Chevrolet Bolt EV: Edmunds Top Rated Electric Car | Edmunds Top Rated Awards 2023

ALISTAIR WEAVER: The only constant in today's world of

electric

cars is change. It's a rapidly growing market, and contenders for our Edmunds Top Rated Electric Car Award range from under $30,000 to nearly $200,000. We'll talk about

electric

SUVs in another award, but here we'll pick our three best electric cars before naming Edmunds' top-

rated

electric car for

2023

. At Edmunds, we test more than 300 vehicles each year, on the road and here. at our private test track. We spent thousands of hours analyzing everything from technology to trunk space to deliver the definitive Edmunds rating. And if the vehicle is powered by electricity, we put it through Edmunds' famous EV range test, providing real-world range and efficiency numbers you can trust.

In these

awards

, we recognize the best vehicles on sale today, not just those that were launched last year. And we have separate trophies for electric vehicles and internal combustion vehicles. This year, we tested all the most popular electric vehicles, from the economical and cheerful Mini Cooper SE to the luxurious Mercedes-Benz EQS. However, none of them made it into the top three, nor did the new Lucid Air, which we bought with our own money. Excellent in some areas, concerns about the Lucid's quality prevent it from worrying class leaders. But enough about those who didn't make it. We're big fans of three very different electric vehicles for three very different reasons, but only one can be crowned Edmunds Top Rated.

LAUREN MCCAY: Three words to describe the Model 3: I would say fast, fun and stylish. I've driven some fast cars, I've had some great experiences, but when did I get into that Model 3? Man, a game changer. The fun, the childish part of me just wants to... go full throttle, but safety comes first, of course. EMME HALL: Yeah, you don't want to leave soda cans or fast food wrappers inside the Model 3 because it's so clean. Everything is like these crisp lines, and there's nothing that doesn't need to be there. The Supercharger system is reliable. They really work. Other private networks are sometimes not as good.

RYAN ZUMMALLEN: Over-the-air updates are really interesting. I mean, you never know what you'll get, with new games or even more variety. You could just wake up and go out to your car in the morning, and it's almost a new car. EMME HALL: I mean, an over-the-air upgrade could also mean a faster car. That's not out of the realm of possibility because Teslas are basically rolling computers. Then they can just... update some software and boom, you've got a faster car. JONATHAN ELFALAN: The Taycan is still very much a Porsche. And what Porsches are good at is delivering performance, precision, and actually doing a really good job of maintaining comfort.

EMME HALL: I love that Porsche took an 800-volt architecture (which is just a fancy way of saying it can accept really fast charging) and then combined it with all the great driving dynamics of a Porsche, and it's an EV. These two worlds are coming together in perfect synergy. JONATHAN ELFALAN: The best thing about the Taycan is that you can get it in a sedan or in a truck, the Cross Turismo. I mean, imagine a 911 with a big old caboose. This is Cross Tourism. I find it better than the regular Taycan sedan because I think it would suit me.

This would fit my surfboards. It will look good on my children. But it will still offer an incredible driving experience. And that, to me, is super attractive. EMME HALL: The fact that it has all the driving components that a regular gasoline-powered Porsche has, just in the EV, makes it really fun to drive. I still have that instant torque that I like. Also, I'm pretty sure you can get it in pink with a purple interior. Hello! A pink car with a purple interior? That is incredible! I mean, look, if I won the lottery and had an extra $100k or $150k to spend, I would totally buy a Taycan, as long as it was the pink one with the purple interior, because it's cool!

RYAN ZUMMALLEN: Two reasons why the Bolt EV should be the best value: price and value. Just kidding. JONATHAN ELFALAN: Price has always been a barrier for many people. So the fact that Chevy dropped the price of the Bolt this year makes it more affordable for a lot of people. The amount of range you get for the price is insane. Electric vehicles are well suited for urban environments. So if you have a car with a small footprint, it's actually much easier to maneuver around town or in tight parking lots. It has quick handling that is really fun to corner.

RYAN ZUMMALLEN: I know this is a small car, but there's a lot of room inside. And that applies to taller passengers: no problem. And plus, if you want to fill it with a lot of stuff, there's plenty of cargo space too. It turns out that when the price is this low, everything about the car feels better. LAUREN MCCAY: The Bolt EV is a good car, but given the price, it makes it an incredible car. Like it's not even dramatic, seriously, amazing car. ALISTAIR WEAVER: This upright, efficient little Chevy is easy to drive---easy to fit in---easy to love----and remarkably easy to afford.

Above all, value is the fundamental reason why the Chevrolet Bolt EV is Edmunds' top-

rated

electric car for

2023

.