Renault Zoe - Compact Electric Car

French Revolution?

Given the current UK government induced panic buying of fossil fuels (Petrol/Diesel), Renault's move towards Zero Emissions vehicles is starting to look like a smart move, particularly with the attractive little Zoe.

Renault could be set to make electric car ownership a viable proposition for the average new car buyer, with an initial UK purchase price of £13,650 inc V.A.T after the government incentive and it's electric rivals costing at least £10,000 more the Zoe looks like a steal! But, as with previous Renault's, there is a Butt (excuse the pun!), this time in the shape of a £70 per month battery leasing cost.

On the face of it, this seems to make the Zoe an unattractive investment, given that you never own the battery pack and presumably when it comes time to re-sell little Zoe, the battery lease will be transferred to the new owner, how this will affect re-sale values is anyone's guess.

However electric car's cost much less to re-charge than conventional cars cost to fuel, so if the battery lease is seen as being instead of monthly re-fuelling, suddenly the Zoe starts to make a little more sense.

So, due in Autumn, the Zoe has an 88HP electric motor, with a claimed range of 125 miles and needing 6 - 9 hours to fully re-charge, though it can be fully re-charged using a rapid charger in 30 minutes.

We here at the Efficient Car Guide will be watching  Zoe's birth and growing pains with much interest!