Renault Zoe sets new electric car record for distance travelled

The Renault Zoe EV has set a new world record for distance travelled in an electric car in 24 hours – 1005 miles.

It seems Renault are determined to prove that an electric car – in this case the Renault Zoe EV – can travel sensible distances in a sensible period of time.

So they set out to run a pair of production spec Renault Zoes round the Aubevoye speed ring in Normandy for a full twenty four hours with the aim of breaking the record for distance travelled in an electric car in that time (yes, there’s a world record for everything these days). And they did, but what a palaver it was.

It took fifteen drivers to do 1005 miles in 24 hours (how many of you have done 1,000 miles in 24 hours all on your own?) taking turns at the wheel and recharging the Zoe’s batteries as they died.

They had to do that by using the Chameleon charger which fast-charged the Zoe’s batteries 18 times in the 24 hours (we dread to think what that does to the batteries’ longevity). Yes, they had to stop for 9 of those 24 hours just to top up the batteries.

Renault are hailing this world record breaking feat as proof that the Renault Zoe is just as practical as a real car (!). Renault’s man in charge of EVs said:

This is a superb technical and human adventure. This victory is the result of a joint commitment to showcase the quality of Renault electric vehicles.

So if you use your car to drive down to your house near Cannes in the summer, the Renault Zoe is obviously the car of choice. You can grab one for just £13,650 (and an extra £70 a month for battery ‘hire’) and you’ll only need to stop every 50 minutes to charge the batteries, assuming you can find anywhere that actually has a fast charger.

Or you could just grab something like the BMW 320d and do 1,000 miles on one tank of fuel.