Renault Zoe ZE50 R135 GT Review - What About NCAP?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ส.ค. 2023
- Here's my review of Renault Zoe ZE50 R135 GT after a week with it. Is this long-range EV the answer to large, cumbersome vehicles? What about its Euro NCAP rating? Watch to find out!
Thank you to MotorMall on Cooil Road, Isle of Man for the loan of the Renault Zoe for this review. Disclaimer: The car was provided for review purposes, without influence. They hadn't seen the review before it was edited and published. This review, as always, are my honest feelings about the product.
Credits: Dylan Wilson for camera operating.
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My latest video - a review of the Porsche Taycan GTS Sport Turismo has been uploaded! Check it out here: th-cam.com/video/DPCCGLPqR7Y/w-d-xo.html
Getting the keys to my R135 Monday, really looking forward to it. Even compared to ICE cars right now the Zoe is a really good deal right now on the used car market in my opinion
Great choice! I agree. Especially the R135 edition. What colour is your Zoe?
@@DivingDeveloperBlack. I would have gone with the shadow grey if it was an option but I only ever came across titanium grey which to me looks more blue. I think the shadow replaced titanium in 2022 maybe 🤔
Black’s the right colour! Very classy but hard to keep clean.
Hello, thank you! I live near Amsterdam. For the price of 1 liter eu patrol (€2,24) I charge 6.22 kwh (Tesla €0.36) means I can drive my Zoe 52 km for the price of 1 liter patrol! (After 3 years battery degradation is almost zero, for local driving I never charge more than 80%) Summer consumption now 11,8 kwh/100km! No other car but the Zoe can do this. For my new Zoe I paid 50% of the new price because of grants and rent battery (low capacity means free new battery), basic model with fast charging and auto airco, that time. Happy with my Zoe.
Thank you @BJDEVOS and greetings from the Isle of Man 🇮🇲 🇳🇱. Thanks for sharing details of your Zoe’s efficiency vs petrol in Amsterdam. It’s great to hear! 👍 😀
German Zoe ZE50 110 owner here, one year of driving 14000km, summer consumption 12.2 kWh/100km. Charging more than half of that usage with my own pv installation on my roof. Price per 100km: 2 Euro. More than happy with my Zoe. 🖖
@@acerreteq703 Welcome, thanks for your input. Isn’t PV fantastic? ☀️ glad you love your Zoe. It’s a really likeable car!
I’ve had a brand new Zoe since September and love it. I, like you, saw all the fuss over the revised NCAP rating and looked into the details. I think you summed it up perfectly, the criteria has changed a lot since the Zoe was first introduced and is not just about crumple zones and airbags anymore, it requires a whole set of safety systems as well. Many cars that were rated as 5 star and are on the roads today would not get that same rating now.
The Zoe is my first EV and I definitely won’t be going back to an ICE after this.
Thanks for your comment, Yeadon. Yes, I agree re; NCAP. I've tried to put all the info out there, at first I was shocked but the more you look at the context, the more it makes sense. The Zoe isn't inherently unsafe. Although, Renault are now stopping production of the Zoe and getting ready for its replacement next year - the Renault 5! It seems that the 5 will start at £17k - that would be fantastic if so!
But the ZE50 does not deploy side-impact curtain airbags to protect the driver's head? That's a pretty important safety feature that even my 2014 Leaf has according to NCAP info. Unless there's been a recall recently..?
@@decimal1815Who the hell is bothered about side impact bags? Good god my first car was a Honda acclaim and I'm sure that didnt have them either.
@@tonyrobinson362 My current peugeot 207 bought 14 years before has them, why not the zoe ?
Tomorrow i will go to own a R135 Edition One zoe from 2020 though, just because iloke this car and i waited since the first model was released to have one ( because of the governmental gift ).
@@netshaman9918My ten year old octavia diesel doesn't have them, It isn't a problem.
Just bought one of these, 70 plate £13000 15k on the clock, Super car well pleased with it, Has no ccs but who cares there are more 22kw chargers around than rapids, Mostly drive for free and charge at home from solar or Octopus GO
15k miles on an EV is nothing! I think the service manual at this point requires filters (cabin air, not fuel, oil or engine) only. Might benefit from a tyre rotation soon but they’re such good little cars. Nice and easy to run, comfortable and - imo - anyone can drive one!
