When Clare Grover and Gavin Gaskain decided to test out a Renault ZOE, it was love at first drive. Three years later, the couple tell Fiona Cowood how their EV has changed their lives
They may have had it for more than three years now, but Gavin and Clare are still as thrilled with their Renault ZOE – their first electric car – as they were when they drove it off the forecourt back in June 2017. “It’s just a really nice car,” says Clare. “Very quiet, really comfortable and I find it so easy to drive.”
Many are wary of switching to an EV (electric vehicle) because they’ve heard the initial outlay can be costly, but Gavin and Clare are proof that going electric needn’t dent your pocket. “The total cost upfront was zero,” says Gavin. “We split the cost over four years, with 0% interest from Renault.” Running costs have been a pleasant surprise too. Their old car, an ageing people carrier, was costing £400 a month on diesel. Add in the cost of repairs, and it was amounting to a small fortune. “The ZOE is much cheaper to run day-to-day,” says Gavin. “We’ve worked out it runs at about a penny per mile.”
