My ZOE contract was until December 2021. When I signed the agreement, I knew that the ZOE would be a very different car after a Mercedes station wagon. That’s why I called it a “human experiment”. Some people call me a petrolhead. My assumption was that putting a petrolhead Mercedes guy behind the steering wheel of a compact all-electric Renault would give many interesting stories to tell. I think I was wrong.

Over the last 12 months, the Little French Lady has surprised me. She hasn’t given much to report. In everyday life, she has been an easy partner. From storytelling point of view that's a pity, but in reality I guess it is a good thing, isn’t it? The human experiment has also shown that I am probably more “compatible” with the ZOE than what I would have expected. So, the sad thing in this experient is that it did not give too many entertaining stories or exciting events that I could report here.

I guess it is not any surprise that the 2020 Renault ZOE did its job well. When I started this long-term test in December 2020, the car was not a new model on the market. Renault delivered the first ZOEs already in December 2012. That is 8 years before I received my Renault ZOE Z.E. 50 R110 Zen. I guess these eight years have created a mature product that does the job it is designed to for. The 2020 ZOE is a normal car that anyone can drive without practice. The car just happens to be battery-powered.

• Bad trunk design.
• Lack of lumbar support.
• Pre-heating works only randomly.

The pre-heating/ cooling problems wasn't a major issue in the summer. The summer of 2021 was beautiful, but a beautiful Finnish summer doesn't mean South European heat. So, the randomly working pre-cooling was just a funny feature, not a major problem. But the Finnish winter can be extreme. In winter, pre-heating problems will make me cry. This year, the winter started early, and the ZOE had frozen glasses again. I recognized that Renault had not solved the pre-heating problems. It would be great to have a working pre-heating, so that the windshield would be frost-free when I return to the car.

It was great to notice that there are people in the Renault network, who want to make happy customers. The ZOE was at a scheduled annual service at Käyttöauto Tampere. The service appointment went smoothly. When they handed the key, they asked if there is anything else they can do. I used this opportunity to inform them about the pre-heating problems. I said that I have reported about the problem already to Renault, but no solution. It was a freezing day. It great to see that they understood my frustration and scheduled a new appointment to investigate the issue thoroughly. I hoped that the Renault Customer Service would have done this already 11 months ago.

Unfortunately, I think Groupe Renault has moved it focus away from the ZOE, and is not investing in the product anymore and actively developing it. The ZOE Z.E. 50 feels like a solid and well-made product, but the progress of software and safety development make me think that the manufacturer’s current focus is elsewhere.

In the morning, when the ZOE was parketd in front of the dealership, launching the pre-heating from the mobile app did not work. The user interface logic of the system surpised all who participated in the troubleshooting. Because the car did not log any error codes, we agreed that the problem is probably somewhere between the Renault cloud service and the control unit that is responsible for “waking up” the car. The usual fix to funny electrical problems in a modern car is to update the control unit software. If you are lucky, the new software includes a patch that removes the funny behaviour. To my surprise, there were no updates for my ZOE. I guess Renault’s engineers are already working on new projects. But: Thank you to Käyttöauto for a good effort!

Another area where ZOE is behind the competition is the My Renault App. It is a nice little app that shows the battery level. (Sometimes, it may also start the pre-heating.) Many competitors offer apps that provide much more information and useful controls. The updates to the app during my ZOE ownership have more-or-less cosmetic. I wish the My Renault App would show more useful information, such as door lock status, if any of the doors or windows are open, and ability to control them. The Renault API provides interesting data, such as current charging power. The app doesn’t provide this information. This benefits only the computer geek ZOE owners.

The third thing that makes me think that the ZOE is no longer Renault’s top priority product are the Euro NCAP results before Christmas. Euro NCAP put a 2021 Renault ZOE Z.E. 50 to the current tests. The results were shocking: Zero stars! The ZOE has been NCAP tested already in 2013, and Renault has been understandably proud of the previous test results. The ZOE in the 2013 test was the previous version, it received a five-star rating. This means that the car went from 5 stars to 0 stars.

How is this possible? How can a car go from 5/5 to 0/5? My interpretation is: Euro NCAP's current 2021 safety requirements are tougher than the test in 2013. Renault updated the ZOE in 2019. It has been reported that the facelift included a different airbag setup. I guess the new setup was not an improvement. Could it be that at the same time when Euro NCAP has developed the safety tests, Renault has focused on developing bigger batteries? From hero to zero is a shock.

Now, as my Renault ZOE Z.E. 50 R110 Zen contract is at the end of the term, I have been waiting for a call from a Renault sales manager. I would have expected a sales person to contact me and ask what next: Am I planning to return the car or would I like to extend the contract? If Renault is not active with ZOE development, this would be a brilliant moment to tell me about the new Renault Mégane E-Tech Electric and ask if I would like to make a pre-order. Until now, there has not been a call from a Renault sales person.