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Renault Zoe car review – electric motoring for the price of a Clio

If your business motoring is mainly urban, the Zoe’s mix of smooth silent progress, zero company car tax and low running costs are increasingly compelling.
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23 July 2013

Renault Zoe
Electric car performance is great around town – bags of instant acceleration, and it’s smooth and quiet

What’s hot

  • Excellent electric drivetrain providing smooth, quiet progress and very strong acceleration at town speeds
  • “Chameleon” fast charger, patented by Renault, compatible with all power levels from 3kW (typical domestic installation) up to 43kW (public fast charger); a charge takes between 30 minutes and nine hours.
    Renault Zoe
    Inside it’s roomy and stylish, and there are 3 generous spec levels
  • Very keen starting price (after allowing for the government’s £5000 Plug-In Car Grant) for an EV of £13,650 (£13,995) – although the Zoe’s battery pack must be leased separately for £70 per month upwards
  • Free domestic charging wallbox worth up to £500
  • First Renault with the company’s R-Link connectivity technology, featuring entertainment, information and EV-specific apps
  • Three generous spec levels; Expression, Dynamique Zen and Dynamique Intens
  • Expression features fifteen inch wheels with Michelin energy-saving tyres, R-Link, sat nav, climate control, cruise control and hill-start assist
  • Dynamique Zen and Intens have sixteen-inch wheels, remote battery charging and air-con/heating activation
  • Dynamique Intens gets a rear parking camera, Zen gets Teflon upholstery protection
  • Roomy and stylish interior

 

What’s not

  • The usual EV limitation – limited range, homologated at 130 miles on the NEDC standard, with 90 being a more realistic figure in day to day use, although that fast-charging helps a lot if you can find the right facilities.
  • The extra weight of those batteries and the suspension required to carry them make themselves felt in quite a firm, but not unpleasant ride.

 

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Matt Morton

Matt Morton

Matt Morton is an automotive content writer for Business Car Manager

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