Renault had a surprise up its sleeve at the 2012 Geneva motor show – the new production version of the Zoe electric car will cost just £13,650 in the UK.
That’s after the Government’s Plug-in Car grant which pays up to a
quarter or £5000 of an electric car’s RRP, and makes the Zoe a more
attractive proposition than other electric cars to date.
Renault says the new Zoe is priced to be an equivalent to a
diesel-powered supermini. But you’ll have to add in monthly battery
hire, starting at £70 a month. That includes breakdown cover – and a
charge-up if you have a flat.
Renault Zoe production car: the lowdown
The French claim the Zoe is the production EV with a range of more
than 130 miles on the NEDC cycle. But Renault provides the caveat that
in city use drivers will more likely see between 62 and 92 miles
depending on the weather (the range extends in warmer conditions and
shrinks when it’s cold).
The Renault Zoe has a 65kW electric motor, equivalent to 89bhp,
promising reasonable performance. At up to 18mph, it'll emit noises to
warn pedestrians of your silent approach.
How clean is the Zoe? Renault quotes around 62g/km across Europe,
although that plummets to 12g/km of CO2 in France where much of the
electricity comes from nuclear fuel.
Thanks to a new universal charger, the Zoe can be charged at various
power points, taking between half an hour and nine hours. And a fast
charger will be available for just £2700 – around a quarter the cost of
earlier systems.
Renault Zoe: the design story
The Zoe measures 4084mm long, placing it slap bang in supermini
territory. It's an attractive small car with five seats and a 338-litre
boot. Thankfully, much of the concept's elegance is retained for the
production Zoe.
‘We wanted Zoe’s design to embody both a sense of breakthrough
technology and core automotive styling cues,’ said styling project
manager Agneta Dahlgren-Hermine. 'The car’s eco-friendly dimension is
expressed in its pure lines which appear to flow along the bodywork. Its
contemporary proportions combined with sculpted volumes make Zoe a
reassuring and captivating car.'
The Zoe is part of Renault’s big electric car push, joining the
Fluence, Kangoo van and Twizy EVs. The company continues with its big
electric project and plans to reduce its carbon footprint by 10% by 2013
and a further 10% by 2016.
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