Renault ZOE review - Reliability and safety

Renault builds the Zoe alongside its more conventional Clio stablemate in Flins, France, where the battery and electric motor technology has been rigorously tested.

The (now discontinued) Play model features automatic head lights and wipers along with cruise control, while the mid-spec Iconic version is better equipped with rear parking sensors, a lane departure warning, a lane keep assist system and automatic high/low beam. GT Edition cars add a blind spot warning and a reversing camera.

Euro NCAP awarded the Zoe a full five-stars for safety in 2013, with an 89% score for adult occupant protection and an 80% rating for child passenger security. The industry body tested the latest model in December 2021 and, due to more stringent assessments and certain features not being offered as standard, it failed to achieve a star rating. 

The Zoe didn’t perform well in the frontal offset crash test, and performed worse in the side pole test which simulates hitting a tree or lamp post side-on. Renault's decision to remove a head airbag from the list of safety kit counted against it, while standard equipment doesn't include some driving assist systems that are often commonplace on modern cars. The Zoe achieved a 43 per cent score for adult safety, with a 52 per cent rating for child passenger protection and just 14 per cent for safety assist technology.

The Zoe didn't feature in our 2021 Driver Power customer feedback survey, while Renault itself achieved 20th spot out of 29 manufacturers in our best brands poll.

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Warranty

The Zoe is covered by a five-year warranty with unlimited mileage during the first 24 months, then limited to a total of 100,000 miles or five years - whichever comes first. The battery on the Zoe also comes with a separate 8 year/100,000 mile warranty.

Servicing

Service inspections are required annually, or every 18,000 miles. Renault also offers its EasyLife service plans for the Zoe - covering three years/30,000 miles, or four years/40,000 miles.