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Renault Zoe for Daily Commute

10 reasons why Renault Zoe is your perfect everyday car

1. Fun to Drive

Renault Zoe Genting Run

The Renault Zoe electric car is actually a fun car to drive. While the battery pack is heavy, it actually sits down low beneath the floor. Due to this, the car has a low centre of gravity and this helps greatly with the stability. The chassis also has a continental feel to it. The electric motor delivers a high torque from standstill and there is no transmission lag  as well. The sensation of instant acceleration can be felt even when the Renault Zoe is not really a performance car. The Zoe electric car is also a safe car. It scores a high rating in the Euro NCAP testing. It comes standard with the electronic stability control system as well as auto cruise and speed limiter function.

2. Comfortable Interior Space

The Zoe electric car is a five doors hatchback that can seat four adults comfortably. There is an ample legroom for the rear passenger as well. The boot space is generous and can hold four cabin sized suitcases. A comfortable driving position can be reached easily and the steering wheel adjustment is available for both reach and rake. The dashboard has a cool design and the instrument cluster is a digital LCD screen. It displays important information like the battery range clearly. Overall it is a nice place to be for a longer travelling time.

Renault Zoe Cabin

3. Sufficient Battery Range

Electric Car Battery Level

The Zoe has a 22 kWh battery pack. The manufacturer's specified range is 210 km based on NEDC test procedure. In the real world, 120-150 km driving distance with a full charge is observed. With economical driving style, going over 180 km would be possible but the driver would have to be disciplined without any excessive acceleration and high speed driving from the start of the journey. This driving range is actually sufficient for the whole day driving within Klang Valley. EV with bigger battery capacity like Tesla could travel further but the price of the car is higher as well. A bigger battery capacity would also require longer charging time with the same charging rate.

4. Fast AC Charging

Renault Zoe is one of the few electric cars that can accept three phase AC supply to charge its battery. Most of its competitors can only accept single phase AC supply. While the other EV can be charged faster using a DC charging station, the cost of the DC changer is much more expensive than an AC charger. As a result, the expansion of DC charging stations has been very slow in
Malaysia. The Renault Zoe that were brought into Malaysia earlier are capable of up to 43 kW AC charging. In contrast, most of other EV like the Nissan leaf and Hyundai Ioniq can only be charged up to 7 kW when using AC supply.

AC DC Electric Car Fast Charging in Sunway

5. Extensive Public Charging Network

Newmotion apps screenshot

Currently there are more than 250 public charging stations across Malaysia. In fact, the majority of the chargers are situated within Klang Valley. Furthermore, about 40% of the chargers are capable of 3 phase charging through the Type 2 connector. Above all, most of the 3 phase,  22 kW AC chargers are located along major highways. For this reason, in case of your battery is running low while travelling around Klang Valley, the Zoe would just need 10-15 minutes of charging to get you back to your own charging base. As a comparison, other EV with 7 kW on-board charger would need at least 30-45 minutes of charging to get the same 30 km battery range.

6. Less Fuel Expenses

One of the biggest advantage of an electric car is the high energy efficiency. For this reason, the electricity cost required to travel for the same distance is only about a third compared to the petrol cost of a similar sized car. Not only the cost is cheaper, your lifestyle will be changing too because when the car is being charged overnight, you will be waking up to a fully charged car daily. Visiting the fuel pump will be a thing in the past. Public charging is not really necessary for daily commute but if you are going to a destination where a public charger is available, you can just plug-in your car there since it is currently free to use.

Malaysia weekly fuel price

7. Low Maintenance

Cabin Air Filter

Similar to other electric cars, Renault Zoe has low number of moving parts. As a result, maintaining the car is quite straight forward. There is no engine oil that needs to be replaced regularly together with the oil filter and spark plugs. Only wear and tear items such as brake pads and wiper blades would require replacement. However, since the Zoe electric car uses a lot of regenerative braking, the brake pads would last for a long time. Other parts which will have to be replaced after a certain period are the 12 V lead acid battery and the air-conditioner cabin air filter.

8. Official After Sales Support

The Renault Zoe were brought into Malaysia through the official Renault distributor. As a result, the Zoe can be maintained and serviced at the official Renault service centre in Glenmarie. In other words, there won't be any worry about parts, tools and specialists required for the upkeep of the electric car. The other EV models that are officially supported by their local distributors in Malaysia are Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i- MiEV. The after sales support for EV like Tesla is not available yet locally.

Renault Service Centre

9. Active Battery Thermal Management

Renault Zoe Components

One of the major contributor to the longevity of the EV battery is keeping the battery within the optimal temperature range. The Zoe has an active battery temperature management system which regulates the temperature especially during charging and driving. Without the system, the battery lifespan can be adversely affected by the extreme temperatures. Some other models are also equipped with a similar thermal management system but some EV omitted the system to reduce the cost.

10. Potential Battery Upgrade

Although the Zoe came out with a rather small capacity battery capacity, it has been reported that the newer battery pack has the same physical dimensions as per the original 22 kW battery pack. In fact, the battery upgrade has been done in other market already. While it has not been offered yet in Malaysia, the upgrade is actually technically possible. Newer EV do not offer much technology advancement compared to the Renault Zoe other than a bigger battery capacity. With the battery upgrade, the Renault Zoe would still be a good option against the latest EV in the market.

Renault Zoe Battery Pack

Still not convinced that the Zoe electric car should be your daily car? Why not rent the Zoe from us for a short period to experience the electric car yourself without the long term commitment. If you are still concerned with the maintenance and the battery replacement cost, then our leasing packages would be the suitable low risk option for you!