Renault Zoe, one year on.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Deleted User wrote: »

Yes the polarised sunglasses are terrific.

You'll like the experience particularly the extra punch of the Leaf.

The yanks compare the Leaf to a V6 taking off.

Oft misquoted statement. To an american a v6 is an economy engine.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

Oft misquoted statement. To an american a v6 is an economy engine.

No it wasn't misquoted because in all the references to where this is mentioned the words used are something like this "acceleration is quiet satisfying, like a V6 " or "good acceleration like a V6"

The words were (not) like this " acceleration is slow like a V6" or "disappointing acceleration like a V6 Economy engine"

At the end of the day a V6 is a V6 and acceleration will be good no doubt.

quiet a lot of new U.S cars today are 4 cylinders and under 3.0L.

Even the Zoe with it's 90 Hp has a good surge of power up about 60 kph of course but for a city car it feels light years ahead of anything a car like that from Renault would have under the bonnet or most small cars, it's not that bad on the open road either. Over taking a cyclist on a bad road was really great, the little Zoe felt a lot faster that you'd think. Over taking a car at 80 Kph, Could be another matter. I didn't get that chance.

I think most people that would buy a diesel today would be more than happy with the extra shove of the leccy motor.

Though I keep saying Diesels and CVT are far superior to manual diesels or even DSG diesels a cvt eliminates that annoying narrow torque band in a diesel.

Probably the biggest difference to the CVT diesel V electric is immediate throttle response making it amazing fun in traffic and roundabouts, you can get out quicker than you normally could, just tap that throttle and you're off.

The BMW I3 of course would take off like a rocket, If the Leaf feels fast taking off I can only imagine what the much lighter I3 feels like with an extra 60 hp !

Considering the I3 costs about the same as the E-Golf, I'd nearly go with the I3, you do have to pay extra for the heat pump and CCS QC socket. Shame !

The I3 has about the same performance as the GTD 170 Hp TDI GOlf. Though the 0-40 mph would probably be a lot faster in the I3.

reboot

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

Oft misquoted statement. To an american a v6 is an economy engine.

Thought I had posted this? may be finger trouble.
I got a shock on the motorway recently, when I tried to overtake,still in ECO mode. About 60 mph is the limit,but once I realised and hit the button Zoe engaged Warp mode!

Dexter1979

reboot wrote: »

Thought I had posted this? may be finger trouble.
I got a shock on the motorway recently, when I tried to overtake,still in ECO mode. About 60 mph is the limit,but once I realised and hit the button Zoe engaged Warp mode!

Salesman in Kearys in Cork found this out. He drove the car back from Mahon Point so I could do my test drive and said he could get beyond 96km/h. I knew he had eco mode on.

Zoe is a great car. Hope to own one ASAP.

reboot

Dexter1979 wrote: »

Salesman in Kearys in Cork found this out. He drove the car back from Mahon Point so I could do my test drive and said he could get beyond 96km/h. I knew he had eco mode on.

Zoe is a great car. Hope to own one ASAP.

Worth checking out charging issues re Zoe and some EBG SC CPs. Good luck.

Dexter1979

reboot wrote: »

Worth checking out charging issues re Zoe and some EBG SC CPs. Good luck.

Do elaborate..

reboot

Dexter1979 wrote: »

Do elaborate..

myrenaultzoe.com (charging issues forum).I was stopped from forwarding ,for some reason.
I spoke last week with Renault UK at length about this serious issue.
Its known as the BCI (Battery charging impossible) problem.
NIE,Carra,Ecar NI are all aware of this issue.Practically what may happen in the Zoe at some CPs,(I find EBG SC points here in S.Down) , is that the car will not take a charge and the warning will appear on the dash.I believe the software in the car does not like this and Cruise control may be disabled,and now the car may go on to refuse a charge from any charge point until it is rebooted.
Some charge points have displayed this fault? condition from the day they where installed, the manufacturer pointing out that other EVs can take a charge, from that faulty? CP. and its a Renault problem.

