Renault Zoe 2015: One Year On

After 1 year of owning my first EV, I couldn't be happier with it.

After a bunch of internet research I settled on a used 2015 Renault Zoe that I found on Autotrader for £5,500 - a bit more money than an equivalent Nissan Leaf at the time, but the latter was too big for a secondary car.

I've driven mainly hybrid cars since 2011 (our first was a 2005 Prius), so have been used to the superior driving experience that even minimal electric power can offer. The Zoe seemed only fine on a brief 30-minute test drive, but after using it over the past year it has only got better as we've used it in daily life.

The range is good enough to use as a runabout car, and we've never had to use any public charging with it.

Things I Like

• Range- Stated range of ~80 miles seems roughly accurate, except in winter when it drops to ~60. We've done several 50-mile round trips to Brighton with no need to charge on any of the trips, and no worries about range. In the last year of use we've never once used a public charger.
• As a family of four with a medium-size dog, we've found it's a good enough family car to use for most trips.
• Decent acceleration - great to surprise a few petrol heads at the lights.
• Easy to charge - comes with a good-length 6m Type 2 cable.
• Fun to drive and a great size for parking in tight spots. We found we preferred it over our Outlander whenever it was suitable for the trip.
• Charging whistle- the car makes a funny whistling sound when it's charging, which is handy confirmation it's working.
• Walk-away auto locking - when you walk away from the car with the key, it automatically locks. A godsend for paranoid, obsessive and forgetful people like me.

Things I Don't Like

• Build qualityisn't amazing - there are some weird things like front wipers that don't lift up fully, and very weak washer sprayers.
• No rapid chargingon the model I bought - though per above, we've never needed it in this car.
• The My Renault appis dire. It has improved in the past 12 months, and I've finally been able to connect it to the car and view current charge/mileage - but that's about it.
• The TomTom satnav is rubbish - and it seems impossible to update the built-in maps.
• No VESS on reverse - you have to be insanely careful reversing out of a parking spot, because the car is absolutely silent when reversing.

Overall

For a used EV at £5,500, the Zoe punches well above its weight as a daily runabout. The range anxiety that many people worry about simply hasn't materialised for us - we charge overnight at home on a standard socket and it's ready to go every morning. If you're considering your first EV and don't need a large car, a used Zoe is hard to beat on value.