The 2026 Tesla Model Y base trim and 2027 Chevy Bolt deliver premium self-driving capabilities at prices that many car buyers can actually afford.
TL;DR: The 2027 Chevy Bolt with Super Cruise offers a middle ground – a solid driver assist AI for the highway but leaves local driving to you. The Model Y with Full Self-Driving (FSD) is the most ambitious driver assist AI out there. FSD is in a league of its own: the Model Y is essentially a supervised robotaxi that can drive you anywhere.
AI Levels Up Driving
“What, let a computer drive my car? No way.” That’s the sentiment I hear often. But once you try an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) it can completely transform your driving experience. Driving becomes less stressful, less tiring, less soul-destroying. It’s basically AI applied to driving.
Price: Tesla carries a slight premium: The 2027 Chevy Bolt RS with Super Cruise is typically between $38,000 and $40,000. That trim comes pre-packaged with all necessary hardware and software. The first three years of Super Cruise is free. The base Tesla Model Y (rear-wheel drive) is $39,990. FSD is $99/month. That extra $99 a month could strain some budgets but keep in mind that you are getting the most advanced ADAS on the planet that is constantly being updated.
Bolt Takes The Highway, Tesla Is Everywhere
Background: I tested the 2026 base-trim Model Y with FSD in Los Angeles this past week. GM let me test drive the 2027 Bolt with Super Cruise in March. Over the past three years, I’ve tested both Super Cruise (on various GM EVs) and FSD extensively.
2027 Chevy Bolt w/ Super Cruise: the tl;dr is that the Bolt can handle almost all highway driving. It steers, overtakes slower cars and maintains speed, braking, and the distance from the car in front. It also gets over to the right lane when you exit (if you’re using routing guidance), which is new to Super Cruise. If you’ve never used an ADAS, it is truly a game changer. Driving from Los Angeles to Barstow, Calif., for example, wasn’t the tedious, microsleep-inducing drive it usually is. Super Cruise handled 90 percent of the highway driving, making the 2.5-hour drive – first through Los Angeles traffic, then on ruler-straight desert highways – actually enjoyable.
2026 base Tesla Model Y w/ FSD: this is also a game changer but on a completely different level. I tested the base Model Y with FSD v14.3.3 in downtown Los Angeles. It is essentially a supervised robotaxi. The Model Y will drive itself virtually anywhere – down narrow back alleys, into a tight Starbucks parking space, and negotiate complex left turns across busy Los Angeles four-lane boulevards. There is little – as far as I can tell – that FSD can’t do. It also handles highway driving.
Yes, I Know, Vehicle AI Isn’t Perfect But Humans Aren’t Either
I’ve experienced mishaps on both Super Cruise and FSD, though major mishaps are rare. There’s a catch-22 at work here: the tech can easily lull you into thinking it’s flawless, until one split-second mistake proves it isn’t. The moral of the story is that you always have to pay attention. Always. Because minor mistakes (i.e., not dangerous) do happen. But there’s also a solid counter argument. Humans are constantly distracted when driving (think: smartphones, DUI, etc.). And everyone knows that it only takes one bad (human) decision or one careless moment to get into an accident. I would argue that, on balance, autonomous driving is safer. Super Cruise and FSD are never distracted and have 100-percent attention on the road at all times. You can’t say that about human drivers. I would call a good ADAS like Super Cruise and FSD a fail-safe.
Verdict
GM’s Super Cruise is for drivers who don’t want to capitulate completely to an autonomous driving experience. The driver handles the (more unpredictable) local driving and Super Cruise is there if you need it for highway traffic or long hauls. Tesla’s FSD is for drivers who want a taste of the future when cars will be fully autonomous – not unlike Waymo’s driverless taxi service today.
