The Renault-Nissan Alliance is dead serious about the electric revolution, and with the Nissan Leaf already creating waves, the Paris Motor Show saw Renault opening order books for the Kangoo Express Z.E. and the Fluence Z.E. electric cars. They will go on sale in mid-2011, and the Z.E. range will later expand to include the scooter-like Twizy and this cute Zoe.
The Zoe Preview is an accurate preview of the car that will debut in mid 2012. How true? Renault says that what you see here is 90% identical to the car that will roll out from Flins, France. This Zoe is also significant because it showcases Renault’s new brand identity for the first time, including the front look, so get used to it.
The Zoe is a Clio sized supermini that’s electric powered but has “everything expected of a B-segment car” including a roomy interior, spacious boot, manoeuvrable handling in the city and reassuring road holding for longer drives.
A lithium-ion battery powers the 80 hp/222 Nm electric motor with a combined range of 160 km. 0-100 km/h is done in 8.1 seconds on to a top speed of 135 km/h. Charging from your regular socket takes between 6 and 8 hours via a “Wall-Box” that comes with the car. For emergency situations, a public fast charge point will give 60 km range in less than 10 minutes or 80% battery capacity in 30 minutes.
The showcar also has some creative highlights. Billed as a “Spa Car”, the Zoe also has anti-dehydrating air con (good for skin), a toxicity sensor for cabin air, a stimulating or relaxing scent diffuser (created in conjunction with Biotherm, L’Oréal) and light therapy courtesy of Philips. Cute, just like the car.
Live gallery from Paris after the jump. For studio pics, click here.
Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.
Oh my…i thought i saw a Proton..(front)
estima la dude…
slap on an internal combustion engine in the hood and
wallah
you got yourself the world’s cutest car
which will sell a lot
Front end does look akin to the satria neo.
Yepp, agree with you.
It look like offspring of Satria Neo and allien!
sexy….nice shot Danny!
great looking car!!!
The front reminds me our long time ago Lotus SUV concept… However, this car’s front does looks better than the Nissan Toadpod.
bro…diff segment la…diff function diff market diff design….==’
should I say lambo’s sesto elemento looks better than this?
A car with plant inside? How green, hahaha..
Front face looks evil smile
The market for electric and hybrid is definately hotting up
with more manufacturers coming into the picture.
Makes the EMAS irrelevent now or even old fashioned after all the hype.
hehe anyone think that it looks like fatter version of the Volkswagen Golf?look at the VW Golf banner on top of the page…I mean the front look…
clean and cute, and can be rather “nasty and fierce” (you know what i mean) too, if necessary. I can say Renault definitely got this new design language right this time. No more big butt……
Such a cool car.. Wonder price if come to Malaysia
Much better than Myvi.
the side profile somehow remind me of hyundai tucson…….the car looks weird without any door handle. i might sound stupid, but hey Danny, mind telling us how to open the door? invisible touch pad???