Renault Zoe

Renault Zoe – Exterior

The Renault Zoe is supermini-sized, and it has a few design flourishes to help it stand out from the crowd. The smooth bodywork marks it out from the Clio, while metallic blue details in the lights and badges are a signifier of Renault’s electric models.

Renault has given the Zoe’s brake lights the LED treatment too; ditching the old car’s blue lens coating in the process. From behind the wheel, the Renault Zoe feels much like a traditional combustion-engine supermini – albeit a much quieter one. Both front and rear wheel fitted with 195/55 R16 squirting between sets of traffic lights and way through side streets avoiding tailbacks.

Renault Zoe – Interior

The Renault Zoe totally new interior, largely lifted from the new Clio, is a big step up with lots of smooth surfaces, the switchgear, material quality, infotainment and general comfort have all been massively improved. The super-slick dashboard layout, a classy infotainment system and a digital driver’s display as standard. The dashboard trimmed in some whale-friendly recycled material made from old plastic bottles and recycled seat belts.

Thankfully, it is comfortable inside – in the front, at least but those in the back will feel pretty hemmed-in if they’re close to six-feet tall and there isn’t enough shoulder room to carry three adults. The door bins are big, and while the glove box is small, there’s a handy shelf above it. There are no pockets on the backs of the front seats, but the boot is fine with 338 litres of space.

The car’s seats are still fixed compared with the old model, and a measure too high at that, but at least now the steering wheel telescopes a good way out of the dashboard. The climate controls, which mercifully have not been integrated into the touchscreen, and a couple of USB ports, new gear-lever, an electronic parking brake and wireless phone charger. 

Renault Zoe – Features

The Renault Zoe is equipped with four airbags, ABS, EBD, ESC and ASR and height-adjustable three-point front seat belts with pretensioners. The outer rear seats and front passenger seat offer Isofix child-seat anchors too. 

The Renault Zoe is equipped with a 10-inch display lifted from the new Clio with a seven-inch Renault R-Link touchscreen display and six-speaker 3D Arkamys sound system. It also has USB connectivity, handsfree Bluetooth operation and a 12-volt power socket. 

Renault Zoe – Powertrain

The Renault Zoe features a fully electric powertrain powered by a 22-kWh lithium-ion traction battery which is positioned flat across the floor of the vehicle. The Renault Zoe has been purpose-built to be an electric vehicle and is not converted from an existing fuel-powered model into an EV. The Renault Zoe power is sent to the front wheels via single-speed automatic transmission.

Renault Zoe – Driving Performance

The Renault Zoe single synchronous electric motor produces 87 hp between 3,000 to 11,300 rpm and 220 Nm of torque from 250 to 2,500 rpm. This helps the Zoe reach 48 km/h from standstill in four seconds and perform the century sprint in 13.5 seconds. It also has a top speed of 135 km/h.

There’s a new ‘B’ mode that amps up the throttle, but B is supposed to make it more of a ‘one pedal’ car but it isn’t really a one pedal car in the same way the Nissan Leaf (with its ‘e-Pedal’ system) is, but with a bit of forethought it’s totally possible to drive with only sparing use of the brake pedal.  

Renault Zoe – Ride Comfort

The Renault Zoe rides well given its titchy dimensions. Things can get a bit bobbly over really broken surfaces, but for the most part it’s soft and forgiving enough. Soundproof is improved and is quieter than ever. Steering is light and fluffy but accurate, and despite a hefty kerb weight (1502kg, 326 of which is battery. It’s quite agile and probably the most fun vehicle with the right size, right powertrain and right performance.

The Renault Zoe has already given with a few nips and tucks, a makeover emerged to be revitalised, refreshed and ready to prove that what it takes against some trendy young upstarts. Not the last word in performance but, aided by the instant availability of the torque, it’s capable of holding its own on capability a way that earlier versions couldn’t.