Chevrolet has turned the budget-EV segment on its head. The 2027 Bolt LT with Super Cruise now stickers at $35,655 including destination, making it the cheapest new car in America with hands-free highway driving. That undercuts the base Tesla Model 3 with Full Self-Driving by nearly $3,000 and beats the Ford Mustang Mach-E’s BlueCruise entry point too.
Super Cruise debuted on the Cadillac CT6 back in 2017, and even as GM spread it across Chevy, GMC, and Buick lineups, it stayed a premium add-on. Putting it within reach of a sub-$36,000 compact EV changes the math for anyone cross-shopping the budget end of the market.
What Buyers Actually Get At That Price
The standard 2027 Bolt starts at $28,995 with destination, already the cheapest EV sold in the U.S. and about $2,490 less than a base Nissan Leaf. It comes with a 65-kWh battery good for up to 262 miles of range, 210 horsepower, and DC fast charging up to 150 kilowatts. Standard safety tech includes forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and blind spot intervention.
The LT’s Super Cruise Technology Package adds HD Surround Vision, traffic sign recognition, and upgraded wheels, bringing the total to $35,655 with a three-year plan included. Dealers are already discounting hard: Penske Chevrolet in Cerritos, California, has listed standard LT Bolts for $27,422, and Chevrolet of Culver City has offered a fully loaded Super Cruise LT for under $33,000.
How It Stacks Up Against The Model 3 Standard
Tesla’s base rear-drive Model 3 lists at $36,990, or roughly $38,630 with destination and fees, and Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is now subscription-only at $99 a month on top of that. Over five years, that subscription cost alone would exceed what Chevy charges outright for Super Cruise on the Bolt.
The Model 3 offers 321 to 363 miles of range against the Bolt’s 255 to 262, makes 271 horsepower to the Bolt’s 210, and delivers sharper handling and acceleration. Tesla’s FSD is also a more capable system on paper, able to attempt point-to-point driving with supervision rather than Super Cruise’s highway-only limitation.
Why This Reshapes The Budget EV Calculus
Super Cruise is a Level 2 system that handles steering, acceleration, braking, and automated lane changes on mapped highways, and GM has expanded its road network to more than 630,000 miles across the U.S. and Canada. It’s not self-driving, and GM is clear that drivers must stay attentive, but it covers the highway-cruising scenario most commuters actually care about.
Car and Driver named the 2027 Bolt its EV of the Year, pointing to its feature set relative to price as the deciding factor. For shoppers who don’t need Tesla’s extra range or the promise of eventual autonomous capability, the Bolt’s combination of a sub-$30,000 entry point and an available hands-free system most other automakers still gate behind luxury trims makes it hard to ignore.
