Ah Zoe. How I wanted to love thee.
The French. Great makers of cheese, wine and fashion. And sometimes cars.
I really wanted to like the Zoe. I love how Renault now has some brand catchet in NZ and more showrooms popping up with their funky cars.
But..I was turned off when I saw it getting charged from the front. Like some kind of weird mini elephant/vaccuum cleaner hybrid.
The Power.
Renault rolls with a Elite models gain BSA(Blind Spot assist) and CTAS (Cross traffic alert).
Size
The Zoe is a good sized small hatchback. Ease of access made it great to get in and out of, and headroom was nice.
Styling…well its french. Not overly fussy though, and the touch panel wasnt too fussy or over the top.
The Drive.
Compared to some other electric cars, the Zoe was a little..well..uninspired. But still
The mid sized car means driving is effortless, I never had to fight the car, even on twisty back roads.
With smart cruise and lane keep assist, it really felt like driving the future. And that brings me to the flappy paddles. OOO baby. You have to love the ability to choose the regeneration easily on the fly. Almost like using engine braking. On level 3 around town it can feel quite harsh, but on the hills its wonderful! I found myself fiddling a bit with around town to get the best feel, but 1 or 2 was about the right mix of economy and comfort.
Range
Hyundai claims approximately 200km on charge. During the days I had it, I would say this is pretty much bang on. Real world driving of about 220k on a charge.
Charging.
The Hyundai Ioniq comes with a Type 2 plug. Included is the home trickle charge kit, with takes up to 16 hours for a full charge. Hyundai NZ is also offering 4/5 hour charging units available at point of sale.
Tech Specs.
- 88KW Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) with a Lithium-ion Polymer Battery Capacity 28 KWh (Approx. up to 225km* range)
- 3 Drive Modes – Normal, ECO and Sport
- 3 Year / 100,000km warranty (whichever comes first) and 10 Year / Unlimited km High Voltage Battery Pack warranty
- Approx. 4 – 5hrs charging time with Wall Charger or Approx. 16 – 18hrs charging time at home
- Latest technology including an 8” Touchscreen with Apple CarPlay™ and Android Auto™ and Wireless smartphone charger^
- Modern safety features including: Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS),
Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Smart Cruise Control (SCC) and Blind Spot Detection^^ (BSD) - 5 star Euro NCAP safety rating