Top electric cars : N°07 Renault Zoe

  Renault Zoe

Renault repairs the parts that need repair and leaves the parts that haven’t been repaired. A big step forward.

Overview

What is that?

Tiny VE’s is about to become a big thing. Until now, Renault has had a market for such cars on its own, but with the beautiful Honda e, the much-anticipated mini-electric and the soon-to-be Peugeot e-208 / Corsa-e in dealerships, life is in the market. Point of becoming more complex for Europeans. Bestselling electric vehicle.

The new Zoe doesn’t completely rewrite the formula. It looks pretty much the same as before, because underneath it is still the same car – that was launched in 2012 and has since been improved with more efficient engines and larger batteries. Large.

The exterior has been somewhat redesigned, but the interior is brand new – with an oversized touchscreen and smoother, more luxurious materials instead of the old car’s brittle plastic. Meanwhile, new driver assistance technologies such as lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist and blind spot monitoring are expected to make this four-meter-long city car distinct from the crowd. It feels less bad on the highways.

The larger battery and optional more powerful “R135” should have the same effect. The first – the 52 kWh package that replaces the old car’s 41 kWh battery – gives up to a third of the extra range, versus the claimed 245 miles between charges (that’s more, in some cases, more than any of the Its competitors). The latter cuts the time from 0-62 mph to less than 10 seconds and cuts the time it takes for Zoe to accelerate from 50-75 mph by more than two seconds. As with all electric cars, these two things cannot happen simultaneously.

Charging is also faster, now that Zoe has backed up to 50kW DC charging via the CCS port hidden behind the Renault badge. The £ 750 option (boo. Why isn’t that standard, Renault?) Means half an hour on such a charger is enough to add 90 miles of range. A regular road charger takes 22 kWh to add 78 miles.

Driving

What is it like on the road?

Renault expects most Zoe customers to switch to the new, more powerful engine. Nicknamed the “R135,” it makes it the equivalent of 134 horsepower and 181 lb-ft. From 0 to 30 mph, the R135 is slightly faster than the R110, which is carried over from the old unchanged Zoe (3.6 plays 3.9 seconds). But it is about two seconds faster from 0 to 62 mph, and the same from 50 to 75 mph.

The R135 is a bit more expensive to buy (£ 450 – and you can’t get it from the basic Play version), in a higher insurance package (18E vs 22A), slightly less efficient than the R110, and less powerful. However, that’s still the thing we’re buying – I’ve really noticed the extra horsepower. It makes Zoe more lively. Around town, you can exploit loopholes that you wouldn’t dare to do in the old, while on faster roads, it means Zoe feels more mature, and less of her depth.

Both engines come with a new 52 kWh battery, which is the same size and shape as the actual old battery, so it does not affect the internal space. The indicated range is between 238 and 245 miles (depending on the engine and trim level you choose), which is not much weaker than the Honda e, and much more than the Corsa or the 208. Renault realistically says you have to move. Range is 233 miles in summer, but less than 149 miles when heat is blazing in winter. We think it’s true – after around 150 miles of mixed driving, our average is around 4.9 mph (Renault claims 5.65 mph). Driving with caution, a Volkswagen e-Golf can average 4.0 mph, and we’re struggling to get more than 3.6 mph from a Nissan LEAF.

There’s an “Eco” button for more … eco, but it looks like all it does is operate the throttle with a sleeper tablet. Or six. Leave it as it is.

New in, ah, the new Zoe is the “B” mode that promotes renewal. You can never completely turn it off – even in D you can still feel the car slowing down when you release the throttle, but B is supposed to make it a “one-pedal” car. It’s not really a single-pedal car in the same way as a Nissan LEAF (with its ‘electronic pedal’ system), but with a little thought, it’s entirely possible to drive a Zoe with it. Sparing only use of the brake pedal. Which is a good thing, because although it has been improved, the brake pedal still feels a little vibrant to us.

Zoe drives well due to its tough dimensions. Things can get a little messy on really broken surfaces, but it’s mostly soft enough and forgiving. At least in town – it’s worse on the fastest roads, but it’s not comfortable at all. More noise reduction has been added, so the Zoe is now quieter than ever and the new front seats are comfortable even if they’re a bit flat. Long driving isn’t a problem – I’m 6 feet and I got out after a few hours of driving and I feel no more irritated than when I got in.

Is this fun? Not into kind of “this thing behaves better than a Ford Fiesta ST”, but yeah, it’s fun to be here. Especially in the city – cycle through the traffic lights and work your way through the side streets avoiding the ponytails. Probably the most fun you can drive in built up areas – good size, good powertrain, good performance. Now that the Zoe has more horsepower, there’s fun out of town, too – the steering is light and soft but fairly precise, and despite its heavy weight (1,502 kg, including 326 from the battery. It’s more than just a focus ST), it’s fast Movement too.

Inside

Layout, finish and space

Zoe’s all-new interior, largely inspired by the new Clio, is a big step forward – the quality of materials, information, entertainment and overall comfort has been greatly improved.

The first thing you notice is the driving position, which in the old car was held back by the fixed-height driver’s seat and steering wheel that, for some reason, was not set for range. The seats in the new (new) car are still stationary, and too high for that, but at least now steering wheel telescopes are a good way to get out of the dashboard. It makes a big difference, especially on long trips. The Nissan LEAF doesn’t have a telescopic steering wheel – don’t be forgiven, if you ask us.

