Kelley Blue Book publishes an annual list of vehicles offering excellent value in its Best Buy Awards. Despite its popularity with American consumers, Chevrolet didn’t have an impressive showing in this year’s honors. Here’s a look at the only Chevy SUV that won a Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Award of 2023: the 2023 Chevy Bolt EUV.

How Kelley Blue Book chose the 2023 Best Buy Award winners

Kelley Blue Book says it selected its Best Buy Award winners after thorough testing and evaluation in all areas of car ownership, including resale value. Overall, there aren’t too many surprises, and models from Asian automakers dominated the Best Buy Awards. For example, the year’s best new car is the Hyundai Ioniq 5. 

The Ioniq 5 also won a Best Buy Award in the EV segment, and Hyundai scooped a few other wins. The Santa Fe is the best two-row midsize SUV. And Genesis, Hyundai’s luxury brand, won in the compact luxury SUV segment with the GV70 and the midsize luxury SUV category with the GV80.

Other Asian automakers, such as Toyota, Honda, and Kia, won in various categories. For example, the Kia Seltos snagged the Best Buy Award for the subcompact SUV segment, while the Kia Telluride won for best three-row midsize SUV. And the Toyota Sienna topped minivans.

The 2023 Chevy Bolt EUV is the only Chevrolet model to win a KBB Best Buy Award this year

Only two American automakers won at least one Best Buy Award of 2023: Ford and Chevrolet. Ford scored three of the four awards in KBB’s truck category. The Maverick won for the best compact truck, the F-150 won for the best full-size truck, and the F-150 Lightning won for the best electric truck. Ford also took home the prize in the full-size SUV category with the Explorer. 

Meanwhile, Chevy has only one model that won an award: the Bolt EUV. Because the Bolt EUV is an electric vehicle, it competes in the same segment in which the Ioniq 5 won. However, Kelley Blue Book gave the Bolt EUV an award for the best EV under $35,000. Since the average EV costs about $66,000, the Chevy Bolt EUV’s win in this category also means it’s the top affordable EV.

2023 Chevy Bolt EUV overview

The 2023 Chevy Bolt EUV is highly affordable for an EV. It starts at about $27,000 before incentives. For comparison, the 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 starts at around $41,500 — over $14,000 more than the Bolt EUV. Because of the Bolt EUV’s lower price, expect some compromises, but it’s still an excellent vehicle. 

One of the most crucial aspects that EV shoppers consider is range. The standard Bolt EUV gets 247 miles. In addition, this small Chevy SUV is spacious, and tall riders should be able to sit comfortably in the front or the back. It also has decent cargo space, maxing out at 56.9 cubic feet. 

Chevy also loaded the Bolt EUV with numerous tech features. It starts with a 10.2-inch touchscreen and an 8.0-inch driver information display. Buyers can also add GM’s Super Cruise feature, giving the EV semiautonomous self-driving capabilities.