Chevrolet is aiming to step up the excitement and driving experience with their latest EV, the all-new Bolt. Too often affordable electric vehicles are often equated to ‘boring’ and uninspired driving dynamics because of their emphasis on efficiency. And today’s object of opposition in TFLcar’s ‘mashup’ review fits that description to a ‘T’ — the 2016 Nissan Leaf.
“Being the leader in range and affordability means nothing if the car isn’t going to excite you each time you get behind the wheel,” said Josh Tavel, Chevrolet Bolt EV chief engineer. “That’s why the team was tasked with delivering a propulsion system that would also make the Bolt EV an electric vehicle that owners would love to drive.”
Delivering on its promise of a long-range electric vehicle for an affordable price, Chevy claims the Bolt EV can travel more than 200 miles on a single charge using a 60 kWh battery system. That is leaps and bounds ahead of the Ford Focus Electric, BMW i3, VW e-Golf, and the Nissan Leaf. The electric motor is rated at 200 horsepower (150 kW) and 266 lb-ft (360 Nm) of torque.
The Nissan Leaf has been around the block a few times and is well established in the EV world. Now the jelly bean shaped Leaf SV and SL trims come equipped with a 30 kWh battery, giving the Leaf 107 miles of EPA-estimated range. Nissan is also backing up their battery with a new 8 year/100,000 mile battery warranty. What’s also new for 2016 is the SV trim, along with the SL, include standard quick charging with DC fast chargers (DCFC).
In today’s ‘mashup’ review, Roman and Nathan test drive the 2016 Nissan Leaf and compare it to the drive experience of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt.
