Photo: Renault
The Renault ZOE has been Europe's best-selling electric car for quite a long time now, and looking at its competition, it's easy to understand why.
You had the Nissan LEAF, which used to have better range until the French model received a battery upgrade. It was larger, but also significantly uglier (which is a remarkable feat since the ZOE isn't exactly a beauty itself).
Then there's the smart eleectric drive, which was immensely less practical with its two-seat configuration and had a very high price. The new model introduced the electric powertrain to the forfour model as well, but the price issue remained.
The Volkswagen e-Golf was a latecomer and, even though it managed to convince plenty of people since its arrival, it still couldn't take ZOE's throne as Europe's top-selling EV. We chose not to mention the BMW i3, since that one plays in a completely different league (one where prices are a lot higher and maximum ranges, lower).
However, the ZOE can't get complacent since its figures aren't all that impressive either. With a 41 kWh battery pack, it has an official range of 186 miles (300 km) during the summer, which would be quite good if it weren't calculated using the NEDC standard. And even so, it fell dramatically short of Chevrolet Bolt/Opel Ampera-e's 238 miles, according to the EPA. There's definitely room for improvement.
The news of the upcoming facelift was mentioned by the pushevs website, which got hold of an article published by French magazine Auto Plus where it lists Renault's upcoming models. Furthermore, a British ZOE owner claimed their Renault technician dropped a few hints about a "new ZOE" coming this year, saying it would have different headlights (probably LEDs) and lose the blue-tinted detailing.
Both sources suggest the upcoming model should be the rumored R110 version, meaning the ZOE would get a welcome 20 hp bump from the current 90 hp developed by its electric motor. Sadly, there's no mention of any meddling with the battery pack, but expect the range to grow even without the actual capacity going up thanks to improved technology.
If all this is accurate, Renault should make some sort of announcement soon, possibly even at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show this March. We'll hopefully learn more about the French manufacturer's plans then as it looks to consolidate its newly gained position (together with its alliance partners, Nissan and Mitsubishi) as the world's best-selling company.
Then there's the smart eleectric drive, which was immensely less practical with its two-seat configuration and had a very high price. The new model introduced the electric powertrain to the forfour model as well, but the price issue remained.
The Volkswagen e-Golf was a latecomer and, even though it managed to convince plenty of people since its arrival, it still couldn't take ZOE's throne as Europe's top-selling EV. We chose not to mention the BMW i3, since that one plays in a completely different league (one where prices are a lot higher and maximum ranges, lower).
However, the ZOE can't get complacent since its figures aren't all that impressive either. With a 41 kWh battery pack, it has an official range of 186 miles (300 km) during the summer, which would be quite good if it weren't calculated using the NEDC standard. And even so, it fell dramatically short of Chevrolet Bolt/Opel Ampera-e's 238 miles, according to the EPA. There's definitely room for improvement.
The news of the upcoming facelift was mentioned by the pushevs website, which got hold of an article published by French magazine Auto Plus where it lists Renault's upcoming models. Furthermore, a British ZOE owner claimed their Renault technician dropped a few hints about a "new ZOE" coming this year, saying it would have different headlights (probably LEDs) and lose the blue-tinted detailing.
Both sources suggest the upcoming model should be the rumored R110 version, meaning the ZOE would get a welcome 20 hp bump from the current 90 hp developed by its electric motor. Sadly, there's no mention of any meddling with the battery pack, but expect the range to grow even without the actual capacity going up thanks to improved technology.
If all this is accurate, Renault should make some sort of announcement soon, possibly even at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show this March. We'll hopefully learn more about the French manufacturer's plans then as it looks to consolidate its newly gained position (together with its alliance partners, Nissan and Mitsubishi) as the world's best-selling company.
Google News