Renault Zoe 6 Month Ownership Experience
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 มิ.ย. 2024
- This week I do a detailed update on my first six months with my Renault Zoe. This video will probably be of most interest to people interested in this particular car.
This is the latest in a series of videos sharing my knowledge and experience with electric cars. EVs have improved immensely over the last few years, and we are at a point where I think the majority of people can make the switch to electric.
00:00 - Introduction
00:36 - An enjoyable experience
01:21 - Infotainment and sat nav
02:57 - Charge planning
04:30 - Driver aids
09:26 - Cruise control
10:59 - Driving position
13:02 - Interior layout and controls
16:23 - Automated features
18:04 - Driving impression
19:42 - Regenerative braking
22:45 - Efficiency and range
26:06 - Public charging experiences
27:28 - Home charging
29:58 - The boot
33:06 - Rear seat space
34:17 - Any regrets?
The aim of my channel is to provide knowledge and plain speaking about the transition we all face. I hope you will join me for other videos on the move towards a renewable energy future. I will be covering plenty more about EVs, but will also be sharing my experiences as I look into energy generation and electric heating. - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
I'm thinking of buying a 2nd-hand Zoe so I think that this is a helpful video. Just ignore the comments about the presentation, you will get better the more videos you do. The content is good.
Thanks, I'm glad you found it useful.
I do think the Zoe is a good buy secondhand at the moment - at least in the UK. In case it helps, the following are thoughts on buying secondhand on the UK market, which is where I have the experience.
If you can afford it I would look for a ZE50 because it has a nicer cabin and is a bit quieter, as well. It also has the biggest battery/best range, if that is of interest.
DC rapid charging is only available on the ZE50, and even then was optional on everything but the very newest of cars - I don't think it became standard until mid to late 2022. I think a car with rapid charging is likely to hold its resale value better than a car without, so I would also recommend considering that, even if you don't intend to rapid charge yourself.
Renault seemed to have increased the whole car warranty to 5 years for the 2020 models and newer, so if you can reach that far then that might be nice to have. I think it was 3 years on older cars, so they will all have expired. However, the battery and drivetrain warranties still remain on some older cars; that is mostly 7 or 8 years I think. It is, of course, sensible to double check warranties for any specific car of interest.
If you were to look for an older car then be aware that quite a lot of the older cars are battery lease, not battery owned. That may give you peace of mind as it's a perpetual battery warranty, but it's an additional monthly expense. Horses for courses. Originally it was cheaper to buy a car with a leased battery, but it doesn't seem to make all that much difference on the secondhand market at the moment. Battery owned were called 'i' models for a lot of the life of the Zoe.
In the older cars, those with a model name beginning Q have the original motor, which makes the car capable of charging at 43kW AC. Those without Q designations can charge at a maximum of 22kW AC. In my experience, 43kW chargepoints are not all that common.
As Modern Heroes said in his recent video, the new charge point legislation that is in consultation at the moment may impact the availability of rapid AC chargers. Indeed, I think this could affect the ones already installed, not just the installation of new ones. If anything 8kW or above are required to be retrofitted with card payment terminals - as seems to be the requirement in the current draft - I wonder if there is a reasonable chance that some chargepoint operators will just remove them rather than retrofit them; a retrofit might not be cost effective, at least on some models.
I'll have a bit more detail on buying the Zoe secondhand in a future video, but that might still be 3 or 4 weeks away.
@@theelectrictransition Thanks for the great reply. It will probably be an older Zoe for use as a 2nd car.
Found this very informative, thank you.
Hi german Zoe owner here. Nice presentation. You mentioned a lot of pros and cons that i can confirm. I got mine a year ago and drove 14000 km (8700 miles) so far. Over the summer months my avg. rate is about 5mpkw or 280miles range at 100% full. Over the winter months it went down to 3.8mpkw. I really like the Zoe and driving electric and I will NEVER drive a fossil fuel burner again. 🖖
5 m/kwh is fantastic! I'm slightly jealous. I tend to do a fair amount of high-speed driving, just because of the nature of my usage of the car, so hopefully that's the difference. I don't tend to do much city driving. Thanks for the information 👍
@@theelectrictransition I always drive with Eco mode on and not being in a hurry whilst driving might make the difference. I´m 60 now and my speedy ages are decades ago. 😁😇
Thanks for the Video! Me and the missus have just bought a Zoë for our second car, and videos like yours have really helped us make an informed decision.
Thanks again, we're very excited to join the EV revolution! 😊
Thanks. That's great news! I hope you both enjoy yours as much as I do mine.
Thanks for sharing your real world experience as an owner. The pros and cons that you have covered are helpful for someone considering buying a used EV. As you said, the Zoë offers good value if it fits the use case of the driver. ☮️
Thanks very much, your feedback is most appreciated
Thx v much for sharing your real-world experience - I've just bought a year-old Zoe (with help from an interest-free loan from the Energy Saving Trust) and am really liking it so far. Still getting to grips with the multitude of features it offers compared with my previous antediluvian jalopy, so your commentary has given me some useful info & things to look out for. One of the main reasons i chose the Zoe is it can make full use of 22kW AC charging that the public chargers on my street offer, which other EVs like the Nissan Leaf apparently can't.
I'm glad to hear that the videos are proving useful to you.
Yes, the 22kW charging is a nice little trick that the ZOE brings to the party. It is pretty rare to get AC charging speeds this high, and is somewhat a legacy of the early cars only offering AC charging. The idea of using the motor as the inductor in the charging circuit was such a clever idea. Bravo Renault!
I have started using 22kW AC charging on motorway stops if I only need a little top up, because of it being quite a bit cheaper, yet still fast enough in some circumstances.
These Zoe electric magic cars are amazing. Friend took me for a spin. Very very impressed. I want one. If you have one then I congratulate you, because I think it is a very intelligent choice.
Thanks. Yes, Zoe represent good, honest motoring, especially on the secondhand market at the moment. Well worth considering IMO
Good stuff, thanks.
No problem
The lane keep assist is NOT a constant keep in lane device !!!
It IS a help that prevents you to cross the lines by accident, NOT an automatic lane keeper like in a ID 3 for example.
It is to YOU to keep the vehicle inline by WATCHING the road and KEEPING your hands on the steering wheel !
The assist is ONLY a WARNING DEVICE in case of crossing lines by distraction !
So it's completely worth its purpose !
Most people are mistaken by this, it is NOT designed to keep the lane by itself .
And you ARE RIGHT about the radar , it's a pity that it is not used for adaptative cruise control !
Perhaps it's compatibility issue with the emergency braking system ?
I agree that it is not intended for you to be hands-off and that you need to keep watching the road. However, the function you describe sounds like LDW - Lane Departure Warning, not LKA - Lane Keep Assist.
The Zoe offers both. LDW is a warning device only, and LKA is supposed to actively steer to keep you in the lane lines on a well marked straight road, while you hold the wheel in case you need to take over at a moment's notice. However, LKA just isn't very good on the Zoe. It over-corrects every time it intervenes, making it ping-pong.
Same here, speed limit is always on and used by me too. I also like that after turning it on, one single hit on the Set button sets it to 30 km/h. I also agree to the missing of annoying beeping is so perfect. The Renault ZOE may not be a rocket but it is a really useful BEV and I think I could’ve not found a more affordable BEV for me, I am quite happy with this little BEV. What is also great, a lot of controls are using real buttons, I am not a fan of touch screens in cars at all, quite happy also with the low consumption. I usually have it on Eco mode to save some energy and I also only use the built in satnav because it is perfectly fine, accurate and well integrated. What I also like, front and back parking sensors plus if equipped with the feature, it also warns you from cars that are overtaking you.
Yes, a good point, having real buttons is definitely a plus. There does seem to be at risk that we will no longer have that option in the future.
Great video! :D
Thank you 😊
Great video
Thank you 😊
I was surprised to find out that the Zoe has a 0 to 60 time of a fraction of a second slower than the old Renault 5 Gordini Turbo 8.9 sec, that was a Hot Hatch that everyone wanted in the early eighties. Good video.
Yes, it is interesting how even the humble Zoe - one of the more cost-effective EVs - can offer quite good performance. It's no Tesla or Rimac, but it's got a quick pick up when needed
During our test drive of a ZE50 we had about 90% charge, and put in a destination about 36km away and the sat nav popped up saying we didn't have enough range to get there, and then brought up the map showing how far we could get and apparently we could make it all the way to Luxembourg, so that was definitely a funny bug. We still decided to purchase the car, since things like that are super tiny details and I use CarPlay anyway. Also I'd rather have the charge warning overly pessimistic anyway... great review!
Thanks! Yes, in my case, it certainly seems to be a bug - I think it's a problem with the map data. It seems to happen repeatedly in the same place. I'm glad you pressed on and got the car anyway. Enjoy.
A good review and quite balanced. With the lights stopping full beam when initially pulling off a main road onto a side road, I think that full beam in auto mode is not available at low speed and so does not come on below 30mph.
Oh thanks, that's good to know. I'm not sure exactly what speed I was doing at the time, I might have been just below that threshold I suppose.
Zoe owner and got mine around the same time as you. Yes the LKA is rubbish but overall I'm loving the car. A much more enjoyable and calmer way of driving compared to ICE. I chose it over the MG4 due to it having physical buttons which was a great choice after I saw the glitchy smearscreen on my friends one.
Yes, I agree. There are a lot of reasons to consider electric cars a step forward. How much quieter - calmer, as you say - the driving experience is can only really be appreciated once people have tried one. I'm glad you are enjoying your Zoe as much as I am.
I've had our zoe.for nearly 3 months and couldn't be happier with it. My experience seems very similar to yours in terms of range and ease of driving. My previous motor was a vw t5 and i much prefer this. The only down side to me is the parcel shelf which is a pain to get in and out. As my dogs travel in the boot area the height of the seats means that I didn't need a dedicated dog guard as I have in our other car (a skoda fabia)
We have an ICS home wall box to charge up the car and it saves me a fortune on the cost of my old diesel as well as being quieter amd more economical. Running cost is about 6.5p/mile compared to 13p/mile on the skoda, insurance is pretty much the same for the 2 cars
I find the charger information on the gps map a bit odd. It shows me people's home chargers and several that are not available to the public (in garage workshops etc) which is a bit unhelpful so i still have zapmap on my phone in case i need it
I'm glad you are enjoying the Zoe. Your running costs are a bit higher than I would have expected, although I haven't calculated it myself. Have you got a time of use tariff to get cheaper overnight charging?
I agree, the parcel shelf isn't the best quality, but I have been assuming that a lot of cars have moved towards something cheap like that.
@@theelectrictransition I'm still on a fixed deal for electricity so haven't switched to a timed tariff yet, when it runs out in October I'll change it (currently a standing charge of 21p/day and 23p/unit so I'd lose out if I changed early due to other electricity use).
I've now resorted to keeping the parcel shelf in my shed ;) it's less stressful
Ah yes, I understand the problem of balancing the price of overnight electricity with that during the rest of the day. I didn't have a fixed price tariff so I had to ride out the high prices for a year, but the good news is that they have started to come down again now.
I've just switched to Octopus Intelligent, on which the daytime rate is at the price cap, so that there is no penalty for the cheap electricity periods. I think they were forced to do that because of the Ovo Energy tariff - Charge Anytime - that first achieved the same feat.
Trick with the parcel shelf is to rotate one end towards the backseats before trying to pull it out.
Great video, would love to hear your thoughts on the Corsa-e
Hmm, good question. Not a car I know well, I have to admit.
I thought that the range of the Corsa was lower than the Zoe, by about 50 miles. However, ev-database.org seems to suggest that the Corsa is, in fact, slightly more efficient, so there might not be much in it. There also seems to be a new version with a slightly bigger battery, so that might help as well.
Corsa is on a shared platform, if I remember, rather than a dedicated EV platform, and that can result in a few more compromises in interior space. However, it's a newer car and so probably won't suffer from the compromise in the rear seats we had in the Zoe, so they might be quite similar.
Based on list prices, the Corsa is a bit more expensive, so that may be relevant. I'm not sure what deals are available on each, though. When I bought the Corsa was also more expensive secondhand, but I don't know about the current market.
I'd say it's definitely worth a look. Maybe test drive both and see how you think they stack up. I'd love to hear how you get on.
I suppose this video by carwow was one of the things that made me think the range difference was bigger than ev-database suggests th-cam.com/video/wd2ArceiJd0/w-d-xo.html
La Corsa e est davantage récente mais il est important de savoir quel quantité d'énergie conserve la batterie et sa vitesse de charge tout comme la consommation de la voiture.
On transitioning between 'A' roads and dual carriageway/motorway, switching from 'eco' to normal sometimes produces confusion as the hazard lights start flashing as I miss the switch, followed by a mildly dangerous look inside the vehicle to locate the switches. No real place to stow your bits and pieces in the cabin. I find the stalks confusing and have a fight to get the damn things to do what I want in the conditions I am driving in. Parked up, the brake pedal can be pushed flat to the floor sometimes. When energised the brake functions correctly as far as I can tell. All of the fluid levels are correct. No leaks. Just dis-concerting after conventional vehicles.
Yes, I know what you mean about the cabin layout.
I don't switch eco on and off all that much, so I haven't suffered from that one so far in this car - but I can imagine that being a problem. The eco button was by the gear selector on the earlier cars - but I didn't find that made it easy to find in the few hours I had to try one out, when I was getting a feel for of the features. It was easy to confuse it for the cruise control, which was also down by the gear selector - and definitely didn't seem like the best place.
Manufacturers don't seem to like putting little shelves in the dash any more. I'm not sure if that is because it's more expensive to do so; it seems hard to believe that the dashboard has no free space behind it.
Blimey, that braking issue sounds odd, I don't like the sound of that!
We bought a 2018 Zoe Dynamique Nav with battery owned, 12000 miles, only 3 months ago as a local run-around and a lot of the tech you talk about isn't on my Zoe. However, it's like a pocket rocket and flies away so that you do have to watch the speed. I love it to drive, but the seating height is bad for my wife as she is only small (5'1") and can't see the bonnet (which falls away anyway). The range has decreased markedly in the 2 degrees we've had for the last week, which I expected and I also changed the headlamp bulbs for brighter ones (£25 and easy to fit). We charge at home and overall, it's been an excellent buy and I'd never go back to an ICE car for local use.
It's a shame that your wife cannot get into her ideal driving position, but I suppose some subset of people were bound to suffer as a result of the lack of seat height adjustment. I am very glad to hear you are happy with the switch, however.
Great review, thank you. Looking to get a Zoe for my partner this weekend, trouble is we have a commando socket to charge our first EV so I presume I’ll need to find a way to adapt a type 2 charger into a 32A end… any ideas on this?
I don't know if it is possible to charge an EV without an EVSE - EV Supply Equipment. Even if it is, it isn't safe. An EVSE is a box that controls the supply of electricity to the car, which includes a circuit that implements the safety protocol. The simple handshake ensures the car is happy to accept charge. On a ZOE, that includes an earth check about which the ZOE is very particular.
EVSEs are available with a CEE plug I think; here is one, for example (but I have no idea if it's any good)
www.amazon.co.uk/Portable-Charging-Adjustable-Funtion-Waterproof-7-2KW-32A-Single-phase-Blue-CEE/dp/B0BQYDSJLZ
This is a 32A plug, I think. If you need a 16A, then this is not for you.
Like I say, I'm not recommending this unit because I know nothing about it. This is not something I have needed to do. Hopefully, this at least helps you identify what to research.
Very informative with expounded comments.
I like the way I can understand everything you said. I noted that in your video, you mentioned (not quoted word for word) that electricity prices will decrease. Will it be possible for you to provide evidence for such a claim?
Thanks very much for your comment. I can't provide evidence for electricity prices decreasing yet, as it hasn't happened. However, what is fact is that wind and solar are now MUCH cheaper electricity generation sources than fossil fuels; they fell below fossil fuels for the first time about a year before the start of the war in Ukraine and are expected to remain that way. As we use more renewables we will also need more storage and that makes it less cheap, but that too should come down in price as uptake ramps.
I provide a more detailed explanation on my reasoning in the second half of the video on running costs; here's a link: th-cam.com/video/UI5ftaFibSU/w-d-xo.html
Thanks, very full info. Could you say what the insurance for you is compared with say a base Polo or a Hyundai 10, and the cost of servicing over 3 years?
I pay about £275 for my insurance, in one annual payment (therefore no interest payments are involved)
I haven't had mine serviced yet. I think it's about £120/year on a service plan - so £360 for 3 years.
I do some cost comparisons in my first video, comparing it with my ICE smart ForTwo. Consider watching that for more on the running costs
I have had an EV for 7 1/2 years now and have gone through everything you have. You are still in the best thing since sliced bread phase, after transferring to EV's such a short time ago and still experiencing the novelty of it by being a new experience. As you own an EV for a longer and longer time, that rose coloured spectacle view of EV's wanes, as you realise and get erked by their faults, limitations and complete lack of flexibility, more and more. Then finding yoursef only using it locally, if you have an alternative ice car because of the hassle of using the EV on longer trips, with range anxiety, charger anxiety and longer journey times as well as noticing range degredation and value collapse. You then get your other diesel or petrol car out for those longer journey duties, hassle free. Then you realise that your other car could do those short trips as well as all the long trips it's 550 plus mile range ( not decreasing with time and use cycles ) is easily capable of, so then you realise, what is the point of the EV anyway ?
Oh dear, that's a sad journey. I can imagine how hard things were back when you started though - range was very limited and the network very unreliable from what I understand, which would certainly both lead to a lot of charger anxiety.
The range I have means that long journeys are easy, and the networks are still improving. The network is expanding really quickly at the moment, so we should be in a better and better position as time goes on.
I do still have a petrol smart ForTwo, but I only use it for filming now, when I am doing comparison videos.
The layout of the switches is SO Renault. They did this on the Megane, Clio & Lagoona. Annoying at first, but you learn.
Use the force, Luke ...
Ignore the trolls. It’s a useful video.
Thank you, I'm glad you think it's useful. But don't worry, I won't be put off by a little trollery! Nice to have you join me, it's much appreciated
You're the only one I've heard that has said electricity prices will come down. Why do you think that?
The spike was caused by an increase in natural gas prices. That is a somewhat temporary market condition. Furthermore, as we bring ever more renewables online, the periods in which gas is the dominating price setter start to reduce.
Next, because the price is actually dropping. The following is UK pricing. The cap was 34p at its peak, but dropped to 30p in July, and is dropping again to 27.35p in October.
Finally, there are talks about changing the way the energy markets operate. At the moment, the bidding system determines the price every generator gets paid, which is often set by the gas generators. In the future, they want to exclude gas from the bid price to make it fairer to the end user. Renewables are really cheap, but we are paying a fortune for them because of the spike in wholesale gas prices. This last one isn't definite, but there seems to be a fairly good chance of it happening, as I understand it
2022 zoe vs 2014 leaf with 55kwh battery? Price the same in the end.
Yes, it's an interesting point. There are a few differences I will cover, but it is an intruiging point.
The Zoe would still have a couple of years of manufacturer warranty, as well as being a newer car. The latter might mean less rust, suspension, brake and tyre wear and so on. However, I don't know that the Leaf suffers rust or suspension issues particularly, so I'm not sure if those matter.