Fantastic news about running practically net zero co2! And charging at home from solar ☀️ is fab!
Watch the NCAP tests of the old and new Zoe. Then decide how much you value your life and that of your family. Side impacts in new ones look deadly...Previously had two Zoe’s and happy with them. But no more.
i agree...Renault are shameful
Thankyou so much, Looking for my first ev and your vlog has convinced me the zoe aint a bad car, Now to check out home chargers thanks again your review on the zoe is the best on youtube and ive watched alot.
Thank you 🙏 I’m glad you enjoyed the video. Gotta say I’m new to this and it’s very kind that you think it’s the best Zoe video. I’ll try to keep the standard up, no pressure!
@@DivingDeveloper You'll do well thanks again.
Great video, thanks for posting :)
Got mine last week! £11k only 2 years old with just 7k miles on the clock. love it!
Great very fair review. Thanks.
We are on our 2nd Zoe, we bought our first on as a Q90i with an owned battery. On our 3 phase Garo charger we could charge at 22kW/H at home. The Zoe has more internal space than a Kona, including a much bigger boot. I fully agree with your comments regarding NCAP. I would buy another one in a heartbeat, fabulous car.
Charging at 22kW at home? WOW, that's the dream xD
@@DivingDeveloper Not really, we have 8 hours of cheap rate electricity so it doesn't matter how long it takes.
@@wilkoone9155 That's really decent. We have six hours (and will probably reduce). It's also nice to be able to empty the home batteries before leaving home on a sunny day too. (If they're connected between phases to take advantage of all three phases).
My latest review car has an 83.7kWh battery, so a "rapid"-ish charge at home would be wonderful!
th-cam.com/video/DPCCGLPqR7Y/w-d-xo.html
I had 2023 Zoe as curtesy car meant to have it couple days ended up being nearly a week. So I did my own short review not as detailed and good as yours! Great driving position great steering turning circle and certainly nippy up to 40/50/60 great town or second car. I thought 30k is tad expensive. Loved your review. 👍
Thanks, Nicholas! Welcome to the channel! I'm glad you enjoyed the review. The Zoe is a fantastic little car, isn't it? I thought it would be a perfect rental or courtesy car. £30k is a bit much although Renault is stopping production of the Zoe later this year and ramping up on their replacement... the Renault 5 which should start at around £17-£22k new. Yep, new! Let's see if they can manage it :D
10 months into my lease and I love mine. Summer efficency is amaising, can acheive 5 miles PKWH. So easy to live with and fits a pushchair easily. Even got a dishwasher in the back. I'm 6 foot and the driver's seat is perfect for me. Great filming and production values.
Thank you. I live on the Isle of Man and the Zoe was on my list to be considered, more so now.
I have no hesitation to recommend the Zoe on the island. And for occasional trips across too. We even have 22kW charging in several places that really only the Zoe can take full advantage of. Check the top of the PodPoint destination chargers around the island to see their maximum charge rate (7kW or 22kW). Servicing is minimal and cheap - insurance too. If you’re buying second hand, make sure there’s no battery lease (they aren’t needed). Buying new - there is no lease anymore. Thank goodness!
We're on our 2nd Zoe (first was 40kw, new one is a 2nd hand R135 from 2020). Love it - it seems more efficient than the 40kw was. Drove it from Ardrossan (Scotland) to Scotch Corner, 176 miles at 9 degrees outside temp, and avg speed was about 62mph (mix of motorway and A roads).
I totally agree, the Renault ZOE is a perfect beginners BEV. It has well enough range so that you can also use it on a longer trip. What many may not know, charging with a maximum of 50 kW on DC or 22 kW on AC may not be super fast, although it also does not stress the battery at all so it wil remain in excellent state of health for a really really long long time. The one I drive since 2022 did not come with DC charger but I recently extended my 3 year AI car rental from 3 to 4 years because I realized, you cannot get anything much better than the Renault ZOE as an overall package in a compact size. Plus the satnav system is included for 3 years at no extra costs. Overall I am very happy with my choice and I indeed did order the car without even had done a single minute of test drive in it. But I watched a lot of reviews. It is a perfect car for the city, for short and even longer trips. And for everyone, yes that indeed is true, too (and it has lots of automatic features such as auto break and hold, there is no P on the gear shifter 😊).
