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6 Messages
Owner experience with Renault Zoe
I've owned a Renault Zoe for almost 2 years from new, bought on run-out from John Oxley motors in Port Macquarie and delivered to me in Maroubra Sydney very efficiently and at no charge. The car came without the owner's manuals and it took Renault Australia over 6 months to send them to me. The car now has 10,500 kilometres on the odometer with no mechanical issues.
The realistic range is 250km , which is entirely adequate for me as I bought the vehicle for local running, not long road trips. I normally charge it from public chargers, usually in Randwick (it would be nice to have a closer one) which costs around $1.50 to $3.00 for a full charge, depending on day and time - weekends are off peak so I usually charge then. If I need to, I charge from the normal power point in my garage, which needs around 12 hours.
The Zoe is quite comfortable, although the driver's seat is not adjustable for height and I am 185cm tall, so the view upwards through the windscreen is limited. It also means the windscreen wiper leaves a dirty patch at the top of the screen right in my eyeline, which I have solved by buying a longer wiper and cutting it to length so it wipes the top part of the screen.
The car has the usual good initial acceleration but tails off fairly rapidly. It easily keeps up with traffic or can leave it behind. In Eco mode it is slower - the maximum speed on motorways is 90 km/h in Eco, so you are mixing with trucks and slower vehicles if you use this mode. The standard mode allows full performance, at the expense of range. Everyone that travels in it remarks on the quietness.
The suspension is very stiff to handle the weight of the battery, which provides good handling but does not absorb bumps well.
The servicing experience has been very poor - there are only 2 agents for this model in Sydney. For the first service, I included a list of issues I wanted addressed but most of them were ignored and unnecessary items were included. As the servicing requirements are minimal (fluids, brakes, tyres) I intend to do the servicing myself from now on.
Overall, an excellent vehicle, let down by servicing and factory support.
Kerr
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11 Messages
2 years ago
We've had our Zoe for over 4 years. Had one major fault where it would not charge. This was in the middle of Covid and the car was off the road for just over 6wks while they fixed it. Apart from that, it's been great. Our normal range around Sydney is always 300+, so I would be a bit concerned if it was only 250km.
There is a relatively new Independent servicing place in Sydney called C&C Motorworks in Brookvale. Two mechanics with the full Zoe training. They are very competent and do not do stuff like saying your brakes have worn, when this is usually a lie for the Zoe and brakes should go at least 100k Kms
We did a few long trips but the lack of AC charging infrastructure in the country is a big deterrent. The Zoe only has AC charging, though it is up to 22kW which is good. NRMA should have included an AC charger with each DC charger installation, as a back up. This was mandated in Qld if you wanted government subsidies. I hope they do it retrospectively in NSW.
There are over 300 Zoes in Australia. They are economical and perform well. There are not many problems with them, judging from European experience, where huge numbers were sold. Unfortunately, when Renault introduced them to Australia, the Government was antagonistic to EVs and there was not enough public interest in the Zoe so the plug got pulled after a couple of years.
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