Anything that keeps the price down, and the range up. Building a car by the numbers.
Maybe marketing geniuses planned smaller seats to make the interior seem larger.

Personally I would have been willing to spend an additional $2000 on longer seat bottoms for thigh support.
I asked the salesman your question and he replied the older Bolts had even worse seats.

In the old days the Japaneese made cars had tiny seats and the American manufacturers could be counted on for larger seats.

 

Went to a dealer & sat in the back seat. Found it larger & better than I expected. I’d heard the 2022-3 driver’s seat was better than earlier seats & so I figured it would work for me. Now you have me curious.

 

We wanted a Bolt for a long time. Unfortunately for us the seats and over use of hard plastics in the interior were deal breakers. For us the improvements in the 2022 interior were nice enough we purchased a 2023 EUV. For us the seats went from a 5 to about a 7. Yes they could be a little wider and the backs a little better support. Kinda have that old school bus feeling to them.

 

….the improvements in the 2022 interior….we purchased a 2023 EUV. For us the seats went from a 5 to about a 7…..

Yes, I am more curiouser.

 

I'm 6'0, ~205# (ok, fine, 210# after all the cookies this winter, happy ?). I think the bottom seats are fine size. I use the word fine because they're neither too large, nor too small. All around, 3 stars. I can sit in my drivers seat with my G19 at my side and it doesn't rub the center console, and my left side doesn't touch the door. But my lady did comment on how thin the upright seat portion is. Not its comfortability, just that it's

What vehicle do you currently drive ?

 

We drive a Jeep Renegade and seats are nice … now that I think of it, may be easier to fish out things that fall between the seat sides on the Bolt

 

I'm rather girthy and find the Bolt comfortable for an econobox.

 

The seats and armrest are the only weakness of the Bolt. Both should be more comfortable.

 

I agree there is still room for improvement on both of these items. How hard is it to make a comfortable seat and armrest? The rest of the interior is pretty nice now. Chevy was so close....

 

I'm close to 6'2" and my thighs don't rub against the door or anywhere else on my 17 Bolt Premier. There are all sorts of seat cushions and covers to improve on the comfort.

 

I’m 6’ 2” and slightly heavy. When we first got our Bolt, I felt the seats were better than the 1 generation of the vehicle but still slightly hard. But after 2,500 miles, my opinion has improved and I find the driver’s seat quite comfortable now (not sure what changed). Not as comfortable as my Leaf which was amazingly good, but very acceptable even on longer trips. Note, I have the 2LT version - 2023.

 

I noticed the narrow seat bottoms early on, my reasoning is they allow clearance for the seat airbag to expand and do their job .If the car were wider there's be room for wider seats like the luxury cars i have test sat ln.

 

6’2” 210. Fine. They break in and get slightly better. Good enough to where it doesn’t bother me.

 

What I don't get is why the center console/armrest has to be so wide. We seldom-to-never use that as storage space, but it's in the way every time we try to fasten the seat belt. That crowding in there makes the interior feel smaller to my perception.

jack vines

 

Seatbelt fishing is a problem in both front and rear seats. I purchased a pair of seatbelt extenders for the front seats. Problem solved. No more fishing expeditions.

 

Where is the bench seat where you can enter on right and slide across to make your get away?

 

……….

 

Small car, yet it’s got lotsa room for 2 front people AND much storage…………..
Yippee!

I've owned several small cars with more front seat room inside. The BMW 2002 comes to mind.

BTW, the outward visibility of the BMW was magic, compared to the thick A/B/C pillars of the Bolt and most other contemporary cars.

jack vines

 

On my 2018 and 2021, I personally found the seats very comfortable. Even driving 1100 miles over 2 days between OR and AZ I didn't think about it. Seats seem to be a very personal thing.

 

GM acknowledges customers think pre-2022 Bolt seats are good for short trips.


https://gmauthority.com/blog/2021/04/gm-overhauls-seats-in-2022-chevy-bolt-ev-bolt-euv/

 

Many nutritionists find the typical American's seat bottom to be too big.

 

At 5'11" and 350 lbs, I am asking a lot from any seat. In my EUV I feel that the seats are wide enough but they are very firm. Just rolled over 1,000 miles today so I think they will soften some over time.

