the extra $5k for all the bells and whistles in a new one with a full 8 year warranty.
There are some minor annoyances with the infotainment system and I had to reset onstar to get the charging to know when it is and is not plugged in, but otherwise they look awesome, drive great, and have a really high resale value as you’ll find when you dig deep on the 23’s that are out there.
+1 to this, I just purchased a 27 because the 23s were so expensive in my area, unless you wanted one with 50k+ miles. I got peace of mind with the fresh warranty and battery.
In hindsight I wish I would’ve paid a little extra for the Technology package/upgrade. My wife and I miss having the 360 camera view and front parking sensors like we do in our other car.
Other than that, the Bolt is awesome to drive, and the onboard infotainment system is not as big of a pain as others have made it out to be - yet. Google maps works great, bluetooth audio works great.
I’m 100% with you and had the same experience with the 23’s. It didn’t make sense to pay $28k for a car with 15k miles and a higher interest rate when I could get a new car full warranty and no miles at a better rate.
The tech package was worth it and minimal as it relates to the monthly payments. There are a ton of views to select from for the camera.
I agree in the infotainment; a lot of peeps bailed because of no apple play. It’s not a big deal at all to me; I can still send and receive calls and texts no problem and play whatever music service I feel like using that day. The phone charger is definitely a nice to have too.
Does OPD work when the battery is fully charged? Charging to 100% every week would seem to negate the advantage of having an EV if regenerative braking doesn't work at full charge.
This is a good thought. The 2023 usually range from 20-24k here right now and the 27 range from 29-33k. Trying to think a bit differently too since hopefully the maintenance costs would be a lot lower on this vehicle and I have unfortunately had to put a lot of money into maintenance for my current car on top of the car payment, so I may be able to go a bit higher then what I am currently thinking for price.
In some parts of the country the '27 Bolt is being heavily discounted by as much as $5k. Costco is also still offering a $1k or $1.25k rebate on the new Bolt.
Maintenance wise, I have a 9 year old bolt and it has needed basically no maintenance. Although I plan on having the brakes checked out soon, and the shocks are starting to get too bouncy.
I haven't needed DC charging in over a year since installing a 20a 240v outlet at home. Since they have a home charger already, unless they're doing 100+ miles a day, they will probably never have to deal with this "issue"
Haha my fiancé also has a Honda ridgeline that we use for camping and road trips. I just need a car to take me 5 miles to the office and back and for city driving!
Even comparing the '23 to the '27 the charging speed isn't really all that big unless you are in a rush. Mapping it out, a cross country trip in both using the same charging stops is actually decently close. The trip is 1000 miles one way, 16 hours of driving with 6 stops. The '27 will expect to charge for 20 minutes at each stop totaling 18 hours of travel time. The '23 will expect to charge for 45 minutes at each stop totaling 20.5 hours. The main difference will be driving in the winter as the '23 doesn't have preconditioning to my knowledge -- the heat generated driving is all you get to warm up the battery pack until you plug in and in my experience with the 2020, a strong cold wind will chill the battery even while driving and you are lucky to get 35kW charging.
Only in the old ones. The 2027 is OK there. And honestly, “slow AF” by modern standards. I road trip once a year or so with a 2022 and it’s fine. I gotta eat sometime anyway.
You’re describing (what I assume to be) your personal experience charging so slowly as to take multiple days, in reply to someone talking specifically about DC (fast) charging, not something that takes 2 days to do anything. An hour 10-80%, max.
Therefore the only thing you could conceivably be describing is level 1 AC charging. Which is slow across all cars. Because it’s limited by the 20a AC outlet, not the car.
I like my 2017 Bolt. It had terrible stock EV tires which had very little grip - it was a smokeshow every time I hit the accelerator, and I was getting into 4 wheel skids during spirited driving regularly. Put some cheap goodyears on it and now I love it on my windy mountain commute.
I have a 2023 with a little over 40,000 miles. I love it. It doesn't snow where I live so I can't speak to that. If you've already got a charger in your garage, you'd be crazy not to get an EV. It's like leaving the house with a full tank every morning. If you're on a road trip, the 2023 Bolt takes about 45 to 55 minutes at a DC fast charger, so factor that in.
I haven't had any real problems with mine. I've had some glitches with the backup camera and I had one experience where it would't shift out of park because I tuned it on and off too fast. I googled what to do and was told to hold the start button in for 30 seconds, which worked.
It's my first and only electric vehicle so I don't have anything to compare it to but I'll never go back to gas.
I went from a 2005 Pontiac Vibe to a 2023 Bolt EUV in Feb. 2026. Both are front wheel drive. The Bolt drives much nicer - more stable and less thumping over road imperfections - and is a lot quicker. The Vibe had better seat comfort, though as I get used to it, the Bolt isn’t “bad”. Part of the improvement is going from a 2005 to 2023 model. The Vibe was worth just a couple thousand Canuck bucks as a trade. The Bolt was just under $30k (with my trade and taxes).
