Chevrolet Bolt
Hacker ApprovedRanked 7 of 40 electric cars by recommenders
A practical, inexpensive electric car with decent range and cheap home charging, often bought used. Critics most often cite the touchscreen and on-screen climate controls.
A practical, inexpensive electric car with decent range and cheap home charging, often bought used. Critics most often cite the touchscreen and on-screen climate controls.
56 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 40
- criticize it
- 16
- approval share
- 71%
Recommended in 11 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 3 years
Median of the 5 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it carries the badge
- 40 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 11 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Practical, reliable, normal car
“I'm a huge fan of the Bolt, and I love my 2019. It's a very practical car, and has surprisingly decent range.”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “General Motors Is Assisting with the Restoration of a Rare EV1” “these days these growing pains are over and the Bolt is a reliable vehicle”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Vermont EV buses prove unreliable for transportation this winter” “It feels pretty much like a normal, boring car, which is a great thing.”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Things That Annoy Me About Cars” - Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “General Motors Is Assisting with the Restoration of a Rare EV1”
- Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright”
Cheap to buy and run
“The US market has the Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf each selling for about $30k new and can be readily bought for half that with used inventory.”
Comment from 20 Jan 2026 in “Porsche Sold More Electrified Cars in Europe in 2025 Than Pure Gas-Powered Cars” “Cars like the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Bolt are supremely inexpensive.”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “Honda is killing its EVs – and any chance of competing in the future” “the latest model year Bolt and Leaf are both awesome and under 30K”
Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “Why $4 gasoline is the tipping point for EVs” - Comment from 16 Dec 2025 in “Ford pulls the plug on the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck”
- Comment from 16 Oct 2026 in “Tesla Roadster”
- Comment from 6 Jan 2026 in “Volkswagen Brings Back Physical Buttons”
Decent range and fast charging
“I'm a huge fan of the Bolt, and I love my 2019. It's a very practical car, and has surprisingly decent range.”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “General Motors Is Assisting with the Restoration of a Rare EV1” “It's a very practical car, and has surprisingly decent range.”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “General Motors Is Assisting with the Restoration of a Rare EV1” “had nearly twice the range and cost half as much”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “How BYD Got EV Chargers to Work Almost as Fast as Gas Pumps” - Comment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Toyota is taking the Corolla electric”
Only affordable American EV
“there's exactly one decent US-owned EV on the market, the Chevrolet Bolt”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “BYD is bringing its 5-min 'Flash' electric car charging to Canada” “the only adequate attempt at an affordable EV in the American market”
Comment from 3 Nov 2025 in “Enjoy CarPlay While You Still Can”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Touchscreen and climate controls frustrating
“The issues with my car are the rear cameras, which have stopped working, and the touch screen, which no longer responds to touch.”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “Chevrolet Performance eCrate package (400v/200hp)” “Sadly the rear cameras no longer work, even after replacing them, and the touch screen stopped working too”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “EV Stupidity Checklist” “The 2020 Bolt we just got leaves the climate controls on screen at all times, even when CarPlay is open.”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Car touchscreens are cheap, not good” - Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Car touchscreens are cheap, not good”
- Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Car touchscreens are cheap, not good”
Rear cameras stopped working
“the rear cameras stopped working even after a full replacement”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “Chevrolet Performance eCrate package (400v/200hp)” “The issues with my car are the rear cameras, which have stopped working, and the touch screen, which no longer responds to touch.”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “Chevrolet Performance eCrate package (400v/200hp)” “Sadly the rear cameras no longer work, even after replacing them, and the touch screen stopped working too”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “EV Stupidity Checklist” Missing AWD or adaptive cruise
“I have a 23 Chevy Bolt EUV which is the sweet spot for me right now, I just wish it had AWD for the winters where I live.”
Comment from 16 Dec 2025 in “Ford kills the All-Electric F-150” “I really like my 2017 Chevy Bolt except that it doesn't have ACC”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Open-source self-driving for 325 car models from 27 brands” Battery fire risk and recall
“GM had to replace batteries in 142,000 Chevy Bolts & Volts due to fire risk”
Comment from 30 Dec 2025 in “Tesla's 4680 battery supply chain collapses as partner writes down deal by 99%” “the charging system which seemed designed to destroy them”
Comment from 5 Jul 2026 in “EV Batteries Are Defying Expectations After Miles”
Other electric cars people recommend
The four most recommended other electric cars, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla vehicles | 209 | 411 | 34% | 13 | 6 yrs24 owners | — |
| BYD electric cars | 157 | 53 | 75% | 12 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| Ferrari Luce | 140 | 319 | 31% | 7 | — | — |
| Tesla Model 3 | 128 | 115 | 53% | 13 | 6 yrs32 owners | — |
| Chevrolet BoltThis page | 40 | 16 | 71% | 11 | 3 yrs5 owners | Approved |
What people said
40 of the 65 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Both excellent cars that can be found for under $25k”
“A Bolt EV can already easily be the only car that a person would have to own.”
“could easily be the only car that a person would have to own”
“Friend has a Chevy Bolt in SF he parks on the street. He says it's not a problem.”
“I wish they had a variant in a more normal sedan or hatchback than its "PT Cruiser thing"”
“it has a decent range and decent fast charging”
“it solves all of these issues and is what has kept me from "upgrading."”
“It feels pretty much like a normal, boring car, which is a great thing.”
“now I think I would skip a car that doesn’t have it”
“I wish they were actual buttons that were just mapped to A/C and recirc”
“It's all the disadvantages of a touch screen and none of the advantages.”
“The 2020 Bolt we just got leaves the climate controls on screen at all times, even when CarPlay is open.”
“the charging system which seemed designed to destroy them”
“there's exactly one decent US-owned EV on the market, the Chevrolet Bolt”
“Sadly the rear cameras no longer work, even after replacing them, and the touch screen stopped working too”
“the rear cameras stopped working even after a full replacement”
“The issues with my car are the rear cameras, which have stopped working, and the touch screen, which no longer responds to touch.”
“we could not be happier with them”
“You're better off grabbing the whole shebang out of a wrecked Bolt or Leaf.”
“The Bolt I was considering at the time could have also done most of that trip hands-free.”
“had nearly twice the range and cost half as much”
“It's a very practical car, and has surprisingly decent range.”
“I'm a huge fan of the Bolt, and I love my 2019. It's a very practical car, and has surprisingly decent range.”
“the latest model year Bolt and Leaf are both awesome and under 30K”
“Cars like the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Bolt are supremely inexpensive.”
“these days these growing pains are over and the Bolt is a reliable vehicle”
“I really like my 2017 Chevy Bolt except that it doesn't have ACC”
“The US market has the Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf each selling for about $30k new and can be readily bought for half that with used inventory.”
“we bought a second Chevy bolt for 1/4 the price solely based on the interface and controls”
“a used pre-2020s Bolt is a really excellent value”
“GM had to replace batteries in 142,000 Chevy Bolts & Volts due to fire risk”
“First the Bolt, and then the Lightning has convinced me that there is no special sauce”
“there are other American car manufacturers with great EVs”
“I have a 23 Chevy Bolt EUV which is the sweet spot for me right now, I just wish it had AWD for the winters where I live.”
“it's cheap to charge at home and there's virtually no maintenance”
“will make great commuter cars or grocery getters”
“Took me a couple of hours since the access was awful, but that's one time pain.”
“it does it very reliably as you describe the bolt above”
“it just works, it does it at exactly the moment I would do it”
“the only adequate attempt at an affordable EV in the American market”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.