Any new Renault Zoe owners out there?

Any new Renault Zoe owners out there?

Author
Discussion

DuncanM23

135 posts

185 months

Friday 11th September 2020
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dgswk said:
That’s good to know, thank you! We’ve just had delivery confirmed for the 28th. Have not sorted charger yet - as it’s leased, apparently we don’t get one for free. Given the 70 miles a day it will do, we’ll live with 3 pin extension lead For a couple of weeks while we move electricity supplier to a nice low cost ev tariff later in the year.
Just a heads-up - they usually just come with a Type 2 cable and no 3 pin charger. The Renault one is expensive (I think 400 quid or so), but there are a couple of 3rd party suppliers - if you go on the RZOC facebook page there is a link to one that definitely works with the Zoe and has a discount code (I think it comes in about £170 ish). The 3rd party ones also can have different length cables, if you need a longer one. Check with your dealer to see if has one as standard before ordering though.
One note of caution - many people charge on the 3 pin plug happily, but there have been some instances where the prolonged high current draw has melted the plug - usually as a result of the socket not handling things very well and getting incredibly hot. It is definitely worth keeping an eye on the socket/plug interface the first few times you use it, especially if your electrics are old. For this reason (and especially if you are planning on an EV tariff and charging overnight), I would recommend investigating a proper EVSE (the acronym for the charger box).
Enjoy. smile

lost in espace

6,161 posts

207 months

Friday 11th September 2020
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I am also sure that the 3 pin is less efficient than a proper charger, 10% I think so do bear that in mind.

anonymous-user

54 months

Friday 11th September 2020
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121 miles today with a chance to grab some electric half way for 90 mins or so

Set off with 224 range showing, reached halfway with 151 left.

Novelty of noticing such things will wear off in a few more trips, but I already think that achieving 245 on a charge needs a light foot and a steady run

But I managed with the previous Zoe which rarely got over 100 on a charge for me, so I don’t expect many range problems

dgswk

Original Poster:

893 posts

94 months

Saturday 12th September 2020
quotequote all
DuncanM23 said:
Just a heads-up - they usually just come with a Type 2 cable and no 3 pin charger. The Renault one is expensive (I think 400 quid or so), but there are a couple of 3rd party suppliers - if you go on the RZOC facebook page there is a link to one that definitely works with the Zoe and has a discount code (I think it comes in about £170 ish). The 3rd party ones also can have different length cables, if you need a longer one. Check with your dealer to see if has one as standard before ordering though.
One note of caution - many people charge on the 3 pin plug happily, but there have been some instances where the prolonged high current draw has melted the plug - usually as a result of the socket not handling things very well and getting incredibly hot. It is definitely worth keeping an eye on the socket/plug interface the first few times you use it, especially if your electrics are old. For this reason (and especially if you are planning on an EV tariff and charging overnight), I would recommend investigating a proper EVSE (the acronym for the charger box).
Enjoy. smile
Cheers Duncan, really appreciate that, had completely overlooked the lack of 3-pin lead. Pretty sure it doesnt come with one. Having a spare is a good call anyway, leave one at home, keep one in the car.

Been looking at getting my Type 2 point today, but having done the maths, I dont think I need to. I was going DIY route anyway, getting one of the lads from work to check my electrics and sign it off, that way I can get cables under floorboards etc. to the front of the house.

Read somewhere, they charge on a 3-pin at something like 10mph, so 70 miles a day, 7 hours over night. EV tariff kicks in at midnight, leave at 7:30 for work, jobs a good-un. More at the weekend. OK, last couple of hours are at 14p/kwh rather than 5p. We will get one, just got other things going on at the moment.

We have a 6-cyl petrol for fun trips, and a filthy dirty Audi diesel shed for other duties, so rapid charging is not an issue - we dont need it to be at 245 miles range 99% of the time. This is about Mon-Fri into Birmingham and back, a few local shopping runs but importantly (for us), helping the smog and adopting the technology.