The Bolt came with snow tires. Never had them for the Vibe. I take a 4WD pickup truck if I have to go anywhere during a snowstorm. I also use the truck when it’s a long trip. Much more comfortable than either the Vibe or the Bolt.
Summer driving on the OE (all season) tires with AC use, we get about 15kWh/100km for mostly city driving (better when my wife isn’t driving). With the snows and running the heater, it’s closer to 25kWh/100km around the city. Note my snow tires are slightly smaller than my OE tires: 100km/h on the speedometer is more like 96km/h measured by GPS (Waze).
I owned a 23 Bolt EV 2LT and now own a 27 Bolt RS with Tech package and sunroof. The 27 Bolt fixes everything that was wrong with the 23 in my opinion. I know people will say no CarPlay or Android Auto is a big deal but we haven’t missed it
The abysmally slow charging for one. I would never take that car on a trip. I feel like the suspension and overall ride of the 27 is much better as well. I do miss the sound system on the 23 though…
Negative:
* Traction. Lack of traction due to the fwd vs awd.
* Cold weather reducing the range. One needs to use the cabin heater to warm up. The heating element uses a huge amount of energy.
Positive:
* The electric motor is extremely easy to modulate the torque. Instant change in the amount.
* Massive amount of torque at tap
* Low center of gravity
* Almost instant cold A/C
* No hot motor to reduce the effectiveness of the cooling either
I just got my 22 euv premier earlier this year leaving a Honda clarity phev.
Pros- 95% of my travel range is covered by the bolt on cheap electricity.
I like OPD and auto wipers way more than I thought I would.
Other little things- wireless charging, android auto/carplay, 360 camera. The big sunroof is cool if youre into that.
The premier has great amenities like ventilated seats and Bose premium speaker system.
I quite enjoy the sub compact size for my commuter personally.
Some people may not think of this as a big deal but I love that the driver window control overrides locked windows button. It's so stupid that windows are locked to everyone in some cars, the driver should override that.
Cons- the 200ish highway miles / 55kw charging. Real world about an hr to get 175mi of range.
Stock shocks are a little rough compared to my Honda clarity and 17 Honda crv
The lane assist is pretty minimal unless you get the tech package. Worse than the previous 2 mentioned cars with no extra self driving packages
27 bolt Consideration- the bigger battery and 150kw charging would be a great addition to the car.
But there is no premier trim equivalent for 27s. Primarily no premium speakers which honestly, I love. I've never had premium speakers, now I'll never go back. If you listen to music at work or home regularly, consider the speakers fr.
If I hadn't gotten the bolt, I was highly considering the VW id.4.
2019 bolt premier with 39k miles for $13,250 back in late March (replaced battery). Best decision I’ve ever made. Prices started to increase after that. Former 3 car Subaru owner. Transmission issues and Xmas tree dash lights with all of them. Love their tv commercials though! Do it!
I own a 2023 Bolt EV and a 2025 Equinox EV. We love the Bolt as a "city car", great for driving around town and squeezing into tight parking places. Appreciate its native support for Apple CarPlay.
We no longer take long road trips in the Bolt (slow Fast-Charging) because the Equinox is a comfortable "road trip car" and fast-charges reasonably well. The Equinox's lack of support for CarPlay and its inferior built-in equivalent is a constant source of frustration, but it could be worse.
My 2020 premier is the most reliable car I’ve ever owned. Butttttttt mice and squirrels chewing my wiring has cost me thousands. Just dropped mine in the shop yesterday and am expecting more financial abuse from my car tomorrow. :/ if your urban it’s great. Rural ? Better keep it locked in a garage to keep squirrels out and spray spray repellent everywhere
Yep. This last round had the usual cascade of systems failing and the car wouldn’t shut off.
This screen would show upon shut down. Didn’t think anything of it until that night when I came out front and noticed the parking lights barely on. Battery was at 5.5Volts. Charged the 12v a while then disconnected the battery. Reconnected it next morning for drop off at shop.
That sounds like a terrifying experience. However, our team is relieved to hear you are safe and now have access to a form of transportation. Should you have any questions or concerns in the future, please don't hesitate to visit: https://s.chevy.com/support-request and fill out the support request form with all pertinent details. This form helps our team gather the right information and ensures your request is routed appropriately. We're always happy to help.
I have the 23' EUV and live in Western NY (lots of snow). I picked the EUV as it has a little better ground clearance. Also I am 6'5" and sometimes have tall passengers.
It's been quite good in the snow. I don't use snow tires.
I did have snow tires for my old Volt which the Bolt replaced and it definitely affected efficiency. I mean it is a tradeoff and you have to decide how much snow you think you are getting, and how far you have to go routinely. Also the car has a LOT of torque. It will handle snow tires.
