RENAULT ZOE
Hello and welcome to master auto reviews would europe’s best-selling electric vehicle be able to replicate its success in the us the renault zoe a small hatchback became the best-selling ev in europe with a little more than 100 000 units sold in 2020. in the us tesla dominates the sales charts with the model 3 and model y while the best selling small ev hatchback
The chevy volt only managed to sell 20 000 units in 2020. so let’s compare europe’s best-selling model to the us top-selling affordable ev the initial renault zoe was launched in 2012 and starting in 2013 was one of europe’s best-selling evs the second-generation zoe was launched in june 2019 bringing in some long awaited upgrades a bigger 52 kilowatt hour battery
50 kilowatt dc fast charging and a more powerful 100 kilowatt motor in 2020 it became europe’s best-selling ev the chevy volt tv was launched in 2016 and managed to outsell the tesla model s and become u.s best-selling ev in 2017. sales went down in 2018 and 2019 both due to fierce competition and the start of tax credit phase out 2020 saw the ball tv perform a
Lot better managing to sell just over 20 000 units that being said let’s jump to the comparison weight and size the chevy volt is a bigger vehicle than the renault zoe it is 8.3 centimeters longer 3.3 centimeters taller and has a 1.3 centimeters longer wheelbase though the renault zoe is 2.2 centimeters wider most of the length difference appears to be going
Into the trunk volume as the bolt has a 141 liter bigger trunk the zoid sits 20 millimeters lower than the bolt the chevy is 114 kilograms heavier than the zoe and most of that weight came from the 104 kilograms heavier battery pack battery and charging with a 66 kilowatt-hour net battery capacity the chevy bolt has an unusually big battery for this vehicle
Class zoe’s battery is 14 kilowatt hours smaller the estimated battery buffer of the bolt ev is 3 kilowatt hour the same as what renault specifies for the zoe both vehicles use a 400 volt propulsion system when it comes to the ac charging the zoe has the upper hand it can charge with up to 22 kilowatts on a 3 phase 400 volt outlet while the bolt is limited
To 7.2 kilowatts using a 220 volt outlet both vehicles have similar fast charging capabilities a maximum of 50 kilowatts for the zoe and 55 kilowatts for the bolt a ccs and type 2 charging connector is used by both the bolt allows for 160 kilometers of range or 100 miles to be added for 30 minutes of fast charge while the zoe can add 10 kilometers less range
So two key differences here the bolt has a significantly bigger battery while the zoe can charge significantly faster using ac power no need to go into the benefits of having a bigger battery but maybe it is worth mentioning a little bit more about the 22 kilowatt onboard charger of the renault zoe renault developed this 22 kilowatt on-board charger with their
Supplier and fitted it to the first generation zoe since its launch back in 2012. so this already amortized component gives the second generation zoe a clear advantage at least in europe as it allows both faster charging times using less expensive and complex charging stations as well as more choices when it comes to charging locations performance and efficiency
The chevy bolt comes equipped with a pretty powerful motor for this class it produces 149 kilowatts or roughly 200 horsepower the zoe on the other hand comes equipped with a significantly less powerful motor producing only 100 kilowatts or 135 horsepower hence the r135 name the same story when it comes to torque a maximum of 360 newton meters are being delivered
By the chevy’s motor while the r-135 border of the renault zoe can only produce 245 newton meters top speed is pretty close although there is such a big power difference between the two 146 kilometers per hour or 91 miles per hour for the bolt and 139 kilometers per hour or 86 miles per hour for this away with 6.5 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers
Per hour the bolt is pretty fast while the zoe lags behind with 9.5 seconds neither car is particularly aerodynamic on the contrary i would say with such drag coefficients 0.29 for the zoe and an even worse 0.308 for the bolt unfortunately there is no way to directly compare the driving range of these cars as neither of them are sold in both the european and u.s
Market due to this the specified ranges are not measured using the same methodology and therefore not comparable according to the epa the chevy bolt has a 259 miles or 417 kilometers range while the renault zoe has a 385 kilometers or 239 miles range based on the wltp test cycle same story when it comes to efficiency different testing methodologies according to
The epa the chevy volt needs 17.9 kilowatt hours to drive 100 kilometers while the zoe needs 17.7 kilowatt hours based on the wltp cycle the most intriguing performance and efficiency fact is that although the bolt has a 50 more powerful motor it can drive only 7 kilometers per hour faster than zoe the bigger draco efficient definitely plays a role in this but
I suspect the battery management and cooling system of the bolt can sustain high current loads for a prolonged period of time as required when driving close to maximum speed so what do you think how would the best-selling european uv fare in the u.s market why does the ball tv do so poorly in the u.s although being so similar to the european bestseller don’t
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Transcribed from video
CHEVY BOLT EV vs RENAULT ZOE – Best EUROPEAN EV vs best affordable US EV By MasterAutoReviews