I appreciate it takes CO2 to generate a lot of the electricity in the UK, but that will change in time as will the recycling / repair of the batteries. Should we wait until we have net zero electricity before we start developing the car technology? No, we should be doing it simultaneously, or it will be 2045 or 2055. There are also a lot of people who seem to bemoan range, and how, unless it does 400+ miles on a charge it couldn't possibly work for them. And actually, if it was our only car, it would become a PITA, but as our second car, it will work really well. So, we are 50% better than we were.

And, I'm a full fat petrolhead, having all sorts of fast cars (currently a 911), but unlike lots of the luddites, I'm in my late 40's and I'm genuinely excited to be part of the electric revolution. I think its brilliant, there are so so many opportunities.

And yes, I test drove a ludicrous Tesla - it just didn't go around corners very well, so wasn't quite for me. Yet.



SWoll

18,378 posts

258 months

Saturday 12th September 2020
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dgswk said:
And yes, I test drove a ludicrous Tesla - it just didn't go around corners very well, so wasn't quite for me. Yet.
model S or model 3 out of interest?

dgswk

Original Poster:

893 posts

94 months

Saturday 12th September 2020
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S, and it went like @%£# off the lights! Was looking at M2Comp at the time. Model 3 Performance was just a web page at the time.

Like the Lucid, a lot.

anonymous-user

54 months

Friday 18th September 2020
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Last update on battery stuff then, now it has crossed the 500 mile mark

4.4 mpkWh (hovering down to 4.3 a couple of times) with 224 mile range showing when charged fully

Not quite the claimed 245, but not far off and no one would say I drove with economy as my top priority

Happy enough with that

HTP99

22,552 posts

140 months

Friday 18th September 2020
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JPJPJP said:
Last update on battery stuff then, now it has crossed the 500 mile mark

4.4 mpkWh (hovering down to 4.3 a couple of times) with 224 mile range showing when charged fully

Not quite the claimed 245, but not far off and no one would say I drove with economy as my top priority

Happy enough with that
238 if it isn't a Play?

anonymous-user

54 months

Friday 18th September 2020
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HTP99 said:
238 if it isn't a Play?
oh yes, tucked away in the small print after the headline 245 miles WLTP is R110 239 miles and R135 238 miles

So I am a bit better at eco driving than I thought ;-)

But really, I wasn't quibbling at the real life achieved range compared to the up to 245 claim.

I have just about got used to the much lighter engine braking / regen it has (even in B mode) to the i3.

For what they are and the price, I think it is great

dapprman

2,317 posts

267 months

Friday 18th September 2020
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Renault themselves actually say 220 miles in summer and 180 in winter. So far I was around 4.1 around town, but having done a number of long journeys I'm around 4.7/4.8, which is around the 245 mile mark, and that's with the aircon on all the time.

dgswk

Original Poster:

893 posts

94 months

Thursday 24th September 2020
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Anything north of 150 miles in the winter and we will be really happy; thats two days commute without plugging it in (if we forget one night!!!!)

Realistically, 200+ against a claimed 235 is pretty good in my book.

Four days before it arrives smile

dgswk

Original Poster:

893 posts

94 months

Tuesday 29th September 2020
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Well, it arrived yesterday, delivery driver pretty much said here's the keys mate, did a quick damage check - all good, and that was it.

First thoughts?

Well, its bigger than expected, a lot bigger. Thought it would be 108, C1, Aygo size, it isn't. Its not far off the old 500X. Not a bad thing. High driving position - Mrs dgswk likes that and as she will use it 80% of the time, its a good thing.

Doors are tinny, don't slam with a thud. No sill guards on the doors - just paint, likewise on the boot lip. That will get scratched. Hmmm, guess thin metal = weight loss. Hmmmm.

Interior however is very very good, deeply impressed with the seats. I'm 6'1, loads of room, and in the back. Steering wheel is excellent. Get this - its a nicer thing to hold than the one in my 992 911. Big screen, also excellent, simple to use, big buttons for fat fingers on the move. Better than the massively over complex thing in the 992 also. I turn that off most of the time, I hate touch screens but this one is okay, just. Stereo - wow, really really impressed.

