ZOE ZE50 impressions & comparisons

ZOE ZE50 Initial Impressions & Comparisons
I have been driving the new Zoe ZE50 for about a week and coming from the ZE40 R110 and previously the Q210 22 kW, I thought I might share my observations and comparisons.

https://youtu.be/DCK5UgotO6g to see the car.

The model I am driving is the ZE50 R135 Quick Charge with winter pack and full leather pack so it’s the range topper.
The most obvious update is that you now have 52 kWh available compared to the previous 41 kWh.

First, the outside, there is quite an upgrade in most areas from the previous models. There are LED headlights, fog lights and rear cluster lights. The headlights on the previous Zoe’s were terrible. They used a strange arrangement of a single H7 bulb always running and a motorised beam deflector. The new LED headlights are a huge improvement. Fog lights are not a feature that I really care about but they are there. There were not any on the previous models.

There are all around parking sensors front rear and side and a reversing camera. The model also has Blind spot monitoring with LED’s that light up in both mirrors. Mirrors automatically open and close and the car unlocks when you walk up to it. You no longer have to press the button on the door handle.
The first thing you notice is the power difference. Use the accelerator in enthusiasm or anger with the steering other than straight and you feel the front wheels scrambling for grip. The R110 was a big improvement over the original Q210 but this is noticeably in a different class on acceleration. There is an impression of the car being higher than the previous one. I first noticed it when standing next to the LHD one in the showroom. Maybe it’s an illusion but the impression continues inside. You always sat quite high up but maybe the seats had sunk slightly in the ZE40. The manual handbrake is replaced by an automatic one. The regeneration now gets a “B” mode which is quite aggressive but the standard mode is much less than the R110, it’s very close to coasting which is probably more efficient and of course you can use the brake pedal to increase the level of regeneration just like the previous model.

ECO mode on the previous models limited the speed to 96 kph but also limited the power that the motor could take from the traction battery to around 22 kW so effectively giving you a sort of variable topographic dependant cruise control. The car would slow down going up hills on cruise control. ECO is very different on the new model, the instant consumption screen shows it taking up to 43 kW on acceleration and it seems to just dull the throttle response and tame the aircon a bit. The heater also works in ECO mode which it really didn’t previously. The reach ability map now shows your predicated range in both standard and eco mode and the speed limit in eco mode is a more useful 100 kph. There is little point talking about range in an electric car because we all know if you drive at a constant 120kph, you will use lots of energy. As an example, the reach ability map shows Waterford to Lisburn in eco mode and over the border in standard mode. The GOM indicates 380 km when 100% charged.

The new Easylink 9.3” screen and system is a considerable upgrade on the RLink. It responds very quickly and is intuitive so there is minimal need to consult the thick supplied manual. Of interest to electric car owners is that the screen shows you the four nearest charge points. It doesn’t know the occupancy status. There is much made of the customisation options of the dashboard display and I do not see the point initially of been able to have the radio station display or the satnav to the left of the KPH screen. Unlike the ZE40, there is no SD card, everything works over the air. A conversation with Renault customer services when looking for the authorisation code for the ZE services results in the information that the My Renault app is not rolled out to Ireland so you can’t see the charging state of the car remotely. The ZE online of the previous model does not work and there is no authorisation code needed for the new Easy link system. There is full Europe mapping and free updates on the Ireland and UK maps. The rear view mirror dims automatically. A new upgrade is the presence of two USB’s in the rear for back seat passengers and two in the front in addition to the 12V outlet.

The ZE50 also has a number of levels of driver assistance, mostly notably Lane keeping assist. I tried it on the M9 coming from the N80 junction to Waterford at 120 kph (essential journey collecting the car from Portlaoise) and it does work, you can feel the input of the system and it will react quite strongly to you overtaking someone and neglecting to indicate your return to left lane. The handbook shows automatic emergency braking but it’s definitely not in the driver assistance menu.

Charging: The ZE50 maintains all previous Zoe’s party trick of charging from the SCP’s at up to 22 kW. I charged from 25% to 100% in around 2 hours and the charger delivered 41.5 kWh. It has a new design of the AC charging port flap which opens itself when you press the release button so removing a known failure point. I haven’t tried the CCS charging. With 22 kW charging, you could do without it but obviously handy to have on a longer journey.

If I have missed anything, please ask me a question.