Renault Zoe van revealed as practical small EV with 395-km range

4 years, 5 months ago - 20 July 2020, autocar

Light modifications to the Zoe road car include a flat floor for easy loading; exterior looks largely unchanged

The Renault Zoe Van will join the firm's fleet of electric commercial vehicles later this year.

Created by applying modest modifications to the Zoe road car – most notably opaque rear windows and the removal of the rear seats to form a flat load area – the Zoe Van will be powered by the same 52kWh battery pack and 107bhp R110 electric motor. Its range is rated at 245 miles per charge under the WLTP test cycle, allowing for a 50% payload and 75kg driver.

Peak charging via a 50kW DC outlet allows drivers to charge from zero to 80% in 70 minutes and a 30-minute charge is enough for a 90-mile range boost. A 22kW charger can fill the battery from empty in three hours.

Load volume is rated at one cubic metre. The load bay is 1205mm long and maximum load width is 1110mm. Maximum payload is rated at up to 387kg.

The Zoe Van is available in two trims: Business and Business+. Buyers of either can opt for rapid charging capability.

Standard equipment includes a 10.0in TFT instrument cluster, 7.0in infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, manual air conditioning, electric front windows, electrically adjustable heated door mirrors, automatic headlights and wipers, full-LED headlights, 15in steel wheels and a USB socket.

Business+ adds more kit, including a sat-nav, wireless smartphone charging, rear parking sensors, rear parking camera, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning, automatic climate control, electrically adjustable heated door mirrors and 16in alloy wheels.

Underlining the Zoe Van's urban capabilities, 0-62mph takes 11.4sec, and 0-31mph 3.9sec.

As with the road car, the Zoe Van gets a five-year, 100,000-mile warranty, while its battery has an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty. Servicing is every year or 18,000 miles.

Prices without VAT but with the plug-in van grant start at £19,380 and rise to £20,995, highlighting the business savings over the Zoe road car, which starts from £28,795 with VAT and prior to the application of the electric vehicle grant.