Renault Zoe

mchristyuk

mchristyuk

Junior Member
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668
So the Mrs was due a new company car, but as she is now on Maternity leave the standard company issue car wasn't too appealing.

Did some digging around and as we just need a town "baby chariot" the whole electric car thing seemed quite appealing.. Renault are doing a stonking deal on them at the moment.. they are essentially matching the £5k government subsidy, so you get £10k off the list price straight up.. which left us £8k to finance.. and Renault also pay for a universal fast charger to be installed at your home.

So yesterday the new car arrived!

Have to say I'm really impressed with it so far. Up to 40mph it really goes well, tails off after that.. but is happy pulling up to 80mph. It's comfortable, silent, and comes packed with every gadget going (Bluetooth, cruise, auto lights, wipers, rear parking sensors + camera). I particularly like the fact you can get it to pre heat in the morning when it's plugged into the mains! :)

So the driveway looks like a right bizarre mix at the moment... 1 x Maserati 3200 and 1 x Renault Zoe.. I think a more oppositely opposed set of cars you couldn't find! Both left field and quirky, but charming none the less!

Mark
 
jluis

jluis

Member
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1,703
Do you also have to lease the battery from Renault ?
Last time I checked the Renault deals on electrics you had Po may a monthly lease to use the battery
 
bill

bill

Junior Member
Messages
247
Yes you do.... £70/month on a 36 month contact and limited to 7500 miles per year.... My drive the same as yours mark... It looks wrong! BUT Zoe has grown on me for around town. It's quick and it does things well. It's the range that makes me a nervous reck to take it anywhere outside town
 
Wack61

Wack61

Member
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8,798
Surely that doesn't work out any less than a small petrol car by the time you've paid for the electricity to charge it
 
bill

bill

Junior Member
Messages
247
Well... Not really! I paid £6.5k for a nearly 2 year old car with 2800 miles. If you think of the £2520 (36x70) as part of the purchase price, don't think u can get a similar car for £9k. Other costs: 32A home charging point £185; charging is free at most options and no road tax and no congestion charge (if u make it to London!!)
 
mchristyuk

mchristyuk

Junior Member
Messages
668
Currently Renault are paying 100% for the charger so there's not cost there.

A "tank of fuel" on the Zoe is around £2.. so far far far cheaper than anything else.

Also the servicing should be pretty cheap too.. the schedule calls for a pollen filter change and a check of the wiper blades... there's nothing really to wear out on it! No clutch, oil, filters, cambelts, plugs, etc...

If I had to pay full retail for it then I'd say it's not worth it.. with a £10k discount it's worth every penny!

The beauty of renting the batteries is a that as soon as there's an issue they put new ones in.. and seeing the cost of a complete pack I certainly would be nervous not renting batteries.

With all that weight in the bottom of the chassis it feels like a go-kart to drive. I'm sold on it.

Mark
 
bill

bill

Junior Member
Messages
247
Not if you buy used....apparently. What was surprising was the depreciation.... Over 50% in nearly two years! Almost as bad as my maserati...
 
mchristyuk

mchristyuk

Junior Member
Messages
668
Bill,

Ah yes, most of the deals are of course only if you buy new. I would have thought a lot of that depreciation would have been the result of Renault chucking in the extra £5k on a new one.. probably halved used values over night!

We're going to do a 55mile round trip on Monday to go to a "baby friendly" viewing of Star Wars in Tunbridge Wells.. the car came from there and was delivered with 40 miles left in the pack so I'm feeling confident.. so long as I don't drive it like a loon.. which is difficult around town as the torque is so addictive! :)

Mark

Mark
 
Wack61

Wack61

Member
Messages
8,798
I really don't think I could ever run an electric car if I was even slightly nervous of driving 55 miles in it
 
bill

bill

Junior Member
Messages
247
A few tips: Renault dealers (the ones I visited) are very poorly trained for the Zoe. They didn't even know there was an SD card with which all the updates are done.... I have joint chargemaster, chargeyourcar, ecotricity all for free. Don't rely on their apps which rely on 3G network and not always reliable!! Apply for their cards as they are much better. I found the Zap map app very good. All this wisdom from a trip to Bicester village from Cheltenham which .... didn't go according to plan......
 
mchristyuk

mchristyuk

Junior Member
Messages
668
Thanks for the tips Bill.

To be honest it's never going to be going more than 10 miles in a day so the plan is to charge it at the weekend and run it for the week. Charge time seems to be about 3 hours when down to about 25% charge.

When we need to go further afield we've got the Saab "family wagon".. or the 3200.. but I'm not sure which I'm more nervous of doing a long journey in.. an electric car or a Maserati?! :D

Mark
 
mchristyuk

mchristyuk

Junior Member
Messages
668
Conaero said:
Can we see some pics, is it hideous or chic?
Click to expand...

Well it looks nothing like any other Renault.. so it actually looks quite nice, for a small family hatchback (IMHO!)... bit dark now but will take some pictures in the morning..

Mark
 
mchristyuk

mchristyuk

Junior Member
Messages
668
It's taller than it looks in pictures.. all those batteries underneath it push the cabin up high.. they've disguised it quite well, until you pull up next to somebody and you think you're in a Range Rover :)

Blue-by-the-sea_Renault_ZOE_GreenCar.jpg

Mark
 
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casadalloro

casadalloro

New Member
Messages
465
Next door neighbour has just got a top spec leaf and loves it..looks well too... Hes a doctor in the Ulster hospital and sometimes parks it beside the plastic surgeons electric car...an i8!!!!! Guess whos on the big money there...
 
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