Dexter1979

Yeah I read about that. Think somebody online mentioned on the same forums (I think for the 43kW points) that if you connect the car to the charge point you should wait for about 5 seconds before pressing "go". This apparently allows the charger to establish what level of charge to expect or something like that.

I am not even sure you have a "go" button on the chargers you mentioned. I guess I won't know until I have one.

reboot

Dexter1979 wrote: »

Yeah I read about that. Think somebody online mentioned on the same forums (I think for the 43kW points) that if you connect the car to the charge point you should wait for about 5 seconds before pressing "go". This apparently allows the charger to establish what level of charge to expect or something like that.

I am not even sure you have a "go" button on the chargers you mentioned. I guess I won't know until I have one.

No go button on Standard CPs 22kw.I have no need of the rapid CP DC 120 Amp,Leaf Stuff.

Dexter1979

You really don't like the Leaf or different EV's other than the Zoe, do you? The Leaf is outselling the Zoe by a long margin. The DC Rapid charger is not going to go away any time soon.

Indeed fast charging is the future, as cars can charge at 100Kw + it's simply not posswible to have a charger this powerful on board.

If it's true that the ESB can't install more than one QC in a location due to a limited supply then we're going to have serious issues in the years to come.

Having said that, there is no reason ev's can't have a 20 Kw on board charger to avail of the plentyful a/c charge points.

Charging at 20 Kw makes a huge difference to 3.5 or 6.6 Kw.

reboot

Dexter1979 wrote: »

You really don't like the Leaf or different EV's other than the Zoe, do you? The Leaf is outselling the Zoe by a long margin. The DC Rapid charger is not going to go away any time soon.

To be honest I don't know enough about it,but I thought the Zoe is overpriced enough for the normal driver thinking of taking the risk,a £20k risk.
The Leaf to my eye looks bulky,heavy,with the charge issue.
Its been out a relatively long time,and the model T ford sold a lot.
If we are not careful we may upset the Leaf owners ,who must be praised for also being pioneers and taking the plunge. Its hard to sway people with confirmation bias,and frankly I wouldn't even try. Because the Zoe has not really been available yet in the South, some people have been very anti Renaults reputation. But the Nissan/Renault Alliance have put £4 billion into ev.
I just hope the whole experiment in this country doesn't fail, while the bickering goes on among some folk.

reboot

Dexter1979 wrote: »

The AC fast chargers you are referring to are the 43kW, 3 phase ones I presume?

The good thing about the Zoe charger is that a lot (going to say most) slow charge points in Ireland are 22kW, three phase ones. These will charge a Zoe to 80% in about an hour. A Leaf with 6.6kW charger will still take 4 hours to reach the same. This makes the Zoe hugely practical. That charger is far superior than anything currently on an EV bar the Tesla.

The example the OP used would apply to me. Go to Tesco here in Mallow, plug in, do shopping and the car will be near enough fully charged when I come back. And you'll be able to do this and nearly any charging point in the country! Not just the about 50 fast charge points the Leaf can use.

The battery rental would potentially deter me but, as you calculated in a different thread, it does make sense for some drivers. If, like the OP, I could lease the whole car then it is a contender. I may just do that whenever it comes out. I think Renault have good 3 year plans. Drive it for 3 years and hand it back or trade up to the next generation. Have a feeling the next gen Zoe will have a huge range.

Thank you, Reboot, for sharing the experience. I'm looking forward to a test drive whenever we are going to see it here in the republic.

Welcome, there is a recent test drive posted by Jan at irishevowners.com, mostly Leaf people,don't say I sent you!

reboot

reboot wrote: »

To be honest I don't know enough about it,but I thought the Zoe is overpriced enough for the normal driver thinking of taking the risk,a £20k risk.
The Leaf to my eye looks bulky,heavy,with the charge issue.
Its been out a relatively long time,and the model T ford sold a lot.
If we are not careful we may upset the Leaf owners ,who must be praised for also being pioneers and taking the plunge. Its hard to sway people with confirmation bias,and frankly I wouldn't even try. Because the Zoe has not really been available yet in the South, some people have been very anti Renaults reputation. But the Nissan/Renault Alliance have put £4 billion into ev.
I just hope the whole experiment in this country doesn't fail, while the bickering goes on among some folk.

