Plug 7-pin Mennekes into any Type 2 will charge from 3kW to 22kW
http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/blog/index.php/2013/09/20/renaults-revolutionary-on-board-charger-makes-zoes-failings-forgivable/ Renault’s revolutionary on-board charger makes Zoe’s failings forgivable By Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield September 20, 2013 [images http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/cms-images/ZOE_Renault_46420.jpg At £13,995, the Renault Zoe certainly enters the market at a favourable price point http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/cms-images/Zoe_Renault_30852.jpg The interior feels nice enough for a car of its class http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/cms-images/DSC_0088.jpg At speed and on tight country lanes, the Zoe was generally well poised, with good throttle response http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/cms-images/IMG_0376.jpg The Zoe's boot is unbelievably large http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/cms-images/DSC_0083.jpg From 2014, Renault will offer a second, optional 13-amp charger alongside the larger Chameleon charger for ultimate charging compatibility ] Available from £13,995 after Government grants with a headlining battery rental of £70 per month, the Renault Zoe certainly enters the market at a favourable price point. But while Renault’s long-anticipated electric hatch isn’t the most comfortable or well-finished electric car on the market, its on-board charger and affordable price make it a must-try for anyone on the lookout for a small family hatchback. Picture the scene: it’s 4pm on a Tuesday afternoon, and I’ve just arrived back home with both kids after doing some after-school errands. In less than an hour, I need to jump back in the car and head to Cardiff, some 40 miles away, to make a 6pm appointment. And in order to get back again, I’ll need a full charge. In my regular car, a 2011 Nissan LEAF, arriving home with anything less than 90 percent charge at that time would have been suicide. Yet here I was, in a Renault Zoe, looking at a fuel gauge which told me I was a shade under 80 percent full. Plugging into the 7 kilowatt charging station on the side of my house, my Zoe test car confidently said it would take 40 minutes to reach full charge. No PhD necessary That’s the beauty of the Zoe. Plug it into any Type 2 charging station (that’s the one with the 7-pin Mennekes connector) and the Zoe will charge at whatever maximum rate is offered by the charging station, from single-phase 3 kilowatts all the way to three-phase 22 kilowatts. Moreover, there’s only one charge cable, and you get it with the car. You just plug it in, and the car tells you how long it will take to charge. No PhD needed. Charging from empty to full at 3 kilowatts takes around 8 hours. Charging at 22 kilowatts takes just 1 hour, while the Zoe can make use of large external AC rapid charge stations to charge from empty to full in around 30 minutes. Inside, the interior feels nice enough for a car of its class, but there’s a disparity between the boy racer-style front seats, the oh-so-cheap plastic trim, and the joyous TFT dashboard and touch-screen centre console. The former is comfortable enough for most trips, with a lack of all but basic seat adjustment being made up for by a fully adjustable steering wheel. The interior is functional if a little impractical: the cup-holders struggled to hold anything except a coke can. The dashboard and centre console ooze high-tech appeal, and give access to the usual entertainment and settings screens, including TomTom navigation, charge timer, and climate control settings. While the satellite navigation suffered a little at the hands of the underpowered infotainment system’s processor, the rest of the system was responsive and easy to use. It’s worth noting too that there’s a nod to the kind of young, socially-active buyers Renault wants to drive Zoe: with the right setup, you can access your email and your twitter stream, as well as watch a DVD while your car charges. One disappointing fact however, was the charge timer: although you can set an incredibly versatile charging and pre-conditioning schedule, there’s no way to easily disable or override the charge timer when you arrive at a charging station as there is on the Nissan LEAF or Chevrolet Volt. Instead, you’ll be digging in the menus to turn off the timer before you plugin, or risk not charging. On to driving. At speed and on tight country lanes, the Zoe was generally well poised, with good throttle response. With cruise as standard, it kept up with everyone on the Motorway, although engaging eco mode, which limits top speed to 60 mph, caught me out the first time I used it. Renault hasn’t published a 0-60mph time yet, although performance seems to be on par with a 1-litre car. Top speed is electronically limited to 86mph. Better in real world range Which bring me onto range. Despite having the same sized battery pack as the Nissan LEAF, the Renault Zoe seemed slightly better in real-world range. Unlike other cars, which use resistive heaters to heat up water or air to cool the cabin, the Zoe essentially uses the same kind of heat pump found in your fridge, except in reverse. The result is an incredibly efficient heater which uses very little electricity but keeps the cabin toasty warm without dramatically harming range. My 80-mile round trip to Cardiff was made at motorway speeds with 18 miles estimated range remaining. Finally, there’s the boot. While the Zoe isn’t exactly big, its boot is unbelievably large, giving it the best cargo space of any car in its class. Well proportioned too and roughly rectangular in shape, making it extremely versatile, I was able to fill it with an impressively large list of items from my local Costco. The Renault Zoe’s large boot and versatile charging makes up for its mediocre plastic interior and performance, but at present it can only charge from a dedicated charging station, not a 13-amp plug. This will be fixed next year when Renault will offer a second, optional 13-amp charger alongside the larger Chameleon charger for ultimate charging compatibility. 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