Renault Zoe 2022 electric car owner review

‘Ickle Zoe’ unsurprisingly drives a Renault Zoe 52kWh 2022.

This is IZ’s first electric car, they’ve owned the Renault Zoe from new and drive under 5,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 5,000-10,000 miles and he achieves 200 miles from a full charge.

Why did you choose the Renault Zoe?

One of the few smaller non-SUV style cars
fantastic deal on a pre-registered car
has type 2 and CCS charging.

Positives

Suits our driving which is mostly local. Has a great range and fast charging for the occasional longer journey. It’s quick too!

Negatives

We are used to more reliable/well-built cars. It takes an age to get the things that break (too many!) to get fixed. Also, wished we had chosen the model with smaller wheels as it’s a bit of a bone shaker. NOTE: none of these are anything to do with it being an EV though.

Compared to when you first bought the car, does your battery still charge at the same rate & do you still get the same range?

Yes. Range varies with temperature, but it’s basically the only thing that has changed since we purchased it.

Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?

Front camera failed and a new one has been fitted. Seats squeak like demented chipmunks and the dealer says it’s my fault for not adjusting the seat properly. Doors leak and the car is going in for a fifth time to try and rectify it.

What are the standout technological features of the car?

None really, this car has less than my last car. Those it has work OK, but not great, though the auto dipping headlamps are better than my last car.

What’s the biggest or funniest myth you’ve heard about EVs?

Oh, all of them!

Range is low
range plummets at the last second leaving you stranded
they burst into flames for fun
they are slow
they are heavy (this one is lighter than my previous diesel car)
the batteries fail and cost a fortune.

Need I go on?

What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?

A new, small Skoda EV, equivalent to the Fabia. Would have stuck with Skoda as we prefer the quality, but they don’t offer anything in the size we want. We considered the ID.3 but it was way more expensive and the dealership attitude put us off.

Home charging unit

myenergi zappi – specifically designed to make use of spare energy from our solar PV panels and it does that well. Also integrates with Eddi which makes use of the spare solar to heat hot water when there isn’t sufficient electricity to charge the car at minimum rate (1.4kW) or the car isn’t plugged in. Firmware isn’t the most reliable though and has to be rebooted every so often.

Electricity supplier & tariff

We don’t have an EV-specific tariff, as for the most part we charge from excess solar. That’s also to preserve our feed in tariff, which suits us but isn’t available anymore.

What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?

Don’t use them often.

Pod Point at Tesco worked reliably but slow (7kW)
bp pulse 7kW chargers very hard to use with app (charger ID almost unreadable)
Sainsbury’s – first charger tried didn’t work but second was fine
IONITY had a problem but their customer service were helpful.

Overall, no real problems even though the landscape needs to become more reliable.

Insurer

LV= doesn’t seem to be any problem insuring the EV.

Please itemise where you’re saving money (or not) owning & running a Renault Zoe

For our low mileage, we are paying very little to run the car. This time of year almost all miles are free via our solar panels (they paid for themselves after 10 years & before we bought the EV). Even when paying at standard electricity prices at home, it’s equivalent to about 100mpg in a petrol car. Insurance seems similar. Road tax was free but is changing next year to be the same as most cars. Servicing is a bit cheaper for most services, but when it’s due, brake fluid change is going to be something like 10x the price of our petrol car.