Normally, driving an electric car across a frozen lake wouldn’t be the smartest idea, but these aren’t normal circumstances. We’re North of the Artic circle, near the town of Kiruna, Sweden, to join Renault’s development team and experience cold-weather testing in pre-production versions of the Zoe supermini – which you’ll be able to buy in October.
The Zoe is the fourth electric Renault to arrive – following the Kangoo Z.E. van, Fluence and Twizy – but it’s by far the most significant. Although it resembles a more futuristic version of the Clio, it’s been designed from the ground up to be an electric car, and claims a fistful of world firsts.
Firstly, there’s the £13,650 price tag (£12,340 less than the Nissan Leaf), which is barely more than a diesel Clio and the lowest of any mass-production electric car. There’s a catch of course – you have to lease the batteries for a minimum of £70 a month, but that does include a full recovery service, which includes being rescued when your battery runs flat.
It’s also the first EV to feature a ‘Chameleon’ charger, which accepts any level of power input – so charging takes anywhere between 30 minutes from a industrial-spec fast charger to nine hours from a household socket. And then there’s the range – 130 miles under optimum conditions – although Renault admits it’s closer to 90 miles around town and 60 miles in the cold weather conditions we experienced in Sweden...
Power comes from an 88bhp electric motor – 20bhp less than the Leaf – mounted on the front axle, and from behind the wheel the experience is as serene as we’ve come expect. We were only allowed a few kilometres of driving on compacted snow and with winter tyres instead of the specially-designed low-resistance Michelins that production cars will get, but first impressions are good.
Because the batteries are mounted under the floor, and in the middle of the car, stability is excellent and body roll minimal. The forgiving suspension deals well with rutted snow – so we can assume the Zoe will be every bit at relaxing to drive around town as the Leaf. As for the acceleration and braking performance, it’s difficult to learn huge amounts with a vast white backdrop and no reference points – but let’s just say that the Zoe will feel comfortably quicker on the road than its 0-62mph time of 13.5 seconds suggests.
Up close, the Zoe is an attractive piece of design. The full-width grille and LED running lights are a fresh interpretation of the new family face, while the hidden rear door handles are a nice touch – giving it the look of a three-door at a glance.
On the inside, the Zoe feels firmly from the future. Push the starter button, and you’re greeted by a series of sci-fi sound effects. The R-Link central screen handles everything from sat-nav to the stereo controls, while the simple TFT instrument panel tells you your speed and whether you're sapping power from the batteries or feeding it back to them. This is done via the intelligent regenerative braking system, which increases its force depending on how hard you push the brake pedal.
Renault expects to sell tens of thousands of Zoes each year, and will build them on the same production line as the new Clio 4. It's easy to see why Renault is so confident. Electric charging infrastructure is growing by the day, and the Zoe is the best-priced, most attractive and easy to use electric car to date.
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Innovative and impressive new car!
Great looking but it needs a renaultsport version with better performance 0-60 sub 10secs and better range.
the proof will be in the ''real world conditions'' pudding. I hope it works well, we need it, an ideal practical short trip/city/town car. looks good too, well done Renault. Ari_Vatanan: that wont happen.. ? hmmm, maybe, just maybe, if they put one of those Lekky motor thingies at each wheel?... 352BHP??? NO, STOP IT, NO.
At last, an affordable electric car. Ok the Twizy will be cheaper still, but I couldn't take the shame. Just think, no queueing at petrol stations, no jerry cans to fill, no panic buying - that's a result!
This car is very tempting and even the £70 a month battery lease is no too bad. Presumably there'll be minimal servicing and obviously, no road tax.
I've seen a few Nissan Leafs recently, so obviously some people are prepared to take a punt on the "real world conditions". Good luck to Renault... I hope the car sells like hot cakes.....or perhaps not......they're subject to increased VAT.
This will be the first car that changes perception of electric cars. I wasn't a fan of that DeZir front end but it works well here on this Zoe, very neat, and rather futuristic looking all-round, love the interior.
Here in Norway I see so many Nissan Leaf's, and obviously the climate is much harsher, therefore reducing the range significantly... yet it still seems to be selling very well. If this new Renault can really bring this to the market at £13,650 they really won't have much trouble selling in the UK, in fact I think demand will out-strip supply.
Would I buy one? Undecided, it's tempting given the amount of free charging points in Oslo and toll-free driving on the expensive roads plus the tax benefits. But I only need 1 car - however it'll be great as a second car, for young couples and families, or those who just commute short distances.
I quite like what Renault has done here, abandoning the mainstream to make cars for what will fast become the new mainstream.
Like me I am sure your correspondent Brendan will be relieved that you have not used this feature to plug VW products! (Sorry for the rudery).
This is a jolly enough idea but like many that appeal to the sandels and muesli fraternity, has too much to do with La La land for comfort. Congested cities, such as Portsmouth, which have a high population density, would seem to be ideal for this kind of vehicle. However off street parking is in extremely short supply and it is simply not on (illegal I think) to have live cables running across footways in order to charge up vehicles. A disabled person I know cannot contemplate a battery car for this reason.
Once again battery electric falls down on practicality.
What a strange name to call a car
Such a beautifully designed and economical car! This is the first time I may consider a Renault. I was thinking about the Ampera it is just too pricey, this one makes a lot more sense
Luckily it turned out a lot better
Looks like a rather expensive niche product compared to an Up/Mii/CityGo or even a Twingo doesn't it. Give me a Mii or Up! with a 1.2TDI that would probably go over 700 miles on a tank any day. The monthly battery costs will prove an interesting comparison...
I was getting my cheque book out until I got to the £70 a month battery lease. Due to poor range it is unlikely these cars will be bought as anything but a second car. We run a 5 year old Mazda 5 2.0 petrol which is used for the school run, shopping etc. Unless we do long trips in it we usually fill it around once a month which costs - yes, around £70.
If Renault can sort out that leasing cost they will have an absolute winner.
But then how much do you spend, taxing, servicing, MOT'ing etc said Mazda? This will be more than like cover the £70 lease hire for the batteries.
I think this car could work well, as said not as a main car but makes alot of sense for a second car.
The one issue I'd forsee - Renault's biggest probelm at current - Reliable electircs - Renault produce an electric car, anyone who buys this I WILL shake their hand as a brave soul - although if the free recovery comes into it......