GM has made a firm commitment to pumping out electric vehicles, first with its new Factory Zero and second by declaring it’ll be mostly electric by 2035. Now, it’s starting to put its money where its mouth is by revealing its first affordable fully electric crossover: the 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV.
This reveal is hot on the heels of Ford’s release of its own all-electric crossover, the Mustang Mach E.
So, naturally, we needed to do a little spec comparison.
Chevy’s EUV seems to be the clear winner in the price wars, but let’s look at that again. Even though the Mustang Mach E is $10k more than the Bolt EUV, it qualifies for the $7,500 tax credit, whereas GM EVs do not. So, really, there’s just a $3k difference between the vehicles.
However, what this also says to me is that GM has been in the EV game a little longer than Ford, which could be a predictor of reliability and growth strategy. Maybe.
Chevrolet hasn’t released the full specs just yet, but in the glimpse we got (below), there are also a few other interesting things to point out:
- Chevy’s EUV is FWD: While the Mustang Mach E has both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options, with RWD being standard, the Bolt EUV is only available as a front-wheel drive model at this time.
- Faster charging: We’ve had a hard time getting charging data from Ford, but in what we’ve been able to glean from other people’s data, the charge rate on a 120 V wall charger will be 3 miles per hour vs. Chevy’s 4 miles per hour on the Bolt EUV.
- Mach E is bigger: The Bolt EUV is really kind of tiny. In fact, it’s a full 16 inches shorter than the Mustang Mach E. And while legroom and headroom are a win for the Chevy EUV, shoulder room, hip room and cargo volume is in the loss category.
- Self-driving tech available: Both the Bolt EUV and Mustang Mach E will have available hands-free driving — Chevy in the form of Super Cruise and Ford in the form of Active Drive Assist. Chevrolet hasn’t made it clear if Super Cruise will be available on all trims, or only the top tier, but we know Active Drive Assist is not available on the base Mach E.
One other thing I’d like to point out is Chevrolet has included some basic standard safety technology on the new EUV. However, the Mach E’s standard tech is more robust and includes extra features like automatic reverse braking, blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.
| 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV | 2021 Ford Mustang Mach E Select | |
|---|---|---|
| Base price | $33,995 | $43,995 |
| Eligible for federal tax credit | No | Yes |
| Range | 250 miles (FWD) | 230 miles (RWD); 211 miles (AWD) |
| Battery chemistry | Lithium Ion | Lithium Ion |
| Cells | 288 | 288 |
| Energy | 65 kWh | 68 kWh |
| Battery warranty | 8 years/100k miles | 8 years/100k miles |
| Horsepower | 200 hp | 266 hp |
| Torque | 266 lb.-ft. | 317 lb.-ft. |
| Charging times | 4 mph (120 V); 7 hours (240 V); up to 95 miles in 30 mintues (fast charge) | 3 mph (120 V); 11 hours (240 V); up to 167 miles in 45 minutes (fast charge) |
| Front suspension | Independent MacPherson strut-type with direct-acting solid stabilizer bar | Independent Macpherson strut with hollow stabilizer bar |
| Rear suspension | Compound crank (torsion beam) with coil springs | Independent multilink with hollow stabilizer bar |
| Turning circle | 38.3 feet | 38.1 feet |
| Brake type | Four-wheel disc with ABS; electro-hydraulic; partially regenerative | Four-wheel disc witih ABS |
| Brake size | Front: 15 / 276 vented; Rear: 15 / 264 solid | Front: Ventilated disc 18"/4 piston fixed; Rear: Solid disc 17"/1 piston sliding |
| Wheel size | 17-in. aluminum | 18-in. aluminum |
| Tire size | 215/50R17 | 225/60R18 |
| Wheelbase | 105.3 inches | 117 inches |
| Length | 169.5 inches | 185.6 inches |
| Width | 69.7 inches | 74.1 inches |
| Height | 63.6 inches | 64 inches |
| Headroom | 40.0 inches (front - max); 39.1 inches (front w/ sunroof); 37.8 inches (rear) | 38.9 inches (front); 38.2 inches (rear) |
| Legroom | 44.3 inches (front - max); 39.1 inches (rear) | 43.3 inches (front); 38.1 (rear) |
| Shoulder room | 54.6 inches (front); 52.0 inches (rear) | 57.6 inches (front); 55.9 inches (rear) |
| Hip room | 51.4 inches (front); 50.2 inches (rear) | 55.4 inches (front); 53.2 inches (rear) |
| Passenger volume | 96.5 cu. ft. | n/a |
| Cargo volume | 16.3 cu. ft. (behind rear seat); 56.9 cu. ft. (rear seat folded) | 29.7 cu. ft. (behind rear seat); 59.7 cu. ft. (behind first row); 4.7 cu. ft. (front trunk) |
| Curb weight | 3,679 pounds | 4,394 pounds |
| Standard safety tech | Automatic emergency braking (front), forward collision alert, lane keep assist, rear vision camera | Automatic rear brake assist, automatic emergency braking (front), blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane keep assist, automatic high beams |
| Self driving tech | Super Cruise available | Active Drive Assist available in uper trims |
The bottom line on the Bolt EUV
This is just the first in a long line of new electric crossovers from General Motors generally and Chevrolet specifically. And while I think the Bolt EUV styling looks fine (compared to Mach E’s styling that sings), there’s a lot to be said for a utility all-electric vehicle that starts in the low $30k range – without tax credits. But, according to at least one article we read, perhaps more tax credits for GM could be on the way, and that would make this a bigger win.
I enjoyed the Bolt EV when I drove it previously, so I’ll be curious about how this new EUV stacks up – especially in comparison to the Mustang Mach E, which I loved.
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