Is the Renault Zoe reliable?

On MOT evidence the Renault Zoe is well below average. It passes 65.7% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 60% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Renault Zoe?

The item recorded most often is "A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn", which appears in 30.0% of failed Renault Zoe tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a Renault Zoe?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 23.8% of all Renault Zoe tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Renault Zoe usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 33,176 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Does a Renault Zoe get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 86.9% of Renault Zoe tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 55.4%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Model reliability file

Renault Zoe MOT pass rate & common failures

From 26,783 recorded MOT tests of the Renault Zoe, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

The Renault Zoe passes 65.7% of MOT tests once results are adjusted for the age and mileage of the cars tested, against a national average of 72.3%. That is well below average. Based on 26,783 tests. Its most commonly recorded failure is suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, which appears in 30.0% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 33,176 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

65.7%national average72.3%unadjusted78.6%range covered60%

The Zoe is 6.6 percentage points below the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is well below average. The unadjusted figure is 78.6%; the difference is what the age and mileage of this model’s fleet was hiding.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Renault Zoe tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn30.0%
1,476 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
2.A tyre seriously damaged21.1%
1,040 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
3.A tyre cords visible or damaged17.4%
854 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained
4.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements11.3%
558 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
5.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened7.8%
384 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained
6.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn6.3%
308 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
7.Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements4.5%
221 occurrencesLamp of the wrong colour, position or intensity explained
8.Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning4.5%
221 occurrencesStop lamp not working explained
9.A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc4.3%
213 occurrencesSuspension joint dust cover missing or split explained
10.A tyre seriously damaged4.3%
213 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Renault Zoe tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements23.8%
6,361 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.A tyre seriously damaged14.2%
3,808 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
3.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured11.7%
3,133 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
4.A tyre seriously damaged3.5%
926 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
5.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements3.4%
915 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
6.Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt2.8%
754 tests
7.A wheel badly distorted or wear between wheel and hub at spigot mounting2.4%
650 testsRoad wheel damaged, distorted or cracked explained
8.Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements2.4%
631 testsLamp of the wrong colour, position or intensity explained

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

3–5 yrs87%

6–8 yrs65%

9–11 yrs60%

12–14 yrs55%

Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The Zoe fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 33,176
Fuel mix of tested cars: Electric100.0%

Trim names grouped into this model (26)

Recorded exactly as DVSA holds them. Trim-level names are rolled up so one model is not split across a dozen thin pages.

ZOE BUSINESS + EV 50
ZOE BUSINESS EV 50
ZOE BUSINESS RAPID CHARGE EV50
ZOE BUSINESS+ RAPID CHRGE EV50
ZOE GT ED RAPID CHARGE EV 50
ZOE GT LINE + RAPID CHRGE EV50
ZOE GT LINE RAPID CHARGE EV 50
ZOE GT RAPID CHARGE EV 50
ZOE I B-NESS RAPID CHARGE ZE50
ZOE I BNESS+ RAPID CHARGE ZE50
ZOE I BUSINESS + ZE 50
ZOE I BUSINESS ZE 50
ZOE I GT LINE ZE 50
ZOE I GT LN RAPID CHARGE ZE 50
ZOE I ICONC RAPID CHARGE ZE 50
ZOE I ICONIC ZE 50
ZOE I PLAY ZE 50
ZOE I VENTURE ED RAPID CH ZE50
ZOE ICONIC BOOST CHARGE EV 50
ZOE ICONIC EV 50
ZOE ICONIC RAPID CHARGE EV 50
ZOE PLAY EV 50
ZOE S EDITION RAPID CHRGE EV50
ZOE SE RAPID CHARGE EV 50
ZOE TECHNO BOOST CHARGE EV 50
ZOE TECHNO EV 50

Check a specific Renault Zoe

A model average tells you the pattern. Its own MOT record tells you the car.

Compare within the range

Other Renault models

Renault Clio — 59.1% adjusted
Renault Captur — 70.8% adjusted
Renault Trafic — 62.9% adjusted
Renault Megane — 63.3% adjusted
Renault Kadjar — 74.0% adjusted
Renault Kangoo — 59.0% adjusted
All Renault models

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

Toyota Verso — 72.1% adjusted, ranked 149
Mitsubishi Shogun — 75.4% adjusted, ranked 103
BMW I3 — 84.3% adjusted, ranked 23
Seat Alhