Used Renault Zoe Experiment
Discussion
In the space of two cars, I've gone from a 5.7 litre V8 (300C) to something without a traditional engine at all - a 2015 22kwh Zoe Intens. So I thought I'd write some notes on the experience so far.
The Positives;
Refinement - the car drives like an S class Merc - almost silent, effortless.
Acceleration - 0-30 is surprisingly brisk and more than enough for a town car
Home Charging - I have a Rolec charger largely funded by the tax payer
Price - used Zoes are as cheap as chips compared with other equivalents like i3s - but see below
Features - sat nav, reversing camera, cruise, timer controlled climate, great audio
Range - 80 miles might not sound much but we did the sums and we rarely do more than 25 miles/day - we have a second car (Land Rover) for the longer journeys
The Negatives;
Battery lease - not so much the £49/month that is part of the cost of ownership, more the never ending commitment and complexity of handing over the lease in a private sale
Charging points - fine if you have one at home, public charging points almost useless. There may be 16,000 of them but they are owned by about 15 different companies, most of whom you have to register with and pay a monthly fee. And on any long journey, there are far too many doubts as to whether a charger will be available to use for the return journey (and without it you are of course completely stuffed)
Depreciation - great when you buy now, might not be so great if I choose to sell in a couple of years. Time will tell!
Insurance - difficult to insure for new drivers, complexity around what happens in a total loss with the battery
I was worried when I bought it that it would sit on the driveway not getting used (like the 300C and Saab 9-3 cabriolet I had in between did). The reverse has occurred - the Freelander now sits untouched most of the week, our car of choice is now always the Zoe. We've had the car a month so far and have already done 500 miles, we love it.
On that basis, as a second car for suburban living and especially with daily school and supermarket runs to do, the Zoe makes a lot of sense. The maths don't quite work out when comparing a cheap EV to something like a Peugeot 108 but then you are comparing something reasonably desirable with the kind of car you get as a courtesy car when yours is in for a repair.
So so far - no regrets!
The Positives;
Refinement - the car drives like an S class Merc - almost silent, effortless.
Acceleration - 0-30 is surprisingly brisk and more than enough for a town car
Home Charging - I have a Rolec charger largely funded by the tax payer
Price - used Zoes are as cheap as chips compared with other equivalents like i3s - but see below
Features - sat nav, reversing camera, cruise, timer controlled climate, great audio
Range - 80 miles might not sound much but we did the sums and we rarely do more than 25 miles/day - we have a second car (Land Rover) for the longer journeys
The Negatives;
Battery lease - not so much the £49/month that is part of the cost of ownership, more the never ending commitment and complexity of handing over the lease in a private sale
Charging points - fine if you have one at home, public charging points almost useless. There may be 16,000 of them but they are owned by about 15 different companies, most of whom you have to register with and pay a monthly fee. And on any long journey, there are far too many doubts as to whether a charger will be available to use for the return journey (and without it you are of course completely stuffed)
Depreciation - great when you buy now, might not be so great if I choose to sell in a couple of years. Time will tell!
Insurance - difficult to insure for new drivers, complexity around what happens in a total loss with the battery
I was worried when I bought it that it would sit on the driveway not getting used (like the 300C and Saab 9-3 cabriolet I had in between did). The reverse has occurred - the Freelander now sits untouched most of the week, our car of choice is now always the Zoe. We've had the car a month so far and have already done 500 miles, we love it.
On that basis, as a second car for suburban living and especially with daily school and supermarket runs to do, the Zoe makes a lot of sense. The maths don't quite work out when comparing a cheap EV to something like a Peugeot 108 but then you are comparing something reasonably desirable with the kind of car you get as a courtesy car when yours is in for a repair.
So so far - no regrets!
We've recently replaced my wife's Jazz and a Zoe was high on her list of possibles.
She loved the way it drove but we decided there were just too many negatives for us to buy one. I can understand the attraction of leasing one when the prices were low a couple of years back but for an outright purchase they are a bit of a gamble.
We ended up with a Yaris Hybrid and it's a really nice little car which suits her needs perfectly.
She loved the way it drove but we decided there were just too many negatives for us to buy one. I can understand the attraction of leasing one when the prices were low a couple of years back but for an outright purchase they are a bit of a gamble.
We ended up with a Yaris Hybrid and it's a really nice little car which suits her needs perfectly.
2SPN said:
On that basis, as a second car for suburban living and especially with daily school and supermarket runs to do, the Zoe makes a lot of sense.
EVs of all kinds work really well as the main family car, its only for the odd long trips when a second combustion car on the driveway may be helpful
.Drove a 2016 Zoe for the first time today and I am quite surprised by what a good value little car it is. I am not sure how it could ever be compared to an S Class but as an alternative to a Clio it is half the price (before battery lease) and much more practical and fun.
The one I drove was full battery but only had 60 miles range, is this right?
The one I drove was full battery but only had 60 miles range, is this right?
I have done around 6500 miles in my 40KWh Zoe in the last three months, I do most of my driving out of town on country roads and duel carriageways and am getting around 150 miles range at the moment.
I have only just had my home charger fitted so I have done this only using public chargers, it been remarkably pain free and I have mostly been charging it at car park near my office but 20 miles from my house.
Good points:
quiet and refined
Relaxing to drive
Costs almost nothing to run (I charge it for free)
Very nippy round town
Great small bump absorption
lack of local pollution
Bad points:
Poor build quality and design, massively inferior to the Fiat 500X it replaced
Suspension cant cope with big bumps, it hates speed bumps and gets bouncy down some country roads.
Overall it is a good car and suits me at the moment.
I have only just had my home charger fitted so I have done this only using public chargers, it been remarkably pain free and I have mostly been charging it at car park near my office but 20 miles from my house.
Good points:
quiet and refined
Relaxing to drive
Costs almost nothing to run (I charge it for free)
Very nippy round town
Great small bump absorption
lack of local pollution
Bad points:
Poor build quality and design, massively inferior to the Fiat 500X it replaced
Suspension cant cope with big bumps, it hates speed bumps and gets bouncy down some country roads.
Overall it is a good car and suits me at the moment.
Pooh said:
Good points:
quiet and refined
Relaxing to drive
Costs almost nothing to run (I charge it for free)
Very nippy round town
Great small bump absorption
lack of local pollution
Bad points:
Poor build quality and design, massively inferior to the Fiat 500X it replaced
Suspension cant cope with big bumps, it hates speed bumps and gets bouncy down some country roads.
Overall it is a good car and suits me at the moment.
Small bump absorbtion by the suspension on the road, or something you found out because of crashes or braille parking? quiet and refined
Relaxing to drive
Costs almost nothing to run (I charge it for free)
Very nippy round town
Great small bump absorption
lack of local pollution
Bad points:
Poor build quality and design, massively inferior to the Fiat 500X it replaced
Suspension cant cope with big bumps, it hates speed bumps and gets bouncy down some country roads.
Overall it is a good car and suits me at the moment.
Edited by ajprice on Saturday 28th April 18:15
I was talking about ride quality, I have not tried bumping into anybody yet. 2SPN said:
My insurance was 15% more than for a Saab 9-3 Aero cab. And as it stands, it looks prohibitive to insure for a new driver.
A lot of mainstream insurers are typically sceptical of anything new and unknown.https://www.pluginsure.co.uk are comparatively cheap and lots of SpeakEV are starting to make the move across.
In need of a Dad taxi - school run and supermarket.
Never plan to take it on a journey over its range.
To school and back - then on home charge
To supermarket and back - then on home charge
Dad is over 50
So my question is:
Seen second hand ones at £5k
battery lease is £50 / month
don't know about insurance
don't know about servicing
are they better value than a second hand fiat 500?
I dont even know how many years you can keep these running for.
John
Never plan to take it on a journey over its range.
To school and back - then on home charge
To supermarket and back - then on home charge
Dad is over 50
So my question is:
Seen second hand ones at £5k
battery lease is £50 / month
don't know about insurance
don't know about servicing
are they better value than a second hand fiat 500?
I dont even know how many years you can keep these running for.
John
I'm 4,000 miles into ownership now and no regrets. As a second car for around town it works great and it is surprisingly fun to drive too. Insurance is a little higher than you might think but zero RFL offsets a lot of the battery lease and my recent service cost less than £80. For me they are a lot more interesting (and higher spec - cruise/Sat nav/reverse camera) than a Fiat 500. Acceleration 0-15 is remarkably brisk and refinement way beyond an equivalent petrol car.
A500leroy said:
whats the servicing costs like, ive heard of £500 for a brake fluid change,also the battery lease, if i part ex in the future to a garage am i liable for the battery lease until a new owner is found?
We priced up a brake fluid change for someone recently, it was circa £300; almost 3 hrs labour, it is to do with having to power the car down.If you part ex the car and there is a battery lease then the receiving dealer will have to take on the battery lease.
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