Gas or EV?

The Chevrolet Bolt EV and the Volkswagen Jetta Sport ask: What's it gonna be,

- David Beard 

WE HUMANS AREN'T KEEN ON BEING TOLD how to live our lives. We like to do what we want when we want. And that's what the automobile has provided since its early days: the ability to travel freely. Like so many car buyers, though, we feel the pressure to at least consider the purchase of a tailpipe-free automobile. Within the next decade, shoppers looking to buy a new or secondhand car will face quite possibly the toughest automotive choice of their lives: whether to go internal combustion or electric.

Electric vehicles have become what peas and carrots are to infants: forced upon us and, for some, worthy of regurgitation. Many automakers have committed to going fully electric by 2030, even as the current charging infrastructure isn't ready. To determine whether an entry-level buyer should make the leap, we set off in two opposing budget-priced offerings (both on former 10Best-winning platforms) to sort this out.

Most recent electric vehicles have rolled out like models in a fashion show, with glitz and glamour, dazzling light shows, massive screens, and rich prices. Not Chevrolet's Bolt. Since the car debuted in 2016, Chevy has moved nearly 200,000 of the gimmick-free hatchbacks. A battery update in 2020 increased its energy to an estimated 63.0 kilowatt-hours of usable capacity, and for 2022, the Bolt received a styling makeover. But more important and most unlikely in these inflationary times the Bolt's price actually decreased.