2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV Premier Full Tour & Review

It's time for electrics again on TestDrive, and we're kicking off the 2019 season with our first full electric, the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV Premier.

Our full tour and review of the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV Premier goes in depth with this 383 km range electric vehicle, including the automatic HID headlights, rear parking sensors, remote motor starter, LED daytime running lights, keyless entry, large windows, and overall small station wagon design. We also discuss it's design and look along with some of the cosmetic options selected for this press car.

Inside we talk about the leather seating, electronics assembled by LG in South Korea, 360º camera system, rear view camera mirror, heated front seats, heated outboard rear seats, heated steering wheel, 10.2" LG infotainment system, and the wireless phone charger. The Bolt EV Premier also comes with a 7 speaker Bose audio system, GM's OnStar with 4G LTE data connection, SiriusXM Radio, Apple Carplay & Android Auto, and charging and battery use information.

We take the 2019 Bolt EV on a road test through the busy highways and streets of Montréal, Québec, including the Autoroute 40 and Autoroute 20 to see how the Bolt performs, handles, and rides, and what happens when you set out with a limited charge to test our own personal range anxiety. We test the Bolt's capabilities passing other vehicles on the highways along with it's ride and comfort when going over some rough patches of roadway.

We wrap up our EV episode on the 2019 Chevy Bolt EV by talking about what we liked and disliked about this small electric vehicle, and what new competition in this market means for GM moving forward, especially with the outgoing Volt PHEV we tested last year.

TestDrive is proudly produced in Acton, Québec, Canada.

[PRNTestDrive]

We’ve decided to push this video out early, outside of our typical publish schedule. We spend a few minutes at the start of our exterior walk around discussing the Federal Government’s proposed incentive on electric vehicles. At the time of filming this episode the incentive hadn’t been finalized and no date had been given, however it appears that starting on the 1st of May, 2019, that EV purchase credit will go into effect.

[wassiswallylokhankin]

I've owned my 2019 Bolt EV Premier for almost 5 years now (since brand new) and am still honeymooning with it. Fast, quiet, reliable, ridiculously cheap to operate. By far the best car in the decades of my driving career. Thank you GM!

[thelast]

Best electric car in the world! I own two!

[amenhotepavoskin]

I've driven my 2019 Premier for 4 years now and it is THE best car in my life.

[tterbo]

I'm glad somebody made the Star Trek Next Gen shuttle craft connection. I'm not unhappy for that but for sure it is subjective. The pedestrian warning sounds sell the trekkie aspect too I think.

[RobertWadlingtonDIY]

Appreciate finally a full size guy like me other than a typical 5’-9” 175 lb person testing the various EVs. However, I would appreciate in your future vehicles if you would show your actual ingress/egress from the vehicles so we can size up the overall available space or lack thereof. Thanks.

[athena]

I have this exact color in our 2019 Chevy Bolt premier but we tinted the windows to make it sleeker. It’s got a great Bose sound system too! We love it and don’t miss looking like a chump paying for dirty gas ⛽️ and polluting the air. I thought we’d have range anxiety but so far have had zero issues. Every night after work it gets plugged up to our home charger 🔌 it fits our dog easily and anything else we need to haul! Love the shock color and as a bonus it is one of the safest color cars you can be driving besides white. People see you and we gets lots of compliments on it! I know they discontinued the color for 2020 but that’s ok cause the blue they brought in the color lineup is amazing!

[TruWrecks]

I bought a Bolt EV Premier last month and it is the best small car I have ever owned. It rides firm but complies to the roads very well. With snow tires I still get 200 US miles to a charge. 178 with the cabin heater and defroster running. On a 50A 240 VAC charger it can fully charge in 7 hours.

[notthenancychen]

this is a super helpful video! i'm thinking of getting a 2019 bolt, but was wondering if you felt like the camera was a hindrance? i tried a 2021 and the camera was so crisp and you have more angles. idk if it's a detriment or anything, but wanted to get your thoughts.

[ceeslee]

Premier trim needs an non-leather interior option.

