Renault Zoe review

The Renault Zoe sets out to resolve two of the most common complaints about electric cars: the high price and the feeble range between charges.

This five-door, Ford Fiesta-sized hatchback can comfortably do at least 190 miles on a full charge (in cool to mild weather), costs less to buy than most rivals and comes with plenty of standard equipment, including a wall-mounted 7kW charger installed at your home.

It's been around since 2012, but a comprehensive overhaul for 2020 blessed the Zoe with better performance – there's now a choice of two power outputs – a longer range between charges, a smarter interior and a useful upgrade in infotainment gadgetry and safety kit.

You can pay a bit extra for the ability to use rapid 50kW CCS charging points, which allow the Zoe to be charged from 0-80% in just over an hour. Without this option added, a regular 22kW public charger will give you a full charge in three hours, while it'll take about nine and a half hours for a full charge using your newly installed home charging point. 

The Zoe's main rivals are the larger, but actually marginally cheaper, MG ZS EV and the slightly pricier Nissan Leaf. How does it stack up against those alternatives in the areas likely to matter most to electric car buyers?

Read on over the next few pages and we'll tell you everything you could possibly want to know. And once you've chosen which electric car you'd like to buy, or even if you decide it's too early to make the switch and end up buying a petrol or a diesel car, head over to our New Car Buying section to see how much you could save on the brochure price.