Renault Zoe achieves 475 miles on a single charge

A Renault Zoe E-Tech has set a new hypermiling record by covering almost twice its official range in the hands of Mission Motorsport drivers.

The Forces’ Motorsport Charity, which aids in the recovery of those who have been affected by Military Operations by providing opportunities through motorsport and the automotive industry, broke the previous record of 351 miles at Thruxton Race Circuit.

It took more than 24 hours to deplete the Zoe’s battery, at an average speed of 19mph. The team achieved efficency of 9.14m/kWh. On average, an small electric car would usually return 4.5-5mi/kWh.

Two Renault Zoes were used for the record attempt and both were completely standard, aside from one running on ENSO range extending tyres. With its original OEM tyres, the first Renault Zoe achieved 424.7 miles on a single charge, still beating the previous record. The car fitted with ENSO’s propriety EV tyres, went further still, achieving 475.4 miles

Read our review of the Renualt Zoe here.

James Cameron, Mission Motorsport CEO, said: “The Zoe was a perfect choice for us – but to cover such an extraordinary distance frankly blew us away.  Driving through the night both in training and for the record itself with absolute precision was a challenge for the team but the Zoe proved more than up to the task.  It was important to set a record with an absolutely standard car, and we’ve all been charmed and astonished by the little Renault’s character and tenacity.”

The original record of 351 miles was set in France in 2018 on the Paris Peripherique, but the Mission Motorsport team, consisting of veteran beneficiaries, military spouses and a hypermiling expert, took the record on June 10.

Tom Barker, electrification manager at Renault UK, said: “What Mission Motorsport has achieved is incredible and everyone at Renault UK sends a huge well done to them. Not only is it testament to how far it’s possible to go on a single charge in a Zoe, even taking into consideration the optimum conditions and lowly speed, but it’s a great illustration of just how comfortable and usable it is, too. There’s no doubt this was pretty extreme, but it’s further evidence that the Renault Zoe really does go the extra mile when it comes to viably being a household’s only car and that it’s suitable for covering all kinds of distance.”