Renault Zoe Review

Electrifying.com score

7/10

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Price: £30,495

It might be one of the least expensive electric cars, but the Renault Zoe is a solid little hatchback with a long driving range and some decent tech. We worry about the crash safety rating though.

Watch Tom's video review on our YouTube channel here

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  • Battery size: 52kWh
  • Miles per kWh: 4.60
  • E-Rating™: A

    Click here to find out more about our electric car Efficiency Rating.​

  • Max charge rate: 22 kW
  • Range: 238-239 miles
Play

  • Battery size: 52kWh
  • Miles per kWh: 4.60
  • E-Rating™: A

    Click here to find out more about our electric car Efficiency Rating.​

  • Max charge rate: 22 kW
  • Range: 238-239 miles
  • Electrifying.com E-Rating A

Ginny Says

“The second generation Zoe has fixed the bits that needed fixing like the interior. But it's annoying that you need to pay extra for the tech you need to fast charge, and the shocking safety scores means I'd think twice before buying a Zoe as a family car.”

Tom Says

“One of the original players in the game, the Zoe was still one of the most appealing. But the recent downgrade in its safety tech, together with poor performance in crash testing, mean it's no longer a car we can recommend.”


The list price and monthly finance might seem high compared to a conventional small car, but check the sums to work out your overall cost of ownership.

  • Price: £30,495
  • Full charge cost (approx. – based on home charging): £8.53
  • Company car tax:2% (2022-2025)
  • Insurance group: 20-23
  • Warranty Vehicle:3 years, 100,000 miles
  • Warranty Drivetrain:4 years, 100,000 miles
  • Warranty Battery:8 years, 100k miles
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Pricing

Until recently, the Renault Zoe had one of the most confusing price lists of any car on sale. Now it has become beautifully simple and logical. The confusion came because Renault used to have a price for the car, but it didn’t include the battery. That had to be leased separately with a monthly fee which had to be paid for the life of the car. This was to remove worry about the powerpack failing over time, which was a real concern before electric cars became more common. Then it introduced an option to buy the battery along with the rest of the car, leading to two different prices for the same Zoe.

Now that batteries have been proven and those worries have disappeared, Renault has finally dropped the battery lease option and there are just three prices for the three models. They look good value too, especially once you take the running costs into account. 

As of Summer 2022 things became even easier with Renault axing all but the range-topping model, so there's now only one version to choose – the £30,495 GT Line+ R135.

Running costs

Once you’ve bought a Renault Zoe, the costs to run it will be minimal. Charge the battery at home and you’ll pay about 3.5p per mile in ‘fuel’ and Renault offers free servicing for the first three years. Road tax is free and insurance is relatively low too, with the Zoe in group 20 to 23. 

Now the Zoe is free of the battery lease complications, second hand values have improved too, so depreciation is pretty low. This will keep the cost of finance down – a monthly price of about £250 per month should be possible. That’s not too much more than a petrol car, and once the fuel and tax savings are taken into account, it's likely to be much cheaper to own.

The real savings will come if you run the Zoe as a company car though. Even compared to the relatively low cost of having a small hatch or van funded by the firm for personal use, the new rules around taxation and electric cars mean you could save thousands in tax by running a Zoe instead.

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