This week I was challenged by Lookers to test drive one of their electric cars by going on a day trip of my choice. Ben, my boyfriend, came along with me, it was his first time driving an electric and automatic car so it was quite exciting!
We collected the Renault Zoe from the Lookers Renault Stockport dealership at 9am. The staff were really helpful and friendly, and made sure to talk us through all the features of the car that were new to us. When we first sat in the car, it felt very comfy and spacious. Our bags fitted perfectly in to the spacious boot, making it easy to pack for our day trip to the beach!
The Zoe is a five door car. Originally we thought it was three because the rear doors have handles that are into the window frame! There is a large gear stick next to the driver, this is to control the: Park, Reverse, Neutral and Drive modes. Ben found this much easier than a manual car.
As the car was electric, we made our first stop at a charging point nearby to the beach. It was an electrical store called 'Yesss Electrical' that offered free charging. It was really easy to plug in and leave our car there to recharge for our journey back. The screen on the dash indicates how much charge there was left and how long it would take.
It wasn’t long until I got used to the new tech in the Renault Zoe. I sat in the passenger seat taking control of the music as there is a touch screen media system where you can play songs through your phone or radio, take phone calls and get directions from the GPS. I loved that I could connect my phone via bluetooth and listen to our favourite songs on our drive.
We made it to the beach in no time, it was a dream to drive on the motorway as the car felt so smooth. We definitely noticed that electric cars are speedy too! When we were not driving on the fast roads, we switched on eco-mode, this changes the 'engine torque, power and acceleration as well as the automatic air-conditioning and heating' to save the charge we were using. I wasn’t entirely sure what it meant, but it was good to know that it was helping the environment!
After a long walk, an ice-cream with sprinkles and a flake, a read of a magazine and chill in the sun, we headed back to Stockport in our Renault Zoe. On our return we got stuck in a bit of traffic but noticed that when coasting the car recharges the battery! We dropped off the keys (it's actually a fob with buttons to lock and unlock the car) by 6pm. On the way back home, Ben told me how he would definitely get an electric car, which is amazing because they are also better for the environment as well as being fun to drive.
On the car, you also might notice the '#LookersEC4Ben'. The Lookers Electric Charge is a group challenge for a charity which the staff at Lookers are taking part in. It is a 6 month long road trip across the UK and Ireland between May and October 2018 in electric cars, how cool?! You can find out more about the charity here!
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