Renault Zoe ZE

[TESLAficionado]

indeed a comment that sounds very Toyota-like....

 

[Fernando M]

ZOE is not cheap because of the battery rental (except more than 20.000 km/year), but not expensive at all.

 

[ManuVince]

Bad news for the Zoe reservation holders that haven't signed a purchase agreement (unlike french customers that did it in Paris Motor show or ev_de). It seems that the deliveries will not happen until May next year :-(.

That really puts in perspective the achievement of Tesla.

 

[widodh]

Bad news for the Zoe reservation holders that haven't signed a purchase agreement (unlike french customers that did it in Paris Motor show or ev_de). It seems that the deliveries will not happen until May next year :-(.

That really puts in perspective the achievement of Tesla.

Building a completely new car from scratch is a lot of work.

I sometimes try to imagine what you have to do and it get lost in all the small pieces you have to fix.

Still too bad for the ZOE, since I really would like to see that one hit the road! I'm still tempted to buy one and go fully electric instead of keeping my Hybrid.

 

[JRP3]

Apparently the Zoe is too good: Renault Suspends Launch Of Electric Zoe Until Next Year To Protect Gas Clio

According to Mr. Tavares, the Zoe is so much fun to drive, as well as cost efficient “that it is almost impossible to go back to internal combustion after driving it.”

 

[EV_de]

Today I found a Renault ZOE - Christmas - Swag in the Postbox ...

 

[dpeilow]

Renault Zoe Deliveries Begin, Sales Strategy Changes - CleanTechnica

 

[ManuVince]

The deliveries haven't really started. They only delivered a handful of cars to a supermarket chain in France and one to the minister of "redressement productif" (can't translate that, best I can do is "productive recovery") who is in reality the minister of protectionism.

Reading on different French publications and forum seems to indicate that deliveries will not happen for early orders until April, and not before June for the others.

 

[Hache]

minister of "redressement productif" (can't translate that, best I can do is "productive recovery") .

He's the minister of industry. But with a funny name. :tongue:

 

[Bipo]

Here's a techical paper about the Zoé's powertrain:

http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/de/continental/automotive/general/powertrain/download/2012_wien_vortrag_uv.pdf

 

[ManuVince]

Why The Renault Zoe Is Europe's Most Important Electric Car

 

[VolkerP]

Article may be interesting for folks that loosely follow EV development, but never heard of the Zoe. Well - I find it lacking, even then. No mention of base price (Eur20k) plus battery lease. No mention of 43kW AC on board charger - author would have to point out what's so great on that, perhaps compare with 3kW Volt charger? No mention of high gas prices in Europe.

 

[ManuVince]

You are completely right Volker.
I have actually much more interesting news but it is all in French. Like the confirmation that very first delivery will happen in April (French customers, rest of Europe even later). And the other interesting news that makes a good part of reservation holders scream, is that Renault has canceled the cable that allows to charge on a standard plug. It has caused numerous reservation cancelations.

 

[dpeilow]

Renault has said it would only come with a mode 3 cable (i.e. Mennekes to Mennekes) for a while. We heard it at the ZE event 2 summers ago.

 

[ManuVince]

Renault has said it would only come with a mode 3 cable (i.e. Mennekes to Mennekes) for a while. We heard it at the ZE event 2 summers ago.

Well that cable was seen on the some demo cars, and was part of the due bill of the people that signed purchase agreement during the Paris auto show. Those people were called by Renault to agree on removing that item, and most were compensated by their dealer (free wall box or backup camera...). But for some them, that means the car wasn't usable so they canceled their purchase. Apparently the issue is that the onboard charger doesn't perform well enough at low power.

The other interesting thing about cables is that the cable that comes with the car in France isn't a "Mennekes to Mennekes" but a "Mennekes to type 3 plug" (see photo below) which is compatible with the "wall boxes" that are sold with Renault's benediction to charge at home. With the rest of Europe slowly moving to Mennekes as a standard on the charger side, French people will sooner or later have to buy another 500 Euro cable (Mennekes to Mennekes) if they want to fast charge on public charging points.

Thankfully that will not happen for cars sold outside France.

 

[dpeilow]

So what is the minimum power level that the charger is supposed to work well at?

 

[ManuVince]

I don't know at what minimum value the onboard charger has a good efficiency. But if my calculation are right, the efficiency at 2kW was 50%, so it taking 20h to charge the 22kWh battery. This is all guestimation, there has been no official communication from Renault, not even on the delayed delivery.
Here's an article (in French) discussing the cable issue :
Renault Zoé - En panne de prise - Actualités - L'Automobile Magazine

 

[eledille]

Ouch. 20 hours to recharge 22 kWh from a 10 A 230 V outlet is awful. They need to fix that, efficient charging from standard household power is essential.

dpeilow: Did you get any feeling of whether they're working on it, or is this their permanent solution?

As far as I know, any AC battery charger consists of the AC input circuitry and the DC battery charger, separated by a DC bus. The battery charger would be identical for the single and three phase versions, so it should be less expensive to add the necessary single phase rectification circuitry to the Chameleon charger rather than adding a separate, complete single phase charger.

I was hoping to get this car and sell the Think in a couple of years, but I can't do that if it's unable to charge with single phase at all.

 

[om-5]

Renault ZOE vs. Smart Electric Drive?

Hi Guys, does anyone have definitive performance figures for the Renault Zoe? I have heard 0-60mph in 8 seconds thown around, but this sounds a bit optimistic to me. Does anyone know the 0-37mph figure also? (the Renault guys seem to know nothing which worries me)

Having put my name down for a Zoe in May '12, I am losing my patience with the continued delays and lack of communication from Renault. The Smart EV is just launching in UK and looks set to beat the Zoe to market! I am now seriously considering the Smart and would love to hear other peoples' views. The way I see it, the Smart is cheaper - I can get a Smart at a fairly comparable spec to the Zoe Intense that I have ordered for about £1000 cheaper and £25 less per month battery leasing and it's a cabriolet! The Zoe is clearly more technologically advanced (heat pump, r-link etc.), but I have more faith in Mercedes customer service/reliability/resale value than Renault.

Also, I will rarely need 4 seats, and my daily commute is around 25 miles, so I'm questioning if I should even be holding out for the Zoe... Would love to hear if anyone has anyone had any thoughts on this.

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

Would love to hear if anyone has anyone had any thoughts on this.

Do you think you'll need 'fast' charge to extend your range on a trip? If you do then the difference between 22kW in the Smart and 43kW in the ZOE will be significant.