Ordering without test driving is brave! But yes very good point on the slower charging being kinder to the battery cells. Thank you for stopping by - you’re very welcome here :) #evcommunity
@@DivingDeveloper😅
Imagine being over six foot tall and ordering a Zoe without a test drive…
🤕
I have 3 of them, 4 in my family, so 2013 q210, 2018 q90 and 2021 r135 full spec. All of them briliant. My parents has also 2013 q210 also very happy. I is not super big car, but for our needs is more than ok. Me and my daughter, and from time to time 4 people inside, 2 adults 2 chldren. New Zoe is very fast in compare to the old ones, performace of old ones is little faster to eco mode of new one . Love all my cars!
Lovely Zoe, lovely you.. thank you so much..
Good video on the Zoe. I've had my ZE50 for three years (purchased from Renault as a 6 month old ex demonstrator) An excellent EV. Has now done more than 72k miles and very little battery degradation. There are some good deals on 3yr old Zoe's at the moment. Probably lots coming off 3 year leases?
Might give your Porsche Taycan review a miss? Bit out of my price range 😀
Thank you! 🙏
Zoe’s are fab! You did well to get a six month old demonstrator and put that many miles on it. I usually note the interior starts to wear long before the motors etc do as they would in an ICE car’s engine, comparatively. And you’d have had to change spark plugs and oil several times and maybe a belt or two in that time as well :)
The Porsche is out of my range too but the video, was fun to make. And worth a watch (I would say that wouldn’t I?).
Skoda Enyaq is next - I’m editing it now!
Nice review. I've got one and really like it.
Taking it out of eco mode (dashboard switch weirdly) makes motorway driving / acceleration much easier by the way.
Great deals for less than 2 year old 3rd Gen models around - £15k or less withe less than 10k on clock.
Thank you for your comment - just to say that’s a great tip on the eco mode switch. I found it didn’t add much range (it already had amazing range) on the satnav so I kept it off. I was still getting 3.8m/kWh - amazing stuff. Esp with the price of energy here atm.
Have you seen the salary sacrifice leases from Octopus Energy on the Zoe? Less than £300 a mo including insurance, tyres/full maintenance etc etc. It’s great that these fab EVs are getting more accessible second hand. New price is 5-10k too high, imo.
Hi.I just wondered where you got the range figures from ? The dash board clearly shows 78 miles range with 44% battery remaining so surely 100% battery would give 177 real life range !
Hello@@tonyireland2234, are you referencing the range stated at 01:18? The 239 miles is the WLTP range. WLTP stands for, "Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure" (that's a mouthful!) at it is the range achieved under these testing procedures that the manufacturers can cite. My test driving is very much not WLTP and I explain this in my videos. Thanks for stopping by.
Quite literally, "Your Mileage May Vary".
@@tonyireland2234 @DivingDeveloper The on board trip computer estimates how much range you have from your recent driving. Slow round town in summer and in Eco & B modes gets more miles than on the motorway in D and in winter. I've driven 10 miles locally and only seen a drop in range of 3 miles and also 25 miles at 70mph and seen a drop of 35-40 miles of range.
@@DivingDeveloper I understand that totally but I really wouldn't care about WLTP if my wife was stranded on a motorway.I prefer RLR.Real life range.
I actually own a 2020 ZE50 R135 Iconic R/C, which I bought before the NCAP results were published. To say I was annoyed at the time would be a huge understatement. I’d bought a one year old car at what was then a reasonable price (£20k). I bought it outright and for a while I was really happy, there were plenty of places I could charge for free, and I was saving money hand over fist, all was good in my world. Well apart from COVID…
Then it all started tumbling down in the ZOE world.
First the aforementioned NCAP send values into free fall. You could barely give them away. Then energy prices starting to rocket and the end to the majority of free chargers.
