Yahoo Autos 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV First Drive Review | Super-sized with Super Cruise
TAYLOR, Mich. — For the first time in a long time, the sun was shining and the snow was beginning to melt as we first laid eyes on the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV in person. Less than two weeks after the reveal of the just-slightly-larger sibling to the revised Bolt EV, we were invited to take a brief drive that would highlight one of the most important and interesting features: Super Cruise.
The Bolt EUV is the first non-Cadillac vehicle to get GM's advanced driver assistance system that allows the driver to remove their hands from the wheel in certain scenarios. Super Cruise was impressive enough to win Autoblog’s 2019 Technology of the Year Award, but it has been improved since those early days, with about 70,000 more miles of roads where it can operate, plus refinements to the driver attention system. This is not, however, the new generation of Super Cruise that will perform automatic lane changes with a touch of the turn signal — that system will launch on the 2021 Cadillac Escalade.
The version of Super Cruise in the Bolt EUV combines adaptive cruise control with lane following/centering technology to steer the car (itself a common enough feature these days), then adds a crucial layer of safety with its driver monitoring system, a camera on the steering column that tracks the driver’s face and eyes to ensure that their attention remains focused on the road. When on divided, restricted access highways that have been previously mapped using lidar technology, and when lane markings are clearly visible, the driver initiates Super Cruise by pressing a button on the steering wheel, allowing the car to take over braking, acceleration and steering.
A light bar on the top portion of the steering wheel will turn green when Super Cruise is active, inviting the driver to remove their hands and feet from the controls. So long as the conditions continue to be met (known and allowed roads, clear lane markings, attentive driver), the vehicle zips along at the set speed, slowing down when encountering slower traffic, and steering the car through the curves. The light bar will turn blue when the driver takes control of steering without disengaging — such as during a lane change — and returns to green when the system takes back steering control. The light turns red and the system beeps at you when you need to take immediate control. It’s much more confidence-inspiring, and even relaxing, than you’d think.
Before we hit the road, we had a few brief moments to scope out the Bolt EUV. Of particular curiosity was the rear seat. The EUV has three more inches of wheelbase than the regular Bolt, which equates to a near-equal increase in rear legroom. What a difference it makes, too. While back seat headroom isn’t in great supply, a 6-footer sitting behind a 6-footer has plenty of room to stretch their legs. In all, the EUV is 6 inches longer than its smaller sibling.
In the cockpit, there are some new controls. Unlike the old Bolt EV’s unusual joystick-style gear lever, both 2021 Bolt models get an array of buttons to select Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive and, new for 2021, one-pedal drive mode. We like that the Bolt will remember whether the latter was on or off when you turn the car off, and will retain the same setting when you return and start the car again. We also enjoyed the inclusion of a camera feed in the rear-view mirror. It can be switch to a standard reflection with the flip of the lever at the bottom, but we preferred the digital view, unimpeded by the rear seat headrests and the shape and size of the rear window.
Our time with the car was limited, so we connected our phone via Bluetooth, turned on Apple CarPlay, and added our drive route into Google Maps for a caravan with other gathered members of the press and Chevy engineers. Our route would be mostly highway driving, but we had a few miles through the industrial surface streets of Taylor before we’d hit our on-ramp.
After driving it like a normal car few minutes, we engaged one-pedal driving, the straightforward yet involving action of modulating the accelerator to speed up and slow down. It's our preferred way of driving most EVs most of the time. Lifting off completely provided plenty of regenerative braking feel to slow us down in time for a red light, but it does so without the instant jarring feeling of falling forward in our seat. Chevy really found a nice balance in the feel of this one pedal driving, which probably shouldn't be surprising, since the brand has been offering it since the first Volt plug-in hybrid a decade ago.
