Renault Zoe

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

Renault Zoe Review

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

The latest 2021 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.

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

To see what you get with each trim, scroll down to the ‘Trims & Specifications” section below.

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. You would think the Zoe therefore has a 50 kWh battery, but in fact it’s slightly larger at 52 kWh.

‘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 a maximum of 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:

• i Play R110 Z.E. 50: 221 miles
• i Iconic R110 Z.E. 50: 215 miles
• i Iconic R110 Z.E. 50 Rapid Charge: 215 miles
• i Iconic R135 Z.E. 50: 215 miles
• i Iconic R135 Z.E. 50 Rapid Charge: 215 miles
• i GT Line R135 Z.E. 50: 214 miles
• i GT Line R135 Z.E. 50 Rapid Charge: 214 miles

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

How does the Zoe perform against its rivals in terms of range? Incredibly well. Here are real world ranges for 5-seat competitors under £30,000 (base models):

• Renault Zoe: 221 miles
• Peugeot e-208: 195 miles
• Vauxhall Corsa-e: 188 miles
• Peugeot e-2008: 185 miles
• Kia e-Niro 2: 163 miles

The Zoe is top of the pile. It’s worth noting, however, that both the Peugeot e-2008 and the Kia e-Niro are bigger cars with considerably more cabin room.

To compare and contrast all EVs available in the UK market with the Zoe, try our Electric Car Selector tool.

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 – as long as you are not too tall – and legroom is also acceptable. You wouldn’t want three adults in the back, but three kids would be OK.

The boot is also pretty big for a car in this category at 338 litres, with a total cargo volume (seats down) of 1,225 litres. The rear seats split 60:40.

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.

There is 0% Benefit in Kind (BiK) tax in the 2020/21 tax year on all 100% electric cars, including the Zoe. If you are entitled to a company car, the BiK rate alone makes it a compelling proposition. In 2021/22, BiK is 1%, and in 2022/23 just 2%.

Does your company offer a salary sacrifice scheme for leasing cars? If so, you can save around 40% off your monthly lease payment if you are a 40% tax payer; or roughly 20% off if you pay 20% tax. Another amazing money-saving opportunity with the Zoe.

If you regularly do longer trips, make sure you get one of the ‘Rapid Charge’ versions. These come with faster 46 kW (DC) charging using the CCS standard. Otherwise you will be charging at less than half the speed on a 22 kW AC charging point.

• If you would like more information about EVs in general, please see our main Electric Cars page.

• For specific details about the various versions of the Renault Zoe, see the main Renault UK Zoe website.

• Scroll down the page for video reviews of the Zoe from well-known reviewers.