Renault Zoé, a 180-Day Owner Review

Since we bought our Renault Zoe electric car at the end of March, now I can say that the Honeymoon Period is over, and I can give a more realistic review of the car. Overall, we are very pleased with the performance of the car, especially the fact that we are recharging the car very often because we live in a very mountainous region in the French Alps. Because when we climb a hill, we consume the battery, but when we descend, we recharge the battery!

The other feature we love about the car is the fact we can plug it in to any normal 240V outlet which has saved us on several occasions! Especially since the recharging situation is a real nightmare, we can always find a plug, and the cord is long enough we've been able to string the cord through a window of a restaurant to charge our car while eating lunch.

I also love the fact we can put it on ECO mode, and save some of the battery--we're not running at full power, but while in town, this is worth doing. Pierre prefers to operate at full power, but at least we have the option to put it in ECO mode. The car at full power has some serious acceleration, but it's still a small car, so we have to deal with this issue. And if we go on the highway here in France, accelerating to 130 KPH, I guarantee that we will consume the battery VERY fast.

So this brings me to the biggest obstacle to this car--recharging. First, why can't the car manufacturers get together and come up with a common size, shape and power for the plug? Believe it or not, there are 5 different plugs right now. Apparently, the Type II Plug, which is what our Zoe uses, has become the standard. So not only do we have to deal with the fact that NOBODY knows how to make these charging stations work, we have to find one that's operational, then find the right type of plug, THEN HAVE TO HAVE A CARD TO USE THE CHARGING STATION, AND PAY A MONTHLY FEE to have it, so never mind. we will just make absolutely sure that we never run out of juice on the road.

The other HUGE disappointment is the TomTom GPS system they insisted on installing, as TomTom provides ZERO updates for the maps, not even as a paid service. Here's a link to a message board with complaints about this major flaw. We've had to resort on several occasions to using GoogleMaps on my iPhone which at least has updated maps, and includes updated information about road construction/closures. Then there's the issue that the charging stations listed on the TomTom are not remotely accurate, nor are their physical addresses listed, so again, we have to use our iPhone to use apps like ChargeMap, or Plugshare, where users post updated information daily about the functionality of the charging stations. I actually went to the dealership to ask them about this issue, but since customer service is more like "Why are you bothering me now" service, I was told I could find updated maps on their site, which is NOT the case.

So I think our solution will be the following: to buy Apple Carplay and use the cigarette lighter to jerry rig it, then velcro it over the R-Link useless system. Then at least we will have the option to have updated charging stations available, as well as GoogleMaps (a FREE APP) that works MUCH better than the expensive one that came with the car. Here's another link to a message board for Renault Zoe users begging for them to install Apple CarPlay.

Other issues with the Renault Zoe from a design standpoint? The dashboard needs more USB ports, and the SIM need not be so prominently placed. Also, with the larger smartphones, it would be nice to see a iPhone holder so drivers can hold their iPhones upright. The mirror on the sun visor needs a light, and maybe a pocket to put important items like highway tickets.

I also think Renault needs to understand how to differentiate the Zoe from fuel-powered cars. I don't think it's a plus that it looks just like another Renault! I think the logo should be GREEN at the very least, and show some sort of electric plug emitting from it. I think electric car owners at this point are proud to be leaders of the green revolution and want to showcase their commitment with the car.

I also think there is a LOT of misperception in the marketplace about how much autonomy electric cars have! Even the Zoe claims it has 400 KM of autonomy, but this is not really true. This is what they received in a lab on a flat surface! We have obtained at the very most 300 KM of autonomy with our Zoe; however, most people still think you can only drive for a couple of hours then need to recharge, so Renault needs to do a much better job in the press about showing the real levels of autonomy achieved. We even went to the Formula E in Monaco (the electric car Formula 1) to show our support, but there's still a lot of work to be done!

I think the biggest reason more Renault Zoe's are not being sold is the price. Even with the 10.000€ bonus we received for turning in our old Peugeot Partner polluting diesel, we still had to pay 19.000€, whereas a standard fuel-powered car in France ranges around 14.000€. If they really want to compete, they need to bring the price down and make the value-add features like the GPS, real value-adds! They should look at the Tesla design features to compare--now that's a car of the future!