Behind the nice new steering wheel is a 10-inch screen, which is standard on even the cheapest Zoe cars and is actually quite smart, if not as customizable or useful as, say, an Audi Virtual Cockpit. The new flagship infotainment system was introduced from the new Clio. Standard on the upper GT Line and optional on mid-range iconic trim, it uses a 9.3-inch Portrait touchscreen that sits proudly outside the dashboard. The clever user interface and the fact that the screen is so high means that it is relatively easy to navigate the menus while driving. Below you’ll find a bar of buttons that’s mostly empty, even on our premium test car. wondrous.

Next come the climate controls, which thankfully aren’t integrated into the touchscreen, and a few USB ports (not the new USB-C ports either). Next is the new transmission, electronic parking brake and cordless phone charger. The latter is easy to use (although charging your phone really makes it hot takes a long time), but this is its faceless design, especially the moving corners you can see your valuable device sliding around to clean and swerve. From one of the front seats. Not perfect.

The old Zoe looked like a tin can, as if Renault had spent the budget on the drivetrain before remembering it had to trim the interior, too. In the new car, the center console and dashboard were covered mostly from fabric made from recycled seat belts and old plastic bottles. Combined with new screens and stiffer soft-touch plastics, they give the cabin a much-needed lift. Warning – the only Zoes available for us to test were the GT Line’s premium rims. The base game and the popular mid-range cars (more on the releases in the ownership section) might not be as impressive. See this place …

Speaking of space, it’s not impossible, Zoe. At least when it comes to putting things away. The door bins are large, and although the glove box is small, there is a handy shelf at the top. Too bad there are no pockets at the back of the front seats, but the trunk is fine as well. People? not exactly. Not enough legroom to sit in the back – you might be fine for a short trip, but this is not a car four (or even three) adults can travel in for a while.

Especially

Operating costs and reliability

Renault will gladly take your money in various ways. Directly purchased, the Zoe starts at £ 25,670 after a government subsidy for the extra car (or £ 27,620 if you want the new R135 engine, which isn’t available with the base trim level). It is very similar to Peugeot e-208, Vauxhall Corsa-e and Honda e, which cost between 25,000 and 26,000 pounds.

Or, you can buy the car and then efficiently rent the 52 kWh Renault battery. Do so and you’ll be required to pay £ 18,670 (or £ 20,620 for R135) up front and then a monthly rental for the battery. The higher the annual mileage, the more you will pay monthly. Prices for the new car have not been set, but for the old 40 kWh, Renault was charging £ 59 a month for 4,500 miles a year. From there, bill an additional £ 10 per month for every additional 1,500 miles (so 6,000 miles per year cost £ 69, cost £ 7,500 etc.). The unlimited miles plan costs £ 110 per month.

So if you buy the Zoe R135 for £ 20,620 and pay, say, £ 79 a month for 7,500 miles a year, you can drive it for more than seven years, covering 52,500 miles, before it gets more economical. He bought the car directly. Go this route and Renault will guarantee the battery at 75% of its original capacity (and will repair / replace it when you drop below) and provide you with 24/7 roadside assistance that covers it even if it runs out of power. juice. Buy the car in full, and it will guarantee you eight years / 100,000 miles, and the battery is 66% of its original capacity.

These two options – direct purchase or battery rental – also work with financing. Switch to the battery rental option, and the monthly car rental payment itself will simply be added to the battery payments. But no matter which method you choose to do so, Renault will install a 7 kW wall box in your home for free. A must have for any EV owner. Capable of charging the Zoe out of 100% vacuum in about 9.5 hours (much faster than a three-prong plug), the company says a full charge should cost about £ 7 off the standard UK power tariff.

For the first time, Zoe supports a DC load of 50 kW. Well, that’s the case if you go for the R135 and pay £ 750 extra. In this way it will allow you to recharge up to 80% in 1 hour and 10. It should be borne in mind that competitors such as Honda e and Vauxhall Corsa-e / Peugeot e-208 support a load of 100 kW, resulting in 80% load in 30 minutes. . But then you have to find a 100 kW charger …

There are three levels of widgets to choose from: Play, Iconic, and GT Line. The former is only available with the small R110 engine, but its title is £ 18,670. However, it still has LED headlights, a 7-inch touchscreen, cruise control, automatic LED headlights, and air conditioning. Iconic adds the ability to upgrade to the R135, wireless phone charging, and some assistance systems. Meanwhile, the GT Line gets a great infotainment system (you can check this on Iconic), better workmanship, blind-spot warning, and 16-inch alloy wheels.

Verdict

Final thoughts and pick of the range

Renault repairs the parts that need repair and leaves the parts that haven’t been repaired. A big step forward.
Almost one in every five electric cars sold in Europe is the Renault Zoe. It’s hugely popular – and with good reason. Renault says its customers weren’t looking for a complete overhaul, but the company is focusing its efforts on key issues to keep costs down. This is how it ended up with an older cab, more driver assistance systems, more powerful engine and greater range at an additional cost. As a heavy facelift, that’s a good thing. Additionally, the flexibility to rent the battery rather than the entire vehicle means Zoe is cheaper to buy than its major competitors.

Competitors – something Zoe really didn’t have in nearly seven years went for sale. Fortunately, this year’s upgrade means that when models like the Honda e, Peugeot e-208, and Vauxhall e-Corsa finally arrive, the Zoe will not be outdone. We would be very surprised if it didn’t keep selling in sufficient numbers.