It’s been almost two years since Renault showed us the Zoe electric hatchback concept and in that time some ladies have even taken Renault to court for stealing their name. They didn’t succeed though, as Renault has just pulled the covers off the production model and it’s still called the Zoe.
The big deal with this rather chic little French hatch is not its name, however. It’s the fact that it offers full electric motoring for what is, by European standards at least, an affordable price tag.
The Zoe will go on sale in the UK for the equivalent of just R163 000 (after the government’s plug-in car grant) although it’s not coming to South Africa for the foreseeable future. Renault SA says it is ready to bring electric cars to our turf but that it will not do so until adequate infrastructure is in place.
Renault’s price does not include the battery, which will be hired out at the equivalent of R837 per month on a three-year contract.
Designed from the ground up as an electric vehicle, the Zoe boasts numerous world firsts and has 60 patents behind its name:
It’s the first mass-market EV to reach its low price point and also the first to have a driving range of more than 209km – although the estimated range is reduced to around 120km on urban roads.
Other firsts include its ability to be charged at any level of power, its ‘Range OptimiZEr (a system designed to improve real-world range under all driving conditions) and its multimedia system that features a seven-inch touch screen table, navigation and connected services.
It shouldn’t be too slow either, with its electric motor pushing outputs of 65kW and 220Nm.