Immediately plugged it in via a 3-pin. Came with 160 miles in 'the tank', said it would take about 6hrs 50mins to 100%. By 6pm, about 7hrs later, it was 99%. I can easily live with that.

The 'B Mode' is great, barely used the brakes since discovering it, bit like a Scalextric car, you just modulate the accelerator only. And once you realise that you can push the accelerator though the resistance in what you first think is the end of its travel, my word, its got some go. Not in a ludicrous Tesla way, but 0-40mph is properly nippy. And it handles okay too, guess the low down batteries help although you can feel the weight, but then the same weight somehow seems to smooth the ride.

Did 72 miles today from 100% charge, just plugged it back in with 71% charge left and a 3 pin recharge time of 8:15 hours. That would have been £8-9 of diesel.

I've got to be honest, whilst its not exciting really compared with many cars we have had, got to say, I'm really really taken with it, and I am a real petrolhead at heart. It is definetly not just a town kind of car, we have both said if it was our only car, it would actually do us very very well.

We will take it for a trip to Cornwall which will probably involve a small (50 mile) recharge and a coffee on route. We will do it for the experience and if its a PITA, we'll take the dino-juice powered car next time.


giveitfish

4,031 posts

214 months

Tuesday 29th September 2020
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Nice write up! Tally’s with my experience.

I have a an early Zoe which is slower and has a tiny range but feel the same - very tinny, but surprisingly roomy, comfortable and just simply fun to punt around. My other car is an Elise, and prior to that an Evora so I value driving as a pastime too.

anonymous-user

54 months

Friday 23rd October 2020
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Dodgy electronics being fixed...

We’ve had some problems with the new MY Renault app and we really do understand how frustrating this has been for you, so, sorry once again and thank you for your patience. Our tech team have been working hard to identify the issue with some of the connected features between the MY Renault App and ZOE.

The good news is that a fix has been found to allow remote activation of pre-conditioning of your ZOE from the MY Renault App.

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) in your ZOE is not ‘talking’ to the MY Renault App. The CPU, which is located in the passenger compartment of your ZOE, needs to be replaced. Your local Renault dealer will be able to replace the CPU for you in less than an hour and of course completely free of charge.

Please book your ZOE into your preferred Renault dealer so that a technician can replace the CPU for you.

Pooh

3,692 posts

253 months

Friday 23rd October 2020
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I have never got the app to work with my Zoe, I jumped through loads of Renault hoops trying to fix it and eventually gave up.

dapprman

2,317 posts

267 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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Pooh said:
I have never got the app to work with my Zoe, I jumped through loads of Renault hoops trying to fix it and eventually gave up.
Worth retrying as one of the issues they fixed a few months was a failure for some owners to ever connect.

dgswk

Original Poster:

893 posts

94 months

Sunday 25th October 2020
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One month in, we haven't tried. Didn't even know a My Renault app existed!

DuncanM23

135 posts

185 months

Monday 26th October 2020
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The app should show you state of charge, service history and stuff, and also allow you to do preconditioning. It's really nice to sit in the office, check the car's charge and then turn the heater on so that it's toasty when you get in for the drive home. Mine's just turned 3, so I've lost access - I'm not sure if I want to pay the money to renew it, but given it's free for the first 3 years you might as well see if you can get it working.

jjwilde

1,904 posts

96 months

Monday 26th October 2020
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DuncanM23 said:
The app should show you state of charge, service history and stuff, and also allow you to do preconditioning. It's really nice to sit in the office, check the car's charge and then turn the heater on so that it's toasty when you get in for the drive home. Mine's just turned 3, so I've lost access - I'm not sure if I want to pay the money to renew it, but given it's free for the first 3 years you might as well see if you can get it working.
Oh wow, they take away functionality from the car after 3 years? Well that's .... the future of cars?

romeogolf

2,056 posts

119 months

Monday 26th October 2020
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DuncanM23 said:
The only downside (ZE40->ZE50) seems to be that the key has turned into a generic Renault one so you can't set preconditioning from that (and the app is rubbish for everyone).
Try this: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/zeddy/id1451295003

I may or may not live with the guy who made it specifically because the Renault app is such rubbish...