By Guilherme Marques
Lisbon was Renault’s city of choice for the world press presentation of the new Zoe, the latest zero emissions, all electric car from the French manufacturer. That means 700 journalists from all around the globe will drive a fleet of 60 Zoe for a period of five weeks. Thank you, Mediterranean climate.
The Zoe is the first Renault – since the Twizy is not considered a car in Portugal – to be designed from the ground up as an electric vehicle. Because the guys from Boulogne want to be market leaders in this segment, the Zoe is a pretty important deal, and a considerable amount of resources has been put in getting it just right. It encompasses 60 original patents, went through tests that simulate 20 years of daily use, was awarded five EuroNcap stars and comes with a five-year/100,000km warranty.
I sit at the wheel at Lisbon’s airport, in a Zoe-dedicated area, and the TomTom Live navigation system tells me we have a 150km route that will take me through all sorts of roads. Immediately the Zoe feels nicely put together, really comfortable and all in all just like a regular car, only much, much quieter. There is no whining from the electric engine (!) and because it is so well built the plastics are not squeaking, making this a very relaxed car to face the initial city traffic in.
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As I later take to the open road, the Zoe reveals itself to be a great cruiser, mainly due to that excellent noise insulation, but also because the constant torque available – 220nm from stand still – makes for swift progress, even on the highway.
The 65Kw/88 horse power engine is fantastic, and because there is no gearbox there is absolutely no interruption in the power delivery. Everything is so smooth you begin to look down on your fellow drivers on the road with their soon-to-become extinct thermal vehicles.
The Zoe lets you know if you are adopting an eco-driving attitude or playing with the range a little too much, through a series of appealing graphics on the dashboard. The new R-Link multimedia system has so many functions I did not have time to test them all. Let me just say you can programme your Zoe for just about everything except doing the dishes and helping the kids with their homework.
What about range anxiety? There is none, really. Renault says the official range is 220km, but admits the genuine one is closer to 150km and they are right. I drove the Zoe in a normal fashion, not in Clio RS style or trying to keep my licence at all costs, and 150km is a realistic target.
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The good news is, in one hour you can charge the battery up to 80%. But the bad news is, Renault will charge you €79 a month for its lease, in exchange for a lifetime warranty and immediate replacement should they fall below the 75% efficiency mark. A full charge will cost you around €2, making it about €10 cheaper per 150km than a diesel Clio.
At the end of the day I was sold, except for the price. The Zoe costs around €14,000 in France, but because there is no incentive from our beloved government, here it costs €21,750. I do not think it is expensive, but it is a lot of money for what is surely a second car. Still, if this is not a problem, the Zoe is the ideal choice for the commute, the school run and the shopping trip and I strongly recommend it.
The feel-good factor of zero emissions is great and you will own a state-of-the-art, avant-garde looking vehicle everyone will be talking about.
