Renault Zoe e-car

[Coog]

Well it is a Renault after all lol

 

[Crow555]

Yeek! That'll knock second hand values of these if that becomes a common fault!

 

[PaulYDP]

Dear me that's not good! Thankfully I have had zero issues with mine so far 'touches nearest plank of wood!' I've over 4k miles on mine now too.

What I have noticed though is how much the winter affects the range! Before I could easily do 2 days commuting plus the commute back in to work on the 3 day then I'd have to charge it while at work. Now I'm almost struggling to do 2 days commuting! Have to take it handy coming home on the 2nd day. Basically lost 20 miles range compared to the summer! Combination of needing to use the heater, lights, wipers more often and then the cold weather actually draining power from the batteries! Lost around 10% from a full charge sitting overnight the other night

 

[Burt2000]

Yeah I'm getting about 20 or so miles less per charge too. Ill happily keep the lease for the 2 years as the monthly price we got was very good but ill have to see what the technology is like by the end of it before deciding to get into another one(and what deal they offer).....I wouldn't touch a 2nd hand one out of warranty though

 

[PaulYDP]

Is there even an option not to keep the car for the 2 years?

I enjoy it for commuting as it's effortless to drive and great in traffic but unless the technology has taken a great step forward I'm not sure I'd do it again. If the range was better than 100% I would but the drop of around 20 miles in the winter is proving to be a bit of a pain as I can't be bothered sticking it on to charge at home each night or going out on my lunch break to charge it!

 

[Burt2000]

At the start we were told 2 years and then when we went to sign he said 3 but we pushed to get the 2 years so not to tied in too long.
Yeah its not so bad for me as I only do around 120 miles a week so 2 charges does it in winter plus there is a car park beside my work that I can throw it on at lunchtime and 1 hour has it fully charged.
Its not for everyone and we are just fortunate that it suits our commute and where we live and work in Belfast.

 

[davey-dimples]

Bit of an update on this, still enjoying driving this a commuter, ticks all the boxes and running costs are basically a few quid a month.

But it doesn't come hassle free.
I had been getting the odd error message when charging at different charge points around the city over the last 6 weeks or so, it would say charging then just stop and say pause in charging. This had been getting more common with all the local chargers I used and eventually the home charger wouldn't do it either and an error message "charging impossible" on the dash.
So off to hursts it went on a recovery truck on Tuesday...phoned them today it needs a new charging unit and they will have it around 1 week.

Cost of the new unit £2000! then add labour. That's why id never buy one outright or one out of warranty.

 

[Coog]

Seems a quare bit of hassle to save what would probably be about a tenner a week difference between it and it's fossil fueled equivalent. Especially if it's glitching like that.

As you say, see what the technology is like in a few years and go from there. It's probably got a while to go yet...

 

[PaulYDP]

For me it really depends if I work from home on a Friday or not, I am this week so 2 charges did me as well. I can live with it and there are 2 charge points close enough to my work at the minute (though we are moving office and I don't think there are any nearby but the commute will be slightly shorter....)

It's not necessarily just the saving on fuel, it's the fact it's a car with warranty and therefore no unexpected bills compared to running about in an 8 year old car like I was prior to this one! Also no tax or MOT so there are reasonable savings to be had. Given all it costs monthly I'm still glad I did it.

 

[Burt2000]

Its a fair bit bigger than the likes of a citroen c1 or fiat 500, and even feels bigger than a clio, they are deceivingly big inside.
Your basically saving on tax and fuel per month and there was no deposit to pay, so say £80-100 as id say as you could lease a new clio/fiesta for about the same monthly payments.

 

[Coog]

Given the choice between it and say a DCI Clio at the same money would you still go for the Zoe?

 

[Burt2000]

@PaulYDP has pretty much summed it up there. The whole package together worked for us. Before that I had the 9-3 2.0 Turbo 4x4 SAAB and she had a Passat CC which was starting to act up a bit. When we added up the total outgoings for everything on those 2 cars they were a fair bit. So we sold both, leased the zoe and bought the Cupra which is great for daily drivng but can be a weapon when you want it to be. Once we had the baby things had to change (crèche fees) but we also needed something new with warranty and low running costs.

 

[Burt2000]

Given the choice between it and say a DCI Clio at the same money would you still go for the Zoe?

IMO the zoe is far better for commuting. We had a clio for a week before the zoe arrived and it was less comfortable, felt smaller, noisier, jerky in traffic, no where near as punchy around town and didn't have as a good a spec/toys. I would still pick the zoe as long it had a warranty lol

 

[Crow555]

Not sure if it applies, but what's servicing and the cost involved on the Zoe?

 

[PaulYDP]

@PaulYDP has pretty much summed it up there. The whole package together worked for us. Before that I had the 9-3 2.0 Turbo 4x4 SAAB and she had a Passat CC which was starting to act up a bit. When we added up the total outgoings for everything on those 2 cars they were a fair bit. So we sold both, leased the zoe and bought the Cupra which is great for daily drivng but can be a weapon when you want it to be. Once we had the baby things had to change (crèche fees) but we also needed something new with warranty and low running costs.

Pretty much the same for me including the creche fees but minus the 2nd car being a Cupra!! Wife has a 2014 Leon TSI and I have an MX-5 (soon to be replaced) in the garage instead!

There will be 1 service in the 2 year period which costs about £100.

 

[Burt2000]

(soon to be replaced)

With a we pug gti or a 172 maybe??

 

[PaulYDP]

With a we pug gti or a 172 maybe??

That's the plan

 

[Amos]

Can these be charged off a standard power point, or do you have to use the quick charge station..?

Do you get the charging station with the car..?

 

[Burt2000]

@Amos you get a home charger installed on your wall as free part of the deal, you can use any of the Chargers on the e-car website in The UK, both rapid chargers and normal speed. I've not seen much difference in the 2 types(rapid and normal) about an hour does it from near empty. Takes about 3 hours for the Home charger.

As a back up you can buy what they call a granny charger that will connect to a normal 3 pin socket, they aren't cheap though, around £400 I think. It does mean you could charge pretty much anywhere though if stuck.

 

[wes]

Well folks hows the zoe experiance. Might have my mum inlaw interested.

 

[Burt2000]

Since we had the charger unit replaced its been 100%. I really do like it, I can't think of a better city car and it's so smooth and really punchy off the line when not in Eco mode, great handling we thing too.

 

[PaulYDP]

I've had zero issues with mine in approx 8000 miles and it's perfect for the commute. Couldn't be without another car though due to the range but it allows me to have a toy!

 

[wes]

Thats great thanks lads i think for what she needs that would be great.cheers

 

[Burt2000]

Just took ours to Donegal this weekend, 110 miles. Stopped at glenshane for a rapid charge and a coffee and still had 30 mile left by the time we got here

 

[robbiers2000]

really liking these might get oe for the commute to work. is parking free when charging and can u park all day