Renault ZOE Z.E.40

Is the Zoe Z.E.40 a game changer? Yes, because even if the Zoe isn’t your cup of tea, Renault’s endeavours to bring electric range to the small EV category will likely spur others into action.

- Jonathan Musk

Even within the Renault kingdom, Nissan and Mitsubishi will likely offer similarly capable electric vehicles within a couple of years. Others are doubtless working on getting the very latest battery tech in their plug-in line-up too. Of course, in the case of the Zoe Z.E.40 this has largely been thanks to the efforts of LG Chem who supply competing brands with batteries. The new battery offers nearly double the energy in the same physical space as the original 22kWh battery and with only a 15-kilogram weight penalty. It’s impressive and a clear indication longer range EVs have already arrived. They’ve managed this seemingly impossible feat by altering the lithium-ion chemistry and reducing the space between each cell.

A flying visit to Lisbon to drive an electric car isn’t what we’d call a chore. A line of 30 Renault Zoe Z.E.40’s awaited us with any colour we might like, so long as it was grey. There are three new Zoe colours for 2017, ‘Mars Red’, ‘Titanium Grey’ and ‘Ytrium Grey’. Our car was the range-topping Signature Nav trim model that gets leather upholstery, heated front seats, a seven speaker BOSE® audio system, rear parking camera, 16inch ‘Grey Shadow’ alloy wheels and driver’s seat lumbar adjustment as standard.

Ahead of us lay a 170km three-and-a-half-hour drive along the Portuguese Atlantic coastline toward the north. Easy, in an electric car with an official NEDC range of 400km. However, the mountainous terrain would prove tricky, the fast setting sun meant night driving and the cool winter weather with sporadic heavy rain meant the heating, lighting and wipers were all on. This was to be a more thorough test of the Zoe than we had realised before setting off.