Used test: Renault Zoe vs Toyota Yaris Hybrid

What will they cost? 

If you’d bought the Renault Zoe new, it would have cost you £22,670, from which you could have subtracted the then £4500 Government grant. The Toyota Yaris cost £19,545 new.

Now, the Zoe would cost you around £1200 more. Added to that, buy the Zoe and you’ll have to factor in an additional charge for the battery lease. On a 2017 model, this would have been set up with a fee of £89 per month, based on you doing 9000 miles a year. 

Our real-world range test showed the Zoe is capable of 138 miles from a full charge on a mild autumn day (13deg) in a mix of high and low-speed driving. It will go even farther in the summer, but the range will drop considerably on frosty February mornings.

However many miles you plan on doing, you’ll definitely want a proper charger at home; Renault included a 7.4kW wall-mounted charger with every new Zoe that can fill the car’s 41kWh battery from empty to 80% in five hours. We’d recommend investing in one of these if you plan on buying a used Zoe.

Meanwhile, in our real-world True MPG test, the Yaris managed an impressive 80mpg around town, but on faster roads it drinks fuel faster than many regular petrol and diesel small cars. That explains why it averaged a good rather than outstanding 49.2mpg.

Expect to spend three times more money on petrol for the Toyota Yaris than you would on electricity for the Renault Zoe and the difference will be even greater if you sign up to an Economy 7 electricity tariff to get cheaper power at night.

There’s not much in it for standard equipment, with both cars offering a decent amount. Both also hold the maximum five-star rating from Euro NCAP but a major bonus for the Yaris is that it has automatic emergency braking (AEB) as standard, which isn't an option on the Zoe.

<< Previous: What are they like inside? | Next: Our Verdict >>

Page 3 of 4