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!
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.
6,000 miles in now so another couple of points to note.
1. Driving in winter. Not the EV tyres in the snow and ice, they drive pretty much like any other similar tyre (and cost twice the amount, I've had to replace the fronts). No, the problem is the heater. If you don't get the chance to use the pre-conditioner, on a cold morning the heater just isn't powerful enough and the fan is way too loud - Renault have clearly spent about 50p on it. With no heated seats or any other way of staying warm, you end up being deafened AND shivering. Furthermore, this has a significant impact on battery usage, alongside all the other winter necessities like lights, wipers, etc. In summer the car was up to 4.2MpKwh but at the moment we're down to 2.9MpKwh and the range on a full charge has been as low as 48 miles, Gulp.
2. R-LINK. Given that this is the center of the dashboard and such a major part of the interior of the car, you would have thought Renault would have put a bit more effort into it. On the latest software release, it crashes regularly. It keeps forgetting all the songs on the USB stick and I've long since given up trying to keep track of all the somewhat baffling service expiry notices that keep popping up. Major problems are generally solved by turning it off and on but it is SO flaky.
Other than that, the car remains an excellent choice as a second vehicle in town, especially remembering that it was a £6k second hand purchase (with only 12k miles on the clock and just 2 1/2 years old). Initial acceleration impresses everyone who gets in it and it is still the easiest, quietest car to drive (unless you need the heater on). My local Renault dealer have been excellent in solving any issues with it, almost all under warranty - and the annual service was the cheapest I've ever serviced a car for.
We plan to keep it for the foreseeable future - although a BMW i3 is starting to look tempting. We'll see.
1. Driving in winter. Not the EV tyres in the snow and ice, they drive pretty much like any other similar tyre (and cost twice the amount, I've had to replace the fronts). No, the problem is the heater. If you don't get the chance to use the pre-conditioner, on a cold morning the heater just isn't powerful enough and the fan is way too loud - Renault have clearly spent about 50p on it. With no heated seats or any other way of staying warm, you end up being deafened AND shivering. Furthermore, this has a significant impact on battery usage, alongside all the other winter necessities like lights, wipers, etc. In summer the car was up to 4.2MpKwh but at the moment we're down to 2.9MpKwh and the range on a full charge has been as low as 48 miles, Gulp.
2. R-LINK. Given that this is the center of the dashboard and such a major part of the interior of the car, you would have thought Renault would have put a bit more effort into it. On the latest software release, it crashes regularly. It keeps forgetting all the songs on the USB stick and I've long since given up trying to keep track of all the somewhat baffling service expiry notices that keep popping up. Major problems are generally solved by turning it off and on but it is SO flaky.
Other than that, the car remains an excellent choice as a second vehicle in town, especially remembering that it was a £6k second hand purchase (with only 12k miles on the clock and just 2 1/2 years old). Initial acceleration impresses everyone who gets in it and it is still the easiest, quietest car to drive (unless you need the heater on). My local Renault dealer have been excellent in solving any issues with it, almost all under warranty - and the annual service was the cheapest I've ever serviced a car for.
We plan to keep it for the foreseeable future - although a BMW i3 is starting to look tempting. We'll see.
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