Renault is leading the charge for electric vehicles with four models on the way.
Motors met with Renault Ireland to find out more about what the French manufacturer will bring to the market in the next few years. And it looks interesting.
Renault has a new mantra and it is "Sustainable Mobility for All", in other words Renault is committing itself to making affordable EVs (electric vehicles). To this end the French firm looks set to be one of the biggest manufacturers of Lithium Ion batteries in the world.
Lithium Ion is the present cutting edge in terms of battery technology and essential in any EV at the moment. The 250kg battery pack that features in each electric Renault uses 3kg of lithium and there are over 15m tonnes of lithium on the planet (mostly found in South America and China). The battery pack will have a 10-year life expectancy and will be guaranteed for five.
Unlike Nissan, with its Leaf EV, you will buy your car for the same price as the equivalent diesel version and then rent the battery pack on a monthly basis. This means that you will also be able to (in theory) exchange a flat battery for a fully charged one in as little as three minutes at an exchange centre. This makes the EV experience more practical and helps alleviate 'Range Anxiety', which remains the biggest argument against EVs.
Back to the cars: two prototypes were available for test-driving. First up a spin in the Kangoo Express ZE van. Kangoo is an ideal delivery vehicle for towns and cities. Power in the EV version comes from an electric motor that is housed where you would usually find an engine. Sitting on top of the motor is a control unit that regulates the electrical flow and manages the battery pack that is located under the rear floor. Like all EVs there is a one forward gear and one reverse gear. So you get an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal and very few other moving parts!
Due to land here in late 2011, the Kangoo ZE is a really nice drive. It is almost whisper quiet in the cabin and the motor has a great deal of torque - 60bhp and 226nm of pulling power are the output figures. If worked hard, the prototype will do as few as 100km to a full charge (which only costs a couple of quid!), but the average range for now is 160km. The range will improve in the coming years with better battery technology. Our van was empty but still felt composed and there were no signs of a compromised ride or any strange driving traits behind the wheel of the left hand drive test vehicle.
Next we got into the Fluence ZE. Straightaway it was a more refined and, dare I say, even quieter again (although as EVs make next to no noise at all, this is all relative). Fluence ZE has more power with 95bhp and 226nm of torque. With both vehicles when you press the accelerator all the power is available from the off, unlike internal combustion engines that require a build up of revs to deliver their peak power. When you lift off the accelerator the car recovers energy just like a dynamo on a bicycle with its regenerative braking. In theory you can do most journeys without having to brake much at all as the regenerative braking has a strong slowing effect on the vehicle. The Fluence ZE prototype had its boot fairly stuffed with a battery pack but the production car will have an extra 13cm in length to deliver a 300-litre boot.
Renault will deliver the Fluence ZE in early 2012 followed closely by a cool single-seater called 'Twizy' and the Clio-sized 'Zoe' that will be a hatchback, although visually different to the cool looking coupé concept pictured.
Real World EVs? You know we're getting there, slowly but surely.
Michael Sheridan