I don't think Zoe is over priced considering the equipment offered, the E-GOlf costs 33,500 Euro's for what is essentially an ice conversion with no range improvements over Zoe or the Leaf.

The Zoe includes the Heat Pump, too which is an extra on the E-Golf and I3 and above all the inclusion of an on board 1.8-44 Kw a/c charger is to me the icing on the cake !

It would take about 9 years of battery leasing on the most expensive option to make zoe as expensive as the E-Golf and probably 10 or slightly more for the I3.

I think it's a brilliant achievement for Renault !

Dexter1979

reboot wrote: »

Welcome, there is a recent test drive posted by Jan at irishevowners.com, mostly Leaf people,don't say I sent you!

Yeah, that would be me

Dexter is a nickname that stuck amongst my friends. I had a feeling you were Reboot. Same way of typing. Your comments about the Zoe and the charge points have been helpful in making up my mind.

Glad you likes the video. Yes, you are right about the majority of the Irish EV Owners being Leaf owners because it's been on sale the longest. It's the best selling EV by a big margin.

The test drives helped me made up my mind. As soon as finances allow I will be replacing my Prius with a Zoe. Going to ditch the ICE for good. I don't have any experience with Renault and since the Zoe is a new car build from the ground up I am going to not listen to the reputation warnings. Skoda and Seat had the same reputation and they are doing fine.

I plan on putting up more videos when I make my order, get the car, get used to the car, etc. Just as information for potential buyers and as a bit of fun for me.

A Leaf would have done me just fine but all I seem to see online is complaints about the Chademo chargers being offline. I am hoping the normal charge points are a bit more sturdy. There are most certainly a lot more of them around.

My longest regular trip is a 250km round trip to my in-laws in Kerry. I have 1 Chademo (in a currently very badly accessible point in Tralee) on route with another 2 about 25 - 50 km off route. But I would have about 10 standard points along the route (each with 2 places). If they are all 22kW (and I think most are) then that would be a better way for me to charge up.

But if people are happy with their Leaf that is great. I would like to have been able to import one as they are cheaper in the UK but the battery lease is preventing this. Bit strange and I am not entirely happy with that. I must see if there is something I can do about it. The Zoe is the only car I know of that can't be imported.

reboot

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't think Zoe is over priced considering the equipment offered, the E-GOlf costs 33,500 Euro's for what is essentially an ice conversion with no range improvements over Zoe or the Leaf.

The Zoe includes the Heat Pump, too which is an extra on the E-Golf and I3 and above all the inclusion of an on board 1.8-44 Kw a/c charger is to me the icing on the cake !

It would take about 9 years of battery leasing on the most expensive option to make zoe as expensive as the E-Golf and probably 10 or slightly more for the I3.

I think it's a brilliant achievement for Renault !

I agree it's a brilliant achievement, we sometimes lose site of the fact that there has never been a machine like this and there is far too much sniping around the whole ICE/EV debate, which I find tiresome and am amazed at how much space is given to it. Mind you you will find an amount of sniping between Leaf verses anything else, just human nature I guess, and deserving of individual forums, or threads. Just a pity the irishevowners.com on facebook appears to be hard to navigate from my point of view and sometimes rambling, nothing we could ever be accused of!

reboot

Dexter1979 wrote: »

The AC fast chargers you are referring to are the 43kW, 3 phase ones I presume?

The good thing about the Zoe charger is that a lot (going to say most) slow charge points in Ireland are 22kW, three phase ones. These will charge a Zoe to 80% in about an hour. A Leaf with 6.6kW charger will still take 4 hours to reach the same. This makes the Zoe hugely practical. That charger is far superior than anything currently on an EV bar the Tesla.

The example the OP used would apply to me. Go to Tesco here in Mallow, plug in, do shopping and the car will be near enough fully charged when I come back. And you'll be able to do this and nearly any charging point in the country! Not just the about 50 fast charge points the Leaf can use.

