Renault Zoe review: Cheap and cheerful second-hand EV

Although no longer on sale, the Renault Zoe is a small but highly capable EV that represents excellent value for money on the second-hand market. Early examples can be picked up for under £4,000 and work well if you simply need a car for doing the school run, the weekly shop, or a commute to your local train station.

Later models can be bought for under £12,000 and manage between 150 and 200 miles on a charge; they also come with handy creature comforts like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated front seats and a reversing camera.

The Zoe charges more slowly than most EVs, and its crash safety score was downgraded towards the end of its life, partially due to its lack of crash-avoidance technology. That said, if affordable electric motoring is what you need, they don’t get much more affordable than the Zoe.

I used a Renault Zoe as my only car for a week. This included short journeys in and around London, as well as longer journeys out of the city.

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Independent rating: 6/10

The Renault Zoe went out of production in 2023, but it sold very well and has quickly become an excellent second-hand purchase. The most recent generation of Zoe came with a 52 kWh battery and an impressive range of up to 245 miles – a figure that is still perfectly competitive with new cars of a similar size. However, Renault admits that cooler weather will see this fall (as it does with all EVs) to more like 150 miles in the depths of winter.

Producing either 107 or 134 bhp, depending on specification, the Zoe accelerates to 62 mph in around ten seconds. Although clearly not a quick car, it still feels nippy around town, especially when setting off from the lights and navigating in and out of traffic. The Zoe’s maximum charge rate is slower than most of today’s EVs, at just 46 kW. This means filling from 10 to 80 per cent at a public charger will take around 52 minutes. A full charge using a wallbox at home takes between eight and nine hours.

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The Zoe’s interior is similar to that of the Renault Clio and Captur of the same era. The physical controls will be familiar to almost any driver, making this a good option for anyone unsure about making the switch to an EV.

Although Renault uses a good amount of soft-touch plastics to help lift interior quality, and while it isn’t particularly luxurious in there, it’s smart enough for a car of this class and gets the job done. Taller drivers should be aware that the seat is set fairly high and there’s no way to lower (or raise) it.

As you’d expect from a car this size, the rear seats are cramped if you fill the Zoe with four full-size adults. However, they are perfectly good enough for children, meaning two adults and two kids should have no trouble fitting comfortably, even on longer journeys. The boot capacity is a pretty decent 338 litres.

There’s a 10-inch digital display behind the steering wheel, replacing traditional analogue dials, and the dashboard features a touchscreen that measures either 7.0 or 9.3 inches, depending on the trim level. The screen is starting to show its age in 2024, but it’s still relatively sharp and all trim levels of the second-generation Zoe reviewed here have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard. Navigation is also included, but we recommend drivers use Google Maps or similar on their connected phone instead.

If buying second-hand, look out for the Signature Nav trim level, which gives the Zoe a nice bunch of upgrades. These include a rear-view camera, heated front seats, a Bose sound system and electrically folding mirrors, plus a spattering of bronze accents.

EVs are cheap to run if you charge them at home, and the Renault Zoe is especially good value given its small battery and good range. That said, if you go on longer journeys and need to make use of public chargers, then your cost per mile will increase significantly. Look out for public chargers that offer discounted rates when you pay for a monthly or annual subscription.

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Although the Zoe has a small battery, it also has a fairly slow maximum charge speed. You should expect a top-up from 10 to 80 per cent to take around 50 minutes, or for a full charge at home to take about eight or nine hours when using a wallbox charger.

When new the Zoe cost from about £30,000, which is where the better-equipped Mini Cooper E starts today. However, since it went out of production the Zoe has become a great-value second-hand EV. Prices as of September 2024 range from under £4,000 for a 2015 model, up to about £11,000 for a three-year-old Zoe with about 5,000 miles on the clock.

Renault offers Zoe customers the option to buy or lease their car’s battery. If bought, the battery has a warranty of eight years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. If the battery is leased, it is covered by a warranty for the duration of your lease contract.

If cheap and cheerful EV motoring is what you need, the Renault Zoe is the car you’re looking for, since second-hand prices have now fallen below £4,000.