 

I'm 6'1" 290lbs. 22 bolt euv w/cloth seats. Seats "feel" a little narrow on the bottom but I think it's just how the cushions are made.
Even after a couple of hours of driving my bottom is fine.
The extra generous legroom more than makes up for any perceived shortcomings the seat bottom may have.

 

Have had an EUV (LT, cloth seats) for a week. I find the driver front bucket pinches my left hip--it feels like my keys have slipped down my pocket and are poking me. Strangely, I don't feel this on the right side when sitting in the passenger seat. It seems to be the cushion sits too low in the plastic so that my hip is pressing against the hard point.

I'm a veteran of many small cars, and I'd rate the EUV's front seats at about a 4 out of 5. :

Best
02 Saturn SL (8) amazingly comfortable bucket seats
19 Fiesta (7) - comfortable enough seat, but not enough leg room
97 Metro (6) - cheap fabric but comfortable enough
20 Versa (6) - fine, but a bit hard and lacks bolstering
14 Sonic (6) - a little on the small side but relatively soft
23 EUV (4) - pinches my hip
07 Aveo (1) - hard, scratchy, could never get comfortable

(Man, looking at that list, I realize I really like cheap small cars!)

Even so, I still love the Bolt, and it's an amazing car for the price.

 

I'm a veteran of many small cars, and I'd rate the EUV's front seats at about a 4 out of 5. :

It looks like your scale is 10.

 

Curious - for those that have bought aftermarket cushions, what did you get? I'm thinking about something like this but would love to hear other opinions.

Gel Seat Cushion, Cooling seat Cushion Thick Big Breathable Honeycomb Design Absorbs Pressure Points

Amazon.com

 

Curious - for those that have bought aftermarket cushions, what did you get? I'm thinking about something like this but would love to hear other opinions...

List of threads about seat mods:

Ok, I am new to the Bolt Forum - has anyone swapped Bolt...

Hi All, Glad to be here. I am researching buying a new Bolt EV LT1, and wondered if anyone has swapped Bolt seats with something more comfortable? And were you able to get the seat heating to work? m

www.chevybolt.org

 

The 2017-2021 Bolt EV had relatively narrow front seats with large ("sporty") hard side bolsters. If you fit in the seat, it was fine as far as that goes (although there were some oddities in the backrest cushioning), but there were lots of complaints about the seats being too narrow to many people.

 

The driver's seat in the EUV that we have is adequate for the purpose, although it is narrow, in fact narrower than any seat I remember being in.

 

Relative to most other vehicles, yes, the seats are definitely narrower. Not sure how they compare relative to their vehicle segment, but definitely narrower than both our 2006 Toyota sienna and now sold 2016 VW Golf Sportwagen. That being said, I find them quite comfortable, but neither am I a big guy (5’ 8” 140 lbs). We have 1LT with cloth seats.

 

The seats are small and uncomfortable’ish for two reasons 1. Compliance car 2. It was designed, tooled, built in South Korea. LG did most of the components and multiple companies bought it as a short cut to EVs, mostly to address California zero emissions regulations and to offset EPA penalties for gas guzzlers

I have a Premier and a LT and the seats are similar but more comfortable in the premier.

still It was designed around Korean demographics not American.

 

First, it's not a compliance car, compliance cars are not sold in 50 states. The new Bolts are built in Michigan, that's why they get the $7.5k fed rebate. GM is very committed to EV's, building battery factories, etc. The EUV was designed in the US, not Korea, it's not a Korean car. I like the seats, it's not a race car it's a comfortable EV used in that framework it's a great car.

 

We're not big people, lived with the 2017 seats, not great but loved the car, very happy with the 2023 seats, big improvement, 2023 EUV is our favorite Bolt so far, more comfortable, nice enough interior, quieter ride. Plastic on lower panels doesn't bother us either, I've heard people saying the interior is better than the Teslas at a lot more money with better fit and finish. It's a really nice car, if I was 250 pounds maybe I would like it but size always cracks me up. People think the bigger you are the better, I disagree completely, after high school football it's useless. I weighed 150 pounds and built a house, all the big guys my age have bad knees, maybe it was that high school football, I never bough into that rah rah thing, I have great knees at 78, I'm a geek, what can I say. Seats are no problem for us, size really does matter and my feet don't hang off the end of the mattress!