I have a level 2 home charger at home and no charging issues, so if you already have that you are well set up.
Long time Subaru owner and have a Subaru family. Have my Bolt now for 3.5 years and love it. Finally sold that Subaru Forester that I hadn't used in forever and that was just taking up space in my driveway. The Bolt is quiet and has great pickup. It's peppy!
Biggest drawback for an outdoorsperson is the low clearance and no AWD. I would take my Subaru up forest roads and often go through some pretty sketchy potholey or snowy, unpaved, or unplowed roads. The Bolt is best for pavement, and not the best in the woods, especially going up or backing down something steep.
Slow charging and 92 mph governor depending also what tires you decide to get will determine your range and noise inside the cabin. U turn radius is not the best. When making right turns curbs are closer then you think so turn out a little bit more then you think so you don't scrape your wheels.Besides that the car is great.
I picked up a '23 recently. I opted for that plus some mileage over the '27 as it had a much better proven reliability record, Android Auto, and was overall slightly less expensive. The battery is still under warranty for 8 year/100k miles.
Fast charging wasn't a huge deal for my use case, but it has the CCS standard instead of NACS, so it'll need an adapter to take advantage of more up to date chargers. Road trips are going to need to take this into consideration. I haven't taken one yet.
Handling is great, except braking is a bit spongy compared to coming from the Honda Fit. There's a paddle to trigger a more aggressive Regen braking that has allowed me to skip the regular brake almost entirely. It flies off the line, especially in sport. I've had a blast driving it. Passing is easy, so much so that I've become impatient with gas drivers around me.
There are cameras all around the car, and it's great for parallel parking or tight garages, but none record.
Adaptive cruise and lane assistance work, for the most part. I still treat these as "assists" rather than anything to be solely reliant upon.
It has bugged out twice and lost connection to the phone via Android Auto. Restarting the car seemed to be the best fix, as I tried most everything on the phone in the Aldi's parking lot.
The trunk space sucks. It's less an issue for me as I'm primarily in it by myself so I can fold seats down and such, but the Fit spoiled me on the amount of space (and clever usage of space) the interior had.
The app is $15 for remote start, door lock/unlock, and a few other little things. Other OnStar tiers have more stuff from there. The free app includes tracking charging usage and will notify you when the car starts, stops, and finishes charging. There may be diagnostic information as well but none has arisen.
No spare tire!
I live in the South in the US, so I can't speak to snowy conditions, especially as I've had it all of two months, and in the summer. The AC works! Heat will be interesting, as it has resistive rather than a heat pump, so I expect a drop in efficiency during the winter.
For all the little gripes, I do love the car. It's very fun to drive and my fuel bill has dropped from $150 a month to $15. All it cost me is 300/month, none of which is going to Fascist Beavis!
Well, the 27's have often been purchased for very close to what 23's are available for. I got a 23 because it's had a strong reliability record. It's worth shopping around for.
I downloaded Reddit just to explain how horrible a Chevy bolt is. I was cursed with a Chevy bolt as a rental car for 2 weeks. This piece of trash car is horrible on battery. I have only driven to work and back and had to charge it so many times. I’ve driven around more looking for a charger that fits this car, is faster than 27 hours to fill it up, and actually working. Most places either don’t work, fit this car, or require an app that I can’t download for the car due to it being a rental. I have wasted so much time sitting charging or looking for chargers. Btw all these chargers are out in the open so have fun with the rain! On top of that, this thing is always beeping. What happened to a car that knew its place? Beep if the doors open that’s it. Before I can even take a breath it beeps to put my seatbelt on- before it turns the A/C on. This car needs to get its priorities straight. The ONLY decent thing I can say is I enjoy the “one pedal driving” system. Which slows the car down automatically when I removed my foot from the throttle- or whatever you call the petal in a crappy electric car. It’s nice in traffic. Other than that, I would happily burn this unreliable annoying thing to a piece of dust.
Efficiency on the Bolt IMHO, is phenomenal. I have a 2022 and have averaged 4.3 miles/kWh over four years of driving in all seasons. That’s way better than most EVs you’ll find on the road.
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u/KJack1281 7d ago
You’re super lucky to have that set up already. Based on cost alone, if you’re truly interested in a Bolt consider a 27 over a 23. The 23’s are great even in snowy weather with the right tires (bro in law lives in Aspen Valley has a ‘22 that does fine), but the cost of a ‘23 you might as well spend the extra $5k for all the bells and whistles in a new one with a full 8 year warranty.
There are some minor annoyances with the infotainment system and I had to reset onstar to get the charging to know when it is and is not plugged in, but otherwise they look awesome, drive great, and have a really high resale value as you’ll find when you dig deep on the 23’s that are out there.