Used Renault Zoe Review (2019-2024)

The Renault Zoe might’ve originally launched back in 2013 but, if you want a small electric car, it’s still a good choice. In terms of value, little gets close to the Zoe – lightly used examples that are just a couple of years old can be picked up for several thousand pounds less than a Peugeot e-208 or Mini Cooper SE.

And the costs stay low once you’ve bought a Zoe. A full charge at home can cost just a few pounds, which gives you up to 239 miles of charge. Compare that to a petrol car that might cost £30 for the same amount of range, and it’s clear that the Zoe could save you a fortune over the duration of a PCP finance deal. Servicing should be cheap, and you may be able to benefit from some remaining manufacturer warranty.

The Zoe might look broadly the same as it always has, but in 2019 it was extensively updated inside and out. These are the cars to get – they have bigger batteries, a more modern look and more premium interiors.

And there’s no pesky battery lease to worry about, either. Many early Zoes require a steep monthly payment for the battery which covers you against premature battery failure – but EV batteries are longer-lasting than initially thought, and recent Zoes get an eight-year battery warranty just in case it drops below a certain total capacity.

While the range is still competitive with rivals, the charging infrastructure has been eclipsed by newer EVs. Fast-charging on the Zoe is – sadly – optional. It’s standard on almost every new EV, but was £1,000 on the Zoe – and even if you find a car with the capability, it maxes out at 50kW. So it’ll still take an hour to charge from 10-80. Use a Zoe for regular long journeys and you’ll spend a lot of time waiting around.

Also uncompetitive is the Zoe’s safety score. Although it achieved a full five stars back in 2013, it was retested in 2021 and received an atrocious zero-star score. Part of that is simply because it doesn’t have some of the modern driver assistance tech as standard, such as lane-keep assist (auto emergency braking is only optional) and partly because Renault removed some of the airbags. 

A lot of the Zoe’s centre console is shared with the contemporary Renault Clio, so you get a decently sized touchscreen and a bank of buttons and dials to change the air con settings. The buttons are nice and tactile, so it’s a bit of a shame that even top-spec cars have so many blank buttons right in the middle of the cabin.

The touchscreen is one of our favourite infotainment systems, because it’s responsive to your touch, quick to load and not so complicated that it requires a degree in touchscreenology. If you’d rather use your familiar apps, connect your phone via wired Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

The entry-level Play trim is rare, but find one and it’ll include LED headlights, cruise control, keyless start, air conditioning and a seven-inch touchscreen. Next up is Iconic trim, which gets alloy wheels, rear parking sensors, sat nav, a synthetic leather steering wheel and a host of driver assistance tech including lane-keep assist and traffic-sign recognition. GT Line doesn’t really have the sporty look you might expect, but it does add front parking sensors, a reversing camera, blind-spot monitoring and a larger touchscreen display.

The Zoe isn’t a big car: it’s less than 4.1 metres long and less than two metres wide, including mirrors. Practicality isn’t really its strong point, and four adults will find themselves rather close together – and that’s before you try to squeeze a fifth in.

Neither rear legroom nor headroom is generous enough for a tall adult, although it should be plenty for kids. The rear seat area has cheap materials and not a lot of equipment – you need at least the Iconic trim to get split-folding seats and USB sockets.

Unfortunately it feels quite narrow up front, so there’s not a huge amount of space to stretch your legs. Above that is a tiny glovebox and a storage shelf in the dashboard, although it’s hard to see how this could be used effectively.

However, the Zoe’s 338-litre boot is a good size for a car in this class. It’ll easily swallow a couple’s weekly shop or two smaller suitcases. It’s a deep space that should prove useful, even if the load lip is high and there’s a step at the back of the boot. There’s no scuff plate on the boot opening, which means it’s easy to scratch the paint when loading items.

Two motors are available in the Zoe, with 110hp or 135hp. The latter was optional on Iconic trim and standard on GT Line, and it’s the one we’d go for – not least because 80% of the cars for sale online at the time of writing had the more powerful motor.

The R135 motor is two seconds quicker from 0-60mph (9.5 seconds vs 11.4 for the R110), but it’s also two seconds quicker from 50-75mph as well, making it a better motorway cruiser and all-rounder.

All post-2019 Zoes get a 52kWh battery, which is good for up to 239 miles. You should get close to 200 miles per charge in mixed driving. For the UK’s average daily commute, that would mean charging once a week, which is no hassle at all with a home charger fitted. A 7kW wallbox charges the battery from 0-100% in nine-and-a-half hours – but when are you ever going to be charging it from 0%?

The Zoe excels at calm, peaceful, economical driving. Don’t try to drive it like a hooligan – all you’ll get is some body lean and both torque steer and tyre squeal from the eco-focused Michelin Primacy 4 rubber.

But the electric motor gives it cat-like responses away from a set of traffic lights, and it always feels quick in urban areas. Light steering makes it easy to slip into a tight parking space, and the automatic gearbox means you’ll never feel the embarrassment of fluffing up a gearchange when there’s a queue of traffic behind you.

At higher speeds there’s a bit of vibration and some ambient traffic noise – which is highlighted because the car is so quiet. It’s hardly intrusive and could probably be drowned out by your favourite power ballads.