These New 2027 Chevy Bolt "Spy Photos" Excite Us, But We Have One Concern

We were fortunate enough to be offered these "spy photos" of the all-new 2027 Chevy Bolt to share with readers. Seeing them spurred us to consider carefully what we predict for this important, affordable EV model. 

The all-new generation of the Chevy Bolt will debut shortly. Torque News and the New England Motor Press Association enjoy outstanding support from General Motors and Chevrolet, and we look forward to testing the Bolt fully when it begins to arrive in the U.S. media fleet. Our Chevy contact has told us that it will be “In the coming weeks.” The Bolt is tied with the new RAV4 for our most anticipated new models for 2026.

Having been burned many times by false promises related to EVs, I usually hold my opinions and coverage longer than most content creators. Remember the “$30K Equinox?” How about the Volvo EX30 “starting at $35k?” I’m very EV skeptical now, and I'm waiting to see what actually lands when I report on EV topics. That said, my feelings shifted this week when a respected member of the Chevrolet Bolt and EUV club on Facebook shared an image he took himself of a 2027 Chevrolet Bolt charging in public. I communicated with that member, asked for, and received permission to share the image at the top of our page. We love what we see.

The post was simply “I guess they will be at dealerships soon.” True. Production must be underway in a meaningful way if this pre-production Bolt was in public, using public charging equipment. Our best guess is that the new 2027 model-year Bolt will become available for purchase in mid-2026. As we all know, model years run a bit ahead of calendar years. GM is a savvy manufacturer, so expect the Bolt’s availability to be about 3,000 units per month shortly after it goes on sale. We hope that volume will ramp to as high as 5,000 units per month. That's about what the highest-volume non-Tesla 3 and Y BEV models in America sell at in terms of volume. We try not to take sides and pick winners here, but I can’t hide the fact that the new Bolt has me excited.

Car Talk named the Chevrolet Bolt the “Best EV Overall” in America three years running, and it was only knocked off that perch when GM took a production break to prepare the new generation for launch. I have very high hopes that the new Bolt will be a fantastic entry-level, affordable, reliable battery-electric vehicle for American consumers. I’d love to see it priced similarly to the new Nissan Leaf. That means a price out the door of $30K for base L1T trims. We’ll soon see.

We predict the new Bolt will be as good or better than the outgoing Bolt in nearly every single way. Nearly. We say this reluctantly because GM is moving its EVs to an infotainment system that does not allow for the operation of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. As a vehicle tester for two decades, I’ve lost track of how many times I have sung the praises of GM’s infotainment systems. Here’s a direct quote from one of the last GM vehicles I tested:

“2024 Chevy Colorado ZR2 Bison - Absolutely Perfect Infotainment: Our tester had GM’s outgoing system, which combines Google's built-in with Android Auto. You can use it either way. We used wireless Android Auto and found it to be quick to load, flawless in its operation, and perfect in all ways using our Samsung Galaxy S24. The screen is large, extremely clear, and the folks at GM pulled many of the HVAC controls out of the screen and put them where you can actually touch them. It even has a big and very useful volume knob to augment the volume controls behind the 3 o’clock position of the wheel. An ideally-shaped wireless charger coddled our phone while we drove. Perfection is available at your local Chevy dealer.”

As you can see, I am not shy about expressing my positive opinions on modern phone pairing technology. By contrast, I’ve also tested vehicles that use Google Built-in and don't have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Not good is my simple summary, but I'll let my respected colleague, Jill Ciminillo, explain why nearly all reviewers don’t like Google Built In in this precise 30-minute video. Jill shreds the system and shows you exactly why it is not as good as modern systems that offer Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

My sole concern with the new Bolt is that this operating system will not offer owners the benefits of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Watch Jill’s video if you are not sure what those are. Will this hold back GM’s success with the model? It’s hard to say without knowing what GM's delivery goals are. A study released last month found that missing Apple CarPlay is a dealbreaker for 55% of surveyed shoppers, and that 35% of Android Auto users felt the same.

OK, infotainment aside, I predict that the new Bolt will be fun to drive, like the outgoing Bolt. I also predict it will have a dramatically better DC charging curve, charging at quadruple the very low speed of the outgoing Bolt on such systems, and will be - most importantly - reliable. We’ll see if my optimism is justified.

Style-wise, I liked the old Bolts and loved the Bolt EUV even more. The new design looks a little cleaner and sleeker, and I think most shoppers will find the design language appealing. What do you think? Will the new Bolt be a big success? Is it a model that excites you? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

Want more new Bolt content? Join the Facebook Gen2 Bolt fan club by clicking here. 

Our thanks to Bolt owner and enthusiast K.K. for granting us permission to use the image in this story. 
 

John Goreham is the Vice President of the New England Motor Press Association and an expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his fourteen years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on LinkedIn and follow his work on his personal X channel or on our X channel. John employs grammar and punctuation software when proofreading, and he sometimes uses image generation tools.