The Renault Zoe is celebrating its tenth birthday this year. He is a pioneer of modern electric cars. As a used vehicle, it has its quirks, which go back to an assembly inherited from a combustion model.
The Zoe is a harbinger of the electric boom of recent years: for a long time, the Renault was Europe’s best-selling electric car, ahead of Tesla models. Due to the battery, electric vehicles are heavier than comparable combustion engines – so the front axle from the compact model Scénic spoiled the Zoe’s balance sheet in the main inspection (HU). “The high weight takes its toll,” writes the “Auto Bild TÜV Report 2023”.
Model history
Renault’s E model came onto the market in 2013 with a 22 kilowatt hour (kWh) battery that should offer a range of up to 210 kilometers. In 2015 there was a facelift, with the self-developed engines instead of the units from the supplier Continental came under the sheet metal. There was another update in 2019 – now with a maximum battery capacity of 52 kWh (for up to 390 kilometers) instead of 41 kWh in the meantime.
variants
With a length of just over four meters, the Zoe is above the unofficial small car upper limit and offers space for five occupants, if it should be four comfortably. There are no variants of the four-door hatchback. However, the model was now also available with a rental battery.
Dimensions (according to ADAC)
Strengthen
The report, which evaluates data for the Zoe from 2017, when sales figures rose significantly, also certifies that five-year-old vehicles have solid springs and dampers, and the French car is also doing well when it comes to lighting.
weaknesses
“The electric Frenchman is not without weaknesses,” according to the report. Interested parties should check the status of the front axle: Track and coupling rods and the wishbones suffer from increased wear, which is already visible in young specimens at the first inspection date. Also rather vulnerable: the rear lighting.
The TÜV report attributes failures to recuperation, which not only recovers electricity when decelerating, but also causes the brake lights to light up and wear out. With increasing age, the function of the foot brake is increasingly being complained about.
breakdown behavior
“Good every year”: The ADAC has nothing bad to say about the Zoe’s breakdown statistics. According to the club, there are no breakdown areas as statistical outliers.
The engine
Electric motor (front-wheel drive): 43 kW/58 hp to 53 kW/72 hp.
Market prices (according to “DAT Marktspiegel” from Deutsche Automobil Treuhand with statistically expected kilometers):