The battery rental would potentially deter me but, as you calculated in a different thread, it does make sense for some drivers. If, like the OP, I could lease the whole car then it is a contender. I may just do that whenever it comes out. I think Renault have good 3 year plans. Drive it for 3 years and hand it back or trade up to the next generation. Have a feeling the next gen Zoe will have a huge range.

Thank you, Reboot, for sharing the experience. I'm looking forward to a test drive whenever we are going to see it here in the republic.

Just used the new Triple Combo charge points in the North, up to 165 Amps!

reboot

reboot wrote: »

Just used the new Triple Combo charge points in the North, up to 165 Amps!

Watts man Watts !!!

Amps mean nothing, I presume that was a full 44 kw ?

reboot

Deleted User wrote: »

Watts man Watts !!!

Amps mean nothing, I presume that was a full 44 kw ?

Amps are written on the CP! in each of the three o/ps.

reboot

reboot wrote: »

Amps are written on the CP! in each of the three o/ps.

From the left, 43kw, 400 v, 63 A

Chademo 50kw 120 A

CCS 50kw 165 A

reboot

reboot wrote: »

From the left, 43kw, 400 v, 63 A

Chademo 50kw 120 A

CCS 50kw 165 A

I know how to do the conversion, but first you need the voltage that's why I said amps don't mean a lot.

How is CCS mopre amps ? the voltage muct be lower ?

reboot

Deleted User wrote: »

I know how to do the conversion, but first you need the voltage that's why I said amps don't mean a lot.

How is CCS mopre amps ? the voltage muct be lower ?

I know and I know you know, I'm just telling you what is printed on the actual CP.

reboot

reboot wrote: »

I know and I know you know, I'm just telling you what is printed on the actual CP.

OK fair enough.

Satriale

Dexter1979 wrote: »

I have 1 Chademo (in a currently very badly accessible point in Tralee) on route with another 2 about 25 - 50 km off route. .

For anyone that uses this one, i notice that Randalls have thrown a Nissan sign out on space behind this charger to stop people blocking it up.

Dexter1979

Satriale wrote: »

For anyone that uses this one, i notice that Randalls have thrown a Nissan sign out on space behind this charger to stop people blocking it up.

It is still on a site that is currently empty and I think it should be moved to their new premises.

Problem is that it's the only Chademo in Tralee. ESB should really try and put a triple standard charger at a good 24/7 location in Tralee (personally thinking the Topaz next to McDonalds). Tralee and surrounding area are fairly bad for any EV at the moment. Unless you can make use of 22kW charging. There are no CCS, 42kW type 2 or other non-nissan chademo chargers in the Tralee area. Closest are Newcastlewest (triple standard) and Killarney (Chademo & 43kw Type 2).

Imagine the New fast charger in Carlow has no CCS !

reboot

Dexter1979 wrote: »

It is still on a site that is currently empty and I think it should be moved to their new premises.

Problem is that it's the only Chademo in Tralee. ESB should really try and put a triple standard charger at a good 24/7 location in Tralee (personally thinking the Topaz next to McDonalds). Tralee and surrounding area are fairly bad for any EV at the moment. Unless you can make use of 22kW charging. There are no CCS, 42kW type 2 or other non-nissan chademo chargers in the Tralee area. Closest are Newcastlewest (triple standard) and Killarney (Chademo & 43kw Type 2).

Are you the Dexter on boards that thinks no Zoes have been sold in Ireland?

Dexter1979

reboot wrote: »

Are you the Dexter on boards that thinks no Zoes have been sold in Ireland?

I know of 1 Zoe that has been sold. To me. The quote you used in your last post is one of the main reasons I bought one. I have lots of 22kW points in North Kerry. Just 2 chademo. Zoe is much more versatile. Will be making episode 2 of my electric journey soon.

I know of one person that is thinking about getting one.

Dexter1979

Dexter1979 wrote: »

I know of 1 Zoe that has been sold. To me

You got it already ?

Lutecia

As per SIMI, 5 Zoe have been registered so far in Ireland : 1 in May, 3 in July, 1 in August.