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I finally picked up my ZOE Intens (ST63 OXK) on Friday. Here is a composite picture showing the big Merc I traded in for ZOE.
Handover was very straightforward and they had already got R-Link all up and running so when I activated Z.E. Services I was immediately connected to the car from my Nexus (nice). Car all seems to be good, I had a 45 mile drive back home and then some coming and going for the rest of the day put about 70 miles on the clock. I charged at our very local public charging point and, thankfully, as this was the first time of using it, all worked correctly. This is a 7kW charger, so basically like all you lucky folks with your installed chargers at home (bah humbug!).
I have yet to try a rapid charger. I headed to what I thought was a 22kW charger this evening just to see the difference, but it turned out to be the same 7kW model. Did the job at any rate.
My only complication has been entirely of my own doing, and resulted in error messages and warning lights on the dash for the passenger airbag and automatic lighting… I had fitted some new bulbs, mostly to get some better headlamps as the first night revealed how pitiful the standard bulbs were. I replaced these with Philips X-treme Vision which make a big difference, thankfully. They are not in the same league as the directional bi-xenons I’m used to, but much better than the feeble glow of the originals. (I have these same bulbs in our Grand Picasso too, so knew they should make a difference.) Then I turned to some LEDs and changed the license plate bulbs, no problems. But, when I switched the interior bulbs (and the cover for the interior ceiling lights is a swine to get off the first time!) to Osram interior LEDs all hell broke loose…
On trying the lights the fuse immediately went. And in the process took out the passenger airbag and automatic wipers, causing the warning messages and lights. So, I am back to the filament bulbs and all is fine again. Bizarre. Anyone have any experience of this?
Apart from that glitch, all else is working fine. R-Link even did some updates while I was sitting in the car charging this evening, and seems, so far, to be behaving itself.
One thing that I need to get used to is returning from 4WD to FWD. I put my foot down at a slightly damp roundabout when I spotted a gap I was used to squirting into with no fuss at all to end up with front wheels scrabbling away and the car not going anywhere as the traffic descended. Oops. Other than being careful with that initial takeoff, I am loving the zip up to 30!
Glad to join you all, at last.
PeterPeter, congratulations! Can you say how much more power the new headlamps will use? I’d like to do something similar, but am concerned whether it would have an impact on range.
Are you planning to get a chargepoint installed at home?
Updated alloam’s entry.
I’ve been slow of late to update this table so if I’ve missed anyone out please shout – and provide the necessary details and a picture if you can.
Cheers, Trevor.
The bulbs are still 55W, so I don’t think there should be any great changes to energy consumption. My understanding is that the higher output bulbs from the likes of Osram and Philips are made to finer tolerances in order to improve efficiency of light output. It means more work and thus cost, particularly in quality control, and unfortunately it also means the bulbs generally don’t last as long. However, with our dark winters in the north of Scotland, it is a price worth paying for the increased safety in my view.
I’d dearly love to add bi-xenons… I assume these light units were originally designed to house that kind of bulb but that costs started to escalate so they reverted to halogens? I think I read that somewhere. I see on the French Zoe site that some folks have fitted bi-xenons. Illegal here to do that, I think, but gosh it would be nice!
I’d dearly love to add bi-xenons… I assume these light units were originally designed to house that kind of bulb but that costs started to escalate so they reverted to halogens?
Actually I think it was designed to have LEDs – see for example the 2010 Preview pictures.
I too was able to bring my Zoe Zen (Arctic White Pearlescent) home on Fri AM and am now in the process of getting to know her after all these months of waiting. First impressions, well worth the wait.
My dealer had also set up the R-link and so far all seems to be in order.
On Sat we took a ride to Colchester, 18 miles away, to visit our son and called in at Waitrose to try out their charging facility.
This was the same setup as in Ipswich with two blue charging posts and four parking bays, one of which was ICE’d. With one type2 socket on each only two Zoe cars could be charged at the same time and if two other makes are using the other sockets there would be a problem as others have found.
In under two hours our charge was restored to 80% and we completed our trip and returned home with no problems.
Our HCP was commissioned last Wed and at about 14.15 I emailed details to Chargemaster to have surveys done at our other sons, one near Northampton and the other in MK. By 16.30 both had been contacted and arrangements made for Thurs and Friday and both units were installed and commissioned on those days! Brilliant service. If I had known earlier that I could have used them instead of BG I could have had Zoe early Dec and avoided the holiday period which further prolonged things.
We had already planned to visit our Northampton family this coming w/end and now that they have the HCP we intend to use Zoe.
Unfortunately, this will have to be during the evening and the forecast is for colder wet and windy weather so we will need at least one top-up even using economy mode I guess.
Our HCP is working OK and I deliberately tried to start the car with the lead connected. Nothing happened other a message appeared “remove cable etc.”.
Things I miss from my Scenic Dynamique, the auto dimming rear view mirror and especially the remote folding of door mirrors.
Also lack of storage space, but, no doubt, that equals less weight.
So far, so very good.Mojo36 Do you live in Ipswich? We do and often use the Waitrose chargers in Ipswich which have been very reliable. I did have a quiet word with a lady who had parked her ICE in the charging bay, she got very annoyed and kept on about the family parking spaces and stormed off without moving her car, not very friendly!
Let us know how successful you are with other public charging.Hi, yes we’re in Ipswich, near Heath Rd hospital. I presume you’re near Bury. I’m hoping to top up at Waitrose there Thurs pm and then at Cambridge Science Park assuming they are available for public use during the evening. They appear to be. Do you have any knowledge of these?
I’m assuming Renault dealers are only available in office hours, if then.
My wife was keen to have words with the ICE owner in Colchester, but he was bigger and uglier than me and I’m afraid I chickened out.
Regardsmojo – congratulations! I’ve updated the table – but I’m sure we’d all like to see pictures!
A reminder to everyone, if you access this thread through the Forums link you may not see the big Owner Status table – instead click on the main Owner Status page at the top of the site.
Thanks Trevor,
I’ll try to organise that during our weekend visit.
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