The ZOE is hard to fault here, given that it has one of the best ranges in its class, although standard rapid charging would be welcome

The Renault ZOE’s official range of 245 miles (239 for the R135) is seriously impressive, and betters all of its rivals, including the Peugeot e-208, Vauxhall Corsa-e and even the larger and more expensive Nissan Leaf.

Renault also states real-world ranges of 233 miles in summer and 149 miles in winter, which seems feasible to us. It’s a shame that you have to pay £750 extra for CCS rapid charging, and that it’s only offered on the R135 model, but the fact that it’s there at all is a great bonus.

Renault ZOE range

The ZOE’s official ranges of 245 miles for the R110 model and 239 miles for the R135 are seriously impressive – especially as that translates to efficiency of some 4.7 miles per kWh – one of the best figures we’ve seen from an electric car. Renault’s stated real-world ranges of 233 miles in summer and 149 in winter also seem achievable.

Charge time

As standard, the ZOE comes with a Type 2 socket and cable that’ll allow you to plug into the majority of public chargers found in town centres, supermarkets and shopping centres. The fastest charge you’ll get is 22kW (the maximum speed is dictated by the car, not the charger, so if you plug into a 50kW rapid charger, you’ll still only charge at 22kW in the ZOE), which works out at 40 miles of range added in 30 minutes.

At home, a 7.4kW wallbox will complete a full top-up in under nine hours. The good news is that Renault will install yours for free, provided you’ve got the necessary off-road parking and electrical supply. The ZOE also comes with a three-pin cable for plugging into a standard socket at home, which will charge the car up at a rate of 2.3kW. It’ll take some 24 hours to get to 100% at that rate, but it’s still a useful backup if it’s your only option when visiting family or staying away.

Add CCS rapid charging for £750 and the socket in the ZOE’s nose gets two extra pins. This allows you to plug into public rapid chargers of the type commonly found on motorways, boosting the maximum charging speed to nearly 50kW, which will get the battery from near-empty to 80% capacity in just under an hour.