MAREKKOLODZIEJ
RICHARDPIPER
whatcar.com^ April 2020 39
Age 53
JobGraphic
designer
DrivesPeugeot 5008
“Imostlydoshortjourneys
aroundLondon,soI’mlooking
toswapmydiesel 5008 foran
electriccar;they’reeasierto
driveandinfinitelybetterfor
localairquality.
“IfindthenewZoevery
appealing.Ithasthekindof
chicinteriordesignthatFrench
brandsdoreallywell.Itfeels
upmarket,too;thematerialsall
feelgood.Eventhesoftsound
ofthedoorsclosingimpresses.
It’sleaguesaheadofrivalssuch
asthepricierNissanLeaffor
quality.TheZoe’sinfotainment
systemismuchslickerandmore
intuitivetouse,too.
“Althoughthere’sgood
spaceforthedriverandfront
passenger,atsixfeettall,Ifelt
claustrophobicintheback.It
mightbeastretchtouseaZoe
asmyprimaryfamilycar.
“AlthoughRenaultboasts
thattheZoecannowoptionally
rapidchargeat50kW,that’snot
agame-changerforme,because
I’dusuallybeslowchargingthe
carathome.The‘real-world’
rangethatRenaultquotesisan
impressive 233 miles,butthefact
thatitwilldroptoaround 150
milesincoldweatheriskeeping
meintwomindsaboutEVs.”
Age 65
JobRetired
DrivesBMWi3s
“Iwasalwaysapetrolhead,but
IwasofferedaspininaBMWi3
whilehavingmyMiniserviced
andwassoblownawaybythe
drivingexperiencethatIwas
aninstantconvert.
“TheZoehasalwaysstruck
measaveryattractivecarata
goodprice.Ispoketoanowner
recentlyandshegrumbledabout
thequalityoftheinteriorand
thelimitedrange,butbothof
thoseissueshavebeenaddressed
bythisnewmodel.
“Thequalityoftheinterior
isfabulous.Everythingisvery
nicelyfinished,evenifthei3’s
designismoreexciting.The
technologyisaheadofBMW’s
insomeareas,particularlythe
sat-nav,whichshowsyouthe
bestchargerstouseenroute.
“Thefactthatyoucannowget
theZoewithaCCSchargingport
forDCrapidchargingisamajor
stepforward.Previously,youhad
torelyonslowerACcharging.
“Aworry-freerangeofwell
over 200 milesisplentyforme,
andprobablyformostpeople.
Itmakesthei3andnewMini
Electriclookpoorincomparison.
“TheZoewouldbeanideal
firstelectriccarforanyone,but
personally,Iwantsomething
sportier.AZoeRS,perhaps?”
‘It’s leagues ahead of rivals such
as the Nissan Leaf for quality’
‘A worry-free range of well
over 200 miles is plentyfor me’
Spaceupfrontis ne,but6ft-tallMarekthinkstherearseatsfeelclaustrophobic
A CCSchargingportforpublicrapidchargingat a rateof upto 50kWis nowanoption
Qualityof thematerialsusedinsideis fabulous,accordingto EVconvertRichard
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