We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
IT’S AS PRACTICAL and useable as any supermini with a combustion engine, but the Renault ZOE R90 ZE 40 has zero tailpipe emissions, low running costs and plenty of other perks you’ll only get with an electric vehicle.
According to official NEDC figures, the ZOE R90 has a driving range of 403km, a massive 100km further than the Volkswagen eGolf, Hyundai Ioniq or Nissan Leaf.
Of course, the standardised NEDC is an absurd measurement, and Renault says the real world range is more likely to be between 199km in winter conditions and 299km in temperate conditions, which will be more than enough for more standard drivers. I managed 257km in the week I was test driving.
If you do want to travel a little further in a single journey, all you have to do is plot a route that goes via an EV charging point, which shouldn’t be hard to do given that there are 1,200 of them around the country. A public charger will get the battery from zero to 100 per cent in just 2 hours 40 mins.
When it comes to storage, the ZOE is decent: it has a 338-litre boot which swells to 1,225 litres with the rear seats folded, giving it more space than the Clio.
Rear passenger room is a little tight for taller occupants but space for those in the front seats is perfectly fine.
The interior design has a minimal feel and even though it does feel a bit plastic-y in places, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The ‘floating’ centre console is the same as the Renault Clio and the seven-inch colour touchscreen features sat nav and Renault’s R-Link infotainment system.
In fact, the only difference in the cabin from a regular car is the TFT instrument display which shows driving speed, how many kilometres you have travelled and how much range/charge is left in the battery.
When you back off the throttle or use the brake pedal, the battery recharges via a regenerative braking system, meaning the battery range fluctuates as you drive.
This system doesn’t feel as smooth or effective as it does in the BMW i3, but there’s still a real smugness to be had when you notice that you have more range than when you started your journey.
That range fluctuation is my favourite thing about driving EVs, if I’m being honest. It feels like you are in on a secret that drivers of ICE (internal combustion engine) cars just don’t know about. A little reward, if you will.
Around town, the ZOE feels comfortable, smooth and nippy, but out on the motorway it isn’t exactly a speed machine, and it drives a bit harshly on rough road surfaces. The steering is light and responsive, meaning the ZOE darts confidently into corners with plenty of stability.
Overall, the ride is refined with a pleasing whine from the motor breaking through the silence in the cabin – it makes it sound like you’re whizzing around in a car from The Jetsons.
Due to the positioning of the batteries, the ZOE has a high driving aspect, giving you a good view of the road. Combined with the light controls and lack of gears, it’s a very easy car to drive.
Now, let’s talk running costs. If we take the average mileage of 25,000km, that’s 480km a week. With roughly two full charges of the Zoe, it will cost €6 a week to run, or €312 a year.
Public charging points are currently free, although you do have to pay for any parking charges. For tax, you’re shelling out €120 a year. That makes the Zoe a very cheap car to run.
The starting price for the ZOE is €27,490 after VRT relief and the current SEAI grant, including full battery purchase.
Taking the battery range, running costs and price tag into consideration, the Renault ZOE Z.E 4.0 is really one of the most practical EVs that you can buy. Overall, it offers an attractive ownership proposition that other EVs can’t yet match.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
How many girls watched ‘The Little Mermaid’ and grew up wanting to be half fish half human.
I’m a merman.
My entire junior infants class wanted to be mermaids after that movie came out so that argument doesn’t really hold lol.
In fairness I’m actually currently undergoing surgery to make myself look more like a ninja turtle.
I don’t think any kind of beauty should exist any more. It just makes other people feel bad
You should drop in here more often stephen…
A consumer society cannot exist unless people feel miserable and that is from the man who constructed and invented the consumer society; Edward Bernays.
Yeah before this chap came along nobody desired material wealth
Ah, let it go, will ya.
Next they’ll say that Mickey Mouse is a poor role model for mice because he wears shorts.
Donald where’s your trousers?
Females (Young and old) are clever enough to figure out that a 2d kids character is not actually real, give us some credit!. Sick of this PC crap.
I must have been a stupid kid then. I wanted a waist like a Disney princess when I was younger.
But you knew they weren’t real at some point right?
But the Kim Kardashian ppl are making it really for young girls…forget Disney…Have you seen the Kylie lip challenge?
Real*
I knew they were drawings by they still had that feminine curviness that I really wanted. And when they all look like that you start to think that’s how girls should look. It’s weird though that people think this way of figures represented in the media rather than everyday people in real life.
Why is there never any concern for the ‘unrealistic ideals’ the likes of Action-Man or He-man set for young boys? I don’t believe in any of it to be honest, but it’s almost as if girls are expected to not be able to make that distinction between fantasy and reality, bit sexist in itself.