The Zoe would have a bit more power; it looks like the Leaf might have been limited to 80Kw peak power, whereas the Zoe was 90, 110 or 135.
The Leaf is a bit bigger, but not by much. For me, that's a disadvantage - but for others might be a huge advantage.
Charging remains a bit of a limitation in the Leaf, however. The lack of thermal management is not ideal, and by the look of it, AC charging was limited to 3.3Kw by default. Furthermore, the DC rapid charging uses ChaDeMo - that is fairly well served at the moment, but is nonstandard, so would be a bit of a concern for me, in the long run.
What would be interesting is the residual values; what would each be worth in a couple of years? I'm not sure.
@@theelectrictransition Noise levels, comfort? Is it big differences? Yes, the bigger car is better in my case.
I like Zoe but Isn't the clearance too low?
Hmm, interesting. I've never heard anyone be concerned about that. I've not had a problem, despite a little soft-roading to get to a few filming locations.
Do you know anyone who has suffered a problem?
@@theelectrictransition It is great you don't have problems. I might be wrong but it seems to me that Zoe ground clearance is lower than C3 or Sandero.
Yes, could be. I haven't tried to measure it. If I ground it I'll let you know!
8:46 on a motorway the car might pick up at 90 sign on the back of a truck
That's an interesting point. I don't think I have seen it do that - but yes, it's certainly another potential source of incorrect information. Mostly it has been signs on side roads that have caught it out - plus the problem with the national speed limit sign that is only used in the UK.
Remember you only get the connectivity via Renault App for 3 years. I think you then have to pay a subscription fee.
Yes, absolutely. And so far, I've not found out how much the subscription is. I'm hoping not to feel used and abused by Renault - but I know that's a possibility.
Excellent content - covering areas not considered in a normal car review
Thank you 😊
It doesn't fit my height (~187cm). The driver's seat can't be adjusted far enough, the chair is also weirdly high and just like you said, the HEIGHT IS NOT ADJUSTABLE. The rearview mirror obstructs the field of vision. The angle of the steering wheel is weird, makes you feel like you're driving a bus. The pedals work ok, but they also seem to be designed for a small person's feet, where there's not much room. In the city, of course, it's good to have a small car. I wouldn't recommend this car to anyone taller than 6'1" (~185cm).
Oh, that's strange. I'm 6'2", and I feel like there is plenty enough space for me - ample. There must be a difference in our leg to back length ratios.
I'm sorry to hear you didn't like it. The good news is that there are plenty of other options - its just that they might not be quite such a bargain.
My original plan was to get a Kia Soul EV. That has plenty of headroom and height adjustment on the driver's seat. I wonder if that might suit you better?
@@theelectrictransition Ty fot the answer. I want a Tesla, but I can't afford it, I'm waiting for riches.
Again... what is up with Renault's auto lights!! Citroën is so much more reliable. On my Renaults I went OLD SKOOL and used the lights manually.... like we ALL used to do 10 years ago!!
Indeed!
What is crash rating. Nil, no stars, heads up.
Yes, that's absolutely true. As ever though, there's more to the story than meets the eye. The car was rated as 5 stars in 2013, and explaining the new result warrants a video of its own.
Zoe isn't the problem , its the fact its a Renault.
Ha, yes, could be!
So many boring people. Must be they bought an EV!
Thanks for the interaction. Every little helps. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I would be worried about electric car.because most of these electric cars catch fire
thedriven.io/2023/05/16/petrol-and-diesel-cars-20-times-more-likely-to-catch-fire-than-evs/
Sounds a terrible experience for someone who isnt interested in motor cars or driving at all ! Thanks for the insight i definately wont be buying an elecric car ! What a con it all is !!!
An interesting viewpoint. I suppose time will tell; I wonder if people will call being caught on the fossil fuel treadmill a con once they have escaped its grip
@@theelectrictransition I rest my face !!! 🤣
Top gear and 5th gear need a new presenter.
Please dont apply.
Your support is touching