The Model T gave the average American the opportunity to own something once seen as a toy for the rich. It was crude by modern standards and confusing to those people who had the chance to drive it. Remember, this was back when many people were still used to riding horses and needed to be trained to drive this new contraption that was suddenly made much more affordable through the pioneering spirit of Detroit. In one account, a driving teacher who was demonstrating the use of a Model T to a local farmer found themselves in a ditch a few miles down the road. As it turns out, pulling on the steering wheel and yelling “whoa!” could not persuade the vehicle to slow down… Yes, the story of the car in America has had some interesting bumps in the road. While it was Ford that put America on wheels, it’s Chevy’s electric vehicles that will move us all forward.

Looking to the Future

Chevy offers the most affordable American electric vehicle lineup, featuring the Bolt, and in 2022, will introduce the Bolt EUV. EUV stands for Electric Utility Vehicle and offers buyers the opportunity to get an electric vehicle in the body style bought most often by consumers. The crossover has long since replaced the sedan as the vehicle of choice for families since it offers the space of an SUV with the size and driving dynamics of contemporary cars. The Bolt EUV offers buyers something familiar in terms of how the vehicle is laid out.

Many controls still make use of buttons and knobs for things like the headlights and air conditioning controls. These are easy to use without the need to hunt through menus on a touchscreen. Speaking of that screen, however, for those who enjoy their infotainment, the new EUV offers wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard. Also included is the ability to charge your phone wirelessly by placing it on a special pad underneath the touchscreen display. This would mean that, in effect, the only thing one would have to plug in to use the car is Bolt EUV itself.

Leading the Charge

Chevy believes that charging an electric vehicle should take no more thought in your average day than plugging in your phone just before going to bed. To that end, Chevy offers the new Dual Level Charging Cord. With this innovation in charging technology, one can choose between Level 1 and Level 2 capability with the change of a plug type. Level 1 uses your standard house power and is the perfect way to top off your car using nothing but the portable cable offered with the car itself. It allows you to get 4 miles with one hour of charge. While not recommended for one who plans to use an EV to drive every day, it is a useful tool to ensure you’re never far from the power you need.

Level 2 steps up your charging current to two hundred and forty volts. In as little as two hours, one could cover a distance of 40 miles. You would have to get a Level 2 unit installed in your home, but thanks to Chevy’s partnership with Qmerit, you could potentially have one installed for free. Also offered, similar to gas stations, are EV charging stations across the United States that use what’s called DC Fast Charging. In only 30 minutes, you can get up to 100 miles of charge using this. The Chevy EUV offers an illuminated charging port to assist in its use.

Everyday Driving

Learning to live with the Chevy Bolt EUV is made easy with the features offered in this unique vehicle. For example, it offers something called Regenerative Braking (or ReGen for short) and allows the driver to use the inertia of the car slowing down to pump a small amount of power back into the battery pack and extend your range. With the pull of a paddle located just behind the steering wheel, the driver can make their drive that much more efficient and even bring the car to a complete stop without ever touching the brake pedal. With One Pedal Driving turned on, you can control the Bolt EUV with only the accelerator pedal, speeding up and slowing down with the motion of a single foot. Using the Energy Assist feature offered by Chevy, you can use your phone to plan the most efficient route to get the most out of your new EV.

A feature found on the top trim of this make is called Super Cruise. This feature allows for something once thought of as the domain of only the most expensive electric vehicles, the ability for the car to drive itself. That is to say, while you are sitting in the driver’s seat on a compatible road, you can take your hands and feet off the controls, and the car will continue on the route you’ve set while adapting to conditions on the road like the following distance between cars.

The 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV isn’t all about making miles, though. It also offers seating for up to five, plus room for cargo, and is available with both heated and ventilated seats. For an amazing view above, Chevy offers the top trim, the Premier, with a panoramic sunroof, giving you an unbroken view of the sky from front to back. Speaking of views, Chevy offers a backup camera built right into the rearview mirror housing. This allows for the driver to get a perfect view of what’s behind them without needing to check both a mirror and a separate screen to make sure they know what’s around them.

No Power Without Safety

The Chevy EUV gives you peace of mind with a bevy of safety features to make sure you arrive at your destination in comfort. This package, offered at no extra charge, is called Chevy Safety Assist and can be found on their whole lineup of cars. Using technology like Lane Keep Assist and Automatic Emergency Braking, you can be assured that this EV is one of the safest cars on the road.

An EV for the Rest Of Us

The days of the horseless carriage are long behind us. Those days when one operated their car with not a steering wheel, but a tiller. Those days when one was at risk of breaking an arm by attempting to start their car with a hand crank. The story of the American automobile is littered with leaps forward in technology that brings us closer to our modern day.

The electric car is not a new invention by any means, but until just a few years ago, they were seen as a plaything to be owned only by those with the deep pockets to afford them. The same could be said of the early adopters of the gasoline-powered car itself. The Chevy Bolt and new Bolt EUV are one step closer to putting America and the entire world on electrified wheels. With simple to use controls, a comfortable and thoughtfully designed cabin, and industry-leading technology at a price point we can get behind, the real question remains – when do you make the switch?

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