However I then decided the only way to mitigate the depreciation was to keep my Zoe long term.
And why not? It’s pleasant enough to drive, very efficient, and in summer will easily do over 200 miles to a full charge. Only something a handful of brand new ‘budget’ EV’s can lay claim too.
Lastly I’d not even thought of the safety of it in the context you put it in, and of course you’re absolutely correct.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Piner. I hadn’t thought about the effect on residuals following the NCAP release.
Also worth noting that ncap test the lowest spec which had the side bags removed. All other trims kept them there’s only 500 in the uk out of 30k. Just avoid ‘play’ spec.
The lack of head protection from side-impact curtain airbags is pretty important IMO. Has there been a product recall yet to add them?
Hello! 👋 No recall as there’s nothing to recall so to speak. It would have been nice, but this is the end of the Zoe story. The Renault 5 should be a good replacement - coming next year.
as a ze50 owner ....i want renault to retro fit my side impact airbags.
I see what you mean, but would tweak your 'Always B' recommendation? *If* you're in a situation in which can drift like a grizzled ol' taxi driver, coasting to every stop, hoping for green, anticipating by miles, and using brakes of *whatever* variety as little as possible, that's still more efficient than regeneration. (Good for urban flow, too.) 'B' makes that harder. But I guess that may never apply on IoM. 😑
Yes, that’s a good point too.
I too thought B would be most economical when I first got my Zoe. It was only after watching a you tube video by an EV hypermiler who explained why selecting a lower regen setting and adjusting your driving style to try and avoid using regen is actually more efficient. I now drive in D almost all the time.
@malcolmfowler8972 That makes sense. The regen isn’t 100% efficient and it’s better if possible to not slow down versus slowing down.
The thing is - on cars with one pedal driving - stronger regen means you can set the regen level by pressing the accelerator down only so much - that’s the idea that I took to the Zoe.
Thanks so much for tuning in and being here :-)
@@malcolmfowler8972 Exactly. And Zoe pedal-braking is effected by regeneration before the hard-point anyway.. so 'B' is just for the convenience of not having to move your foot as often? I've yet to prove that to myself..
Think the car you're reviewing is the Iconic spec rather than the GT. The side decals and the alloys in particular give it away but lots of other little gold touches also. That said the phone wireless charging tray is different from ours so still a little confusing - rather that than resort to reading the manual
I think you might be right. The GT-Line on the Renault website’s car comparison page shows one extra line mentioning exterior decals although on a further glance the GT Line may be chrome rather than gold. Eeek.
Do you happen to know how to play video on the screen? I checked with the Renault Zoe owners group on Facebook and had a few suggestions. Apparently it is possible but I haven’t figure out how. (Nothing in the manual).
Hi @DivingDeveloper:
I understand that in Norway, the increased sale of EV vehicles is doing good. Reasonable commuting, available and working public and private chargers, etc. It is not easy to scale up this EV env for a large EV population ecosystem. I returned to NY from Chennai, India. The traffic chaos over there is for Real. Every intersection traffic is a 4-Way with pipeline and multitasking of moving vehicles,bikes, autos, pedestrians, etc.
I am an EV Researcher. I have a few qns to check with you. I do not have access to a physical EV like you do now. Do you know
1) Does Renault Zoe has one electric-motor or two on the front wheel ?
2) Are these e-motors oil -cooled ? Can they work in a flooded road
3) Like driving in 2-3 feet of water flooding in low-lying areas like the regular ICE cars do?
4) If the car is stuck in ice or deep snow and my battery is 90% charged, how can I pull out
The car from a snow bank? Does the e-motor assisted wheels spin as expected?
5) Do we have 4-wheel or AWD drive available in EVs with one e-motor or two like in Tesla?
6) Does one get electrocuted if the car is in a flooded situation and the driver wants to start
and drive?
7) How many total no. of sensors does the Zoe have? Do these sensors go bad after the car is in an immersed state of water for a few days? What will be the resale value of such flooded cars in the secondary market? I heard that Tesla has about 600 sensors (total) in their EV vehicle. Thanks for your answers-
Not sure it runs out of puff like. Capped at 90 but acceleration is faster than most ice cars up to that speed
Skoda citigo e SE trim doesn't have rapid charging.
