The new Chevrolet Bolt has landed, and it’ll cost under $30k

Big news of a small(ish) car: Chevrolet has announced the return of its Bolt compact SUV stateside after it was discontinued a couple of years back.

While the shape is familiar, you do now get the option of Chevy’s sporty RS trim. Underneath it gets GM’s latest EV technology, meaning a 207bhp electric motor driving the front wheels mated to a 65kWh battery, plus a claimed range of up to 255 miles.

Notably, it also gets a NACS charging port as standard – meaning you can use Tesla charging stations – and supports DC charging of up to 150kW. That's over two and a half times faster than its predecessor, meaning a 10-80 per cent top up takes 26 minutes.

Settle yourself inside and you’ll note the (larger) 11in digital instrument cluster, plus (larger) 11.3in touchscreen with Google built in. And yes, it’ll still allow you to watch HBO or play Angry Birds while charging, you’ll just have to be quicker is all. Phew.

What else? Oh yes, it’s available with GM’s Super Cruise semi self-driving tech, promising “more hands-free miles than ever before” – their words, not ours – plus the usual suite of safety and driver assistance gizmos. Which is all very handy.

Just perhaps not as handy as the vehicle-to-home (V2H) bi-directional charging capability, which means you could use your car to supply electrons to your home during a power outage. Think of it like a back-up generator for your home, in other words.

Prices for the launch edition start at $29,990 with destination and delivery included, with a slightly more affordable trim priced from $28,995 arriving next year.