Nobody praises He-Man for his looks though O_o
Trust me, women do not find He-Man attractive. =P
Really? I thought the tiny pants and furry boots look was a good one!
Journal, too cheap to pay for a picture of Elsa?
They couldn’t take the risk in case any little girls are reading the article
Hilarious!
For goodness sake, what next??, of course dolls are pretty, they’re supposed to be, what little girl wants to play with an ugly doll??, dolls have been with us for centuries, every little girl remembers her favourite doll, not because it was pretty but because she got hours of enjoyment out of it, this is all that is wrong in our world, analysing and over analysing our children!, ever heard the term doll face??, , it frightens me all this gender neutral business, let little girls be little girls and little boys be little boys, the natural order of things, there would be a lot less wrong in our world if we could go back to basics and to a time where children were allowed to be children and plain speaking and a no nonsense attitude were the order of the day!
Hear hear kate.
Kate- very well said.
He is entirely correct. How many women do you know that can shoot ice or build an ice palace from nothing? Completely unattainable!
Disney and realism aren’t compatible. Take the real story about the extremely young native American Indian girl getting carted off by some fat old fella, that became something completely different in Pocahontas.
I’ve never seen Frozen, I know the song but not the movie. I feel like I’ve let everyone down.
Teddington , do you feel left out now ? You should watch it over the weekend . great movie !
Reality is often quite far from expectation. Teach them that and don’t fret so much.
I know several women that fit into the size zero category naturally.They’re sick and tired of articles telling them they’re unhealthy and unnatural.They eat well and exercise regularly.One was bullied throughout her school days and nicknamed the sardine can because of her of her physique developing an eating disorder where she’d periodically stuff her self with food to the point of being hospitalized for a near ruptured stomach.The point being that this unhealthy obsession with others appearance can cut both ways. Just teach kids to be healthy and happy and stop the bloody moaning if you yourself can’t be arsed to be the same.
If people really learned not to depend on unattainable looks for their self-esteem, the guy would be out of a job or removing warts and scars for a living.
I thought I was Steve Mcgarrott, when I wore a pair of checkered trousers, watch the original Hawaii five O, and you’ll see I’m not such a weirdo.
What’s even worse is the real life girls on Facebook who photo enhancing apps to make their eyes bigger, whiter in the whites than they really are, their wastes smaller, their lips bigger, their baps bigger…..the list goes on. Thousands of people are living lies every day. I think it starts with not telling your little girl she is a beautiful little princess every day or else she will grow up thinking her sole purpose is to be beautiful, make her see she has other qualities and while being pretty, while it can be nice or fun, is not a trait worth her entire self esteem.
Yup. Definitely want to minimise those ‘wastes’ alright!
Sorry Michael, yes, waists of course. Glad to see you got so much out of that, jog on.
She’s a cartoon, you morons – of course it’s unattainable.
The film is not a true story so why would it based on real looks Disney deal in fantasy not reality
More bollocks!
Headline should read: “Plastic Surgeon Keeps it Real”, with sub head, “#Isn’t it ironic”.
The only realistic looking Disney female I’ve ever seen was in Lilo and Stitch. Nani was a reasonable body shape. And she is the most beautiful female Disney has ever produced, in my opinion.
unless we start having Disney films all look like lilo and stitch, we won’t get realistic looking women. And having only one style of drawing in films will not be interesting at all. Do they want Disney to stick with animals, monsters and cars as their main stories so they are PC enough?
You’re kidding right? A cartoon is bad for little girls while the models and actresses aren’t? Her eyes are unrealistically too big, yes, but because she’s an ANIMATION! And little girls are smart enough to realise that as they also know that most girls don’t look like the emotions from Inside Out.
Whats the betting that if it were possible to alter the female appearance to mimic this cartoon character then the plastic surgeon wouldn’t have an issue with it.
I really don’t think anybody who’s job it is to carry out a lot of unnecessary cosmetic surgery is really in a position to say what or who can be considered a good role model.
Dying to see how Tom Burke swings this one to be about abortion.
I had a thing for Wilma Flintstone, when I was a young fella.
He’s quite right. I for one am disappointed plastic surfpgery can’t make me absorbent, yellow and porous, or allow me to live in a pineapple under the sea. Cartoons LIE!!!
Another RTE transcript…
I can see where he was coming from… I saw The Incredibles when I was younger, very pissed that I wasn’t going to attain superpowers
……………”that’s nice” ………
Irish plastic surgeon says Frozen’s Elsa is not a good role model for little girls…
Tron might be better then lol.
have your say