[bikerheart]

We've owned our 2019 Bolt EV Premier since last December. . .I'm very happy with it and plan to keep it for a while. In my experience the single biggest range killer is the use of the resistive heater so no, you will not get the advertised range - 240 miles/383 km - in the winter. Even the a/c in the summer months doesn't chop the range nearly as much as the heater and i have the mileage logs to prove it. . .i have managed 420+ km (stoners rejoice!) on short range summer road trips which included highway speeds and partial a/c use; and even north of 450 km while running about town. High tire pressures are at least partly responsible for the hard-ish ride, but according to one youtube Bolt test driver and his daughter the new ones ride better than the earlier models. Finally i agree with you that the rest of the EV world is catching up, fast, with increased range and features being offered. . .the Bolt was a game changer but is in its 4th year of production, an eternity in the shiny new EV world, and GM needs to get back to it and up their game. Nice job on this vid :)

[DirtFlyer]

I wonder how many hi-liters they go through to paint this thing.

[KTPurdy]

I've been most impressed by our Bolt. The torque and upright seating makes for pleasant travel.

[vox]

That’s Aboooot a nice caaarrrr to drive to your

[Laternater]

This and the Kona EV are the 2 I'm deciding on when I decide to make the eventual plunge into an EV.

[MsPokey]

Here's what I want for my FIRST Electric Car: BASIC Car ( K. I. S.S.) ~ Charge on 110vac~ No Computers ~ Digital Read outs ~ 100<200 Mile range ~ $15, 000 <$20, 000 price. Do something like this and I will buy my FIRST ELECT CAR. I don't care about soft arm rests or back seat room! This EV stuff is all new to most of us & for most it will be a second car. Keep it simple!

[JackRusselMan]

I would not spend $51, 000 on a Chevy EV. I'm actually going to be looking at the Ford Mustang EV myself.

[mowcowbell]

Recent price drops... now seeing '19 Chevy Bolt Premier models as low as $32K US.

[erikstephens]

Just as a note battery cells are now being manufactured by LG in Holland, MI and battery pack assembly by LG in Hazel Park, MI for the 2019 Bolt EV. I do know at the time of this video the details of the Federal tax credit were unknown but both the LT and Premier versions of the car qualify for the federal EV tax credit. To qualify you need to offer a base car below $45K but the program allows for cars optioned up to $55K. If you seat more than 6 people those limits are raised by $10K (so vehicles like the Pacifica PHEV qualify). Remote start has nothing to do with the motor (the motor doesn't run unless moving). It's more of a vehicle preconditioning feature. EPA doesn't have a "hatchback" category. The station wagon category is a broad term with regards to the EPA. LG is the supplier for the head unit but the software is GM. The DIC is not LG. For range in an EV that information is front and centre. In a combustion vehicle that information is buried which has an influence on the mindset. I own both a Volt and a Bolt EV. The Bolt is a firmer sharper handling vehicle. The Volt is more of a softer cruiser. That being said we drove our Bolt EV from Ontario to Florida and back ~4000kms round trip and we had no major issues and it worked well. Sport mode just changes the accelerator pedal map to be more sensitive. Max power is still the same. In our Bolt EV we have seen ranges as low as 270kms in the winter (short trips blasting heat) to as much as 450kms in the summer in good weather with minimal climate usage. The Bolt EV is built on GM's BEV2 architecture. Later this year GM will be revealing a new CUV based on an "enhanced" BEV2 architecture. Also the Bolt EV itself should be do for a mid-cycle refresh very soon which will hopefully respond well to some of the newer competition. GM is also working on a new BEV3 architecture that is still a few years out but it will span over 20 vehicles. Everything from compact sedans to 7 passenger CUV's with FWD, AWD and RWD capabilities. Sorry for the long response but we do love our 2018 Bolt EV.

[mikeg]

I am a big guy like yourself. Seriously considering a Bolt, currently driving a 2017 Volt. I have seen countless comments about the seats in the Bolt being awful. Typically coming from smaller people. They claim the seats are very uncomfortable for them, and think they would a real problem for bigger people. Did you find them to be reasonably comfortable on long drives? Did you have any issues with them at all? How would compare them to the 2018 Volt? Thanks, great video!