Is the UPDATED Chevy Bolt EV Superior to the Kona Electric? | 2020 Chevy Bolt EV Review

For 2020 Chevrolet has updated the battery cell chemistry to give the Bolt EV a new total range of 259 EPA-rated miles! That's one whole mile better than the Kona Electric but how does it fare it the real world? Let's review it and find out!

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#2020chevybolt #2020boltev #forrestsautoreviews

[mdhookey]

I've owned a 2019 Bolt Premier for the last year (and incidentally the same color as the one here). Easily the best car I've ever owned.

[auctionwheels]

The credit ended April first and there is no adaptive cruise available yet. I love my bolt! Quick as hell too.

[lowellwhite]

I have had my 2020 Bolt and like it a lot. I had a Chevy Volt before that. You missed one important feature on the Bolt Premiere which is the HD rear view camera mirror. You had it set up as a standard rear view mirror. With a slight mirror adjustment, it switches to a HD camera. It has a wider view angle than the mirror. It takes a while to get used to it but is much better than the mirror. Chevy made the seats with manual adjustment (and the Volt before) to reduce costs and save weight. As I am the only driver of my vehicle it is no big deal. The Federal $1850 rebate expired April 1. GM has been offering incentives of $8500 plus so it is more affordable IF you can find one as production stopped at the Lake Orion MI plant in mid March due to COVID-19. Good reviews otherwise.

[forrestsautoreviewsofficial]

Well you all know my thoughts on the Bolt, what are yours? How far do you think it could have gone with 75% city driving?
Also, which would YOU choose?
Bolt EV
Kona Electric
Tesla Model 3
Mini Electric (not technically long range but the cheapest)
Kia Niro EV

[eganfo]

I want to like this car, but GM omitted many features you’d expect like adaptive cruise control, led interior lights, driver’s seat adjustments, and dual climate zones. Great review Forrest.

[mosfet]

Had the 2017 and now the 2020. It's a really good car, a lot of complaints you have really don't matter much over the long run. The Kona has less room, a hump and a big gaping hole in the engine compartment because it is not a ground up EV like the Bolt. Adaptive cruse is okay but we don't miss it either. It's a very ergonomic car, once you drive it for a week it's like an old shoe. The regen is better than the Kona and the Tesla too.
The plastic holds up very well and it's not that important to us, we're comfortable in the Bolt, that's what matters.
You forgot the compartment under the compartment in the console and the compartment under the rear compartment.
There are some safety features you didn't point out like the pedestrian that shows up on the dash when someone walks in front of the car and there's a time indicator to tell you how close the car in front of you is and an audible alarm with a flashing light on the front window along with auto braking if you get to close to fast to the car in front of you.
Eric Way has over 115k on his 2017 and the battery is still excellent, so is the interior. The Volt battery was excellent too, I think GM is very conservative about the battery. The Kona may have better highway efficiency but I'd like to see a side by side test in the same conditions like wind speed, etc.
Thanks for review, I liked it.

[plugandplayEV]

Excellent review and unbiased opinion, thank you! We have two Bolts (2017 going back this summer, new 2020 to replace it) but Hyundai has always been the efficiency king. Glad to hear the Kona Electric carries on that legacy, even with Interstate miles. I actually prefer the looks and cabin comforts of the Kona but, with two kids in tow, the greater leg room and space in the rear seats helps the Bolt win out.

Keep reviewing the latest EVs... we need more voices like yours sharing the latest on non-Tesla electric all-electric options ⚡👍

[j.heilig]

I’ve had a 2020 Bolt LT since March 7th, and I LOVE it! Love, love, love it. Re your comments about the Kona EV being better - you can tell you live in SoCal. The Hyundai dealer in Tucson literally laughed at me when I asked about getting one. Or driving one. Or even seeing one. The only places you can buy the Kona EV are in SoCal and the greater NYC area. When I called a Hyundai dealer in San Diego, he told me the next 15 Kona EVs he had coming were all pre-sold, so there wasn’t even one I could go and look at, much less test drive. So yeah, the Kona EV might be a great vehicle, but since apparently Hyundai isn’t interested in producing enough of them to meet potential demand, I’m not that interested in walking barefoot through ten miles of broken glass to get one.

[jrwaters]

Good, detailed review. Love watching your content. Just one correction: The Kona has a screen that shows regenerative braking kw and it can max out I think at 75kw where the Bolt maxes out at 50kw.

I wish the Bolt had a true battery percentage display not just an unlabeled graph that is less specific. We like our 2019 Bolt. We love our Kona EV. It's more efficient. It has more tech and features (power seat, adaptive cruise, cooled seats, and sunroof are musts in a $40k car for us). And the seats are far more comfortable in the Kona as well. I was surprised you didn't comment on how truly awful they are in the Bolt. And they don't break in and get better, they get worse. Our drivers seat started creaking badly at 2k miles and still needs to go back to the dealer for a "fix".

[cjackson]

Hey Forrest! Thank you for showing the nighttime views of the vehicles 🚗 Keep up the great work 👍

[kenleung]

Kona allows a higher battery drain with their 64kw pack versus Bolt with the 66kw pack. In the long run, the Bolt will still be on the road with lesser battery degradation while the Kona's battery useful life will be lower than the Bolt.

[kevinkaaz]

7:25 No adaptive cruise control - one of the few dislikes in my 2019 Bolt EV.

[amirmoradi]

I just bought this same car, in the same color as an LT model for $24k out the door. Now that the 2021 model is on the horizon you can really talk these dealers down. GM is giving a $8.5k discount and there is currently a $3k Costco member discount.

[homomorphic]

Your conclusions reading range are nonsense. The Bolt is a higher vehicle than the Kona so yes at > 70mph it is slightly less efficient, but driving around town I know lots of people that get 300 miles range in the 60kWh Bolt and I regularly get 280 with local driving.

I commute 163 miles every second weekend with it, and I get 4.0mi/kWh driving at 73mph indicated.

[edmorse]

Forrest I think it would be great if you could get in on a live YouTube broadcast with Soyfan, Roman, Alex and Matt. You would add a lot to it. You five are my favorites! Reach out to them.

[treads]

The problem is that you can't get the Kona EV in every state, but you can get a Bolt in any state. Plus, some dealers are putting over $10K on the hood. It's a no brainer.

[newscoulomb]

26:33 The Chevy Bolt EV's range estimator tends to be overly conservative in the top 3/4 of the battery, so it typically over performs for the bottom 1/4.

[ernstschepp]

You do prefer the Kona to the Bolt (I get it) but it is worth noting that the Kona is NOT available in all States (only available in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont) when I checked last.
So for a lot of folks it is not an option.

[alliejr]

The biggest advantage of this car is availability. You can get it everywhere. The Kia/Hyundai electrics are RARE, RARE, RARE.

[mikeyc]

A good and balanced review. I just wouldn't trust a Kona with as many fires as those have had, including one blowing the door off someone's garage. I don't think they are as safe as the Bolt. I have a 2019 Bolt and I used to think it looked like a micro minivan and looked terrible. Over the months I've owned it, it has grown on me and the quirkiness is what I like. It doesn't look like your typical EV in some respects and honestly, I think the Model 3 looks like a featureless bar of soap; kinda like an early Saturn vehicle.