Name: The Renault Zoe
Item: Renault Zoe
Rating: 5
Author: David Lewis

The new Renault Zoe is a fantastic combination of low price and high range

Introduction to the Renault Zoe

The Renault Zoe – first launched in 2012 – has become a mainstream electric car on Britain’s roads.

The latest 2020 version of the Zoe is superb. It’s currently the only EV under £30,000 that gives you more than 200 miles (real world) range.

It’s a compact, 5-seat hatchback with great looks and style, both inside and out.

Read our review below for a quick overview of price, range, the differences between the trim levels, and who it might appeal to.

Positives

Excellent value electric car
200+ miles range on a single charge
Small, but still has 5 seats and 5 doors
Stylish and fun to drive

Negatives

Some trim levels limited to 22 kW rapid charging

Renault Zoe Range, Versions & Charging

As with many modern electric cars, there are multiple trim levels and more than one electric motor size available.

Let’s start with the three trim levels:

Zoe i Play
Zoe i Iconic
Zoe i GT Line

There are then two different electric motors to choose from:

R110 Z.E. 50
R135 Z.E. 50

The ’50’ refers to the battery capacity, so all the Zoes have a 50 kWh battery.

‘R110’ designates the power of the motor in bhp, namely 110 bhp.

Not surprisingly, the ‘R135’ is 135 bhp, so more power over the R110.

Then, to really make it confusing, some versions of the Zoe can be charged at public chargepoints at 22 kW (AC), whereas the ‘Rapid Charge’ ones can be charged at a faster rate of 46 kW (DC).

Putting it all together – trims, electric motors, and charging rates – here are all the models available, together with their real world ranges on a single charge:

Renault Zoe i Play R110 Z.E. 50: 221 miles (real world range)
Renault Zoe i Iconic R110 Z.E. 50: 215 miles (real world range)
Renault Zoe i Iconic R110 Z.E. 50 Rapid Charge: 215 miles (real world range)
Renault Zoe i Iconic R135 Z.E. 50: 215 miles (real world range)
Renault Zoe i Iconic R135 Z.E. 50 Rapid Charge: 215 miles (real world range)
Renault Zoe i GT Line R135 Z.E. 50: 214 miles (real world range)
Renault Zoe i GT Line R135 Z.E. 50 Rapid Charge: 214 miles (real world range)

There are many factors that affect your actual range in an electric car – read our range guide for the full picture.

Renault Zoe Price

Here are the prices for the various configurations of the Zoe, including the PiCG grant.

Renault Zoe i Play R110 Z.E. 50: £26,170
Renault Zoe i Iconic R110 Z.E. 50: £27,670
Renault Zoe i Iconic R110 Z.E. 50 Rapid Charge: £28,420
Renault Zoe i Iconic R135 Z.E. 50: £28,120
Renault Zoe i Iconic R135 Z.E. 50 Rapid Charge: £28,870
Renault Zoe i GT Line R135 Z.E. 50: £29,120
Renault Zoe i GT Line R135 Z.E. 50 Rapid Charge: £29,870

Who is the Renault Zoe for?

This Renault electric car is a front-wheel drive, 5-door supermini with 5 seats.

The Zoe may be classed as a ‘supermini’, but it is actually not bad at all in the back row. Headroom is fine for adults and legroom is also surprisingly generous. You wouldn’t want three adults in the back row, but three kids would be OK.

The boot is also pretty big for a car in this category.

Could this be your only car? Yes it could. If you are single or a couple without kids, the Renault Zoe has excellent range and would be big enough for most scenarios.

As your only family car, with two kids, it would be doable, but not ideal. You would struggle to get all those bulky children’s items in the Zoe.

It could, on the other hand, be a great second family car. An environmentally sound run-about for as many journeys as you can to get those fuel costs down.

As a company car, the Renault Zoe would also be perfect for daily commutes. Small, agile, non-polluting, ideal. Also, there is 0% benefit in kind tax from April 2020.