Oh no! Thanks for spotting another rapid-as-an-option car! Does it have 22kW AC charging, like the Zoe?
Great little cars for commuting, shopping runs and kids to/from school. Pretty rubbish at going to see Granny for her birthday or going on a holiday. The quotes ranges are bollox because they are NCMs and thus the 80/10 rule applies and 15% deducted for WLTP exaggerations. You are looking at about 150 miles ie 2-3 hrs of driving and recharging from a 50kW charger will take 42 mins, but 90 mins from a 22kW charger - who the hell would want that! Really, for 30,000-32,000 its piss poor.
Renault / Dacia are the WORST cars by NCAP rating by far and it's inexcusable. NCAP takes the very reasonable position that safety should improve over time, not just for occupants but pedestrians and other road users. So as safety systems become the norm then they are incorporated into the testing regime. Furthermore, NCAP believes that safety should not be something people pay for so it tests the base model. If Renault decides to cheap out on safety then it damn well deserves to suffer the consequences and it is bizarre to say the least that people make excuses for this. The Dacia Spring is another example of a Renault vehicle which diabolical safety. I hope it hurts sales and maybe they get a clue about this.
Why do manufacturers bother to give theoretical ranges impossible to achieve in the real world in general use ? Everyone knows it’s bulls… !
Originally, manufacturers used the New European Driving Cycle (**NEDC**) to calculate MPG. Nowadays, they use the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (**WLTP**) to calculate range.
Both procedures have their weaknesses. However, they are consistent so useful to compare one car versus another say to understand a relative efficiency. To be conservative, you could say that the Zoe has a 200 mile range in all conditions and in all weathers. However, it is possible with careful, economical driving to get beyond the WLTP quoted ranges/efficiencies in say, the summer with correct tyre pressures and avoiding rapid acceleration and braking.
I've generally achieved lower than WLTP when I'm testing cars, as I test their performance up and down hills with no speed limits and testing high acceleration.
I have a video planned about this in the pipeline, so stay tuned for more on that!
Thanks for stopping by. -Mike
why do manufacturers give MPG figures you can never get in the real world.....
If the driver is road -focused and aware of surroundings, he can quickly move out of the way from getting T-boned and losing his passenger and the car. If one is on the phone or scattered thinking or looking somewhere expecting the mercy of other drivers and pedestrians glued to their smartphones, he is taking the chance of a good hit and fast battery burn. If one is injured and cannot get out because the door is jammed, the battery Li will burn them out in < 5 min. EV cars more burnable than petrol cars!
Thanks for your comment. I agree with the first bit but on fires - EVs are an order of magnitude less likely to catch fire than an ICE. (Don’t forget petroleum burns readily). Even in accidents. -Mike
Thanks, Mike. I have a few qns on BEVs. Here they are. 1) Do EVs practice "STOP/START" on their electric motors just like the ICE engines do to save fuel on "STOP and go" traffic? 2) How do DC chargers and superchargers 50-200kW types can charge (charging speed on?) new and used or 2nd hand battery packs (already used for 100Kms)? 3) cold places like upstate NY, Chicago, Minnesota where temps are 10-25 deg F, to get working chargers, loss of battery charge due to cold and battery charge used up to keep the inside cold- this can easily lead from "Range Anxiety" to "Life Survival Anxiety" when little children or babies are onboard? - Thanks Thomas
@Thomas-pz8zx Hi Thomas - there’s no need to stop/start an electric motor as they only use energy when doing work. And they have the advantage of regenerating power back into the fuel tank/battery instead of using brakes.
@Thomas-pz8zx Battery packs don’t age in the same way as old engines do. They work just fine, charging even beyond those speeds and ages.
@Thomas-pz8zx Electric Vehicles are the majority of vehicles in Norway - which is much colder than even the cold snap experienced in the US right now. And the Tesla Model Y is the best selling of them all.
Don't buy electric
And why not?
Yeah, buy yourself a brain, cause it seems you really need one. 🖖
@@DivingDeveloperbecause he said so probably 😅
It’s just another edge lord lol. Trying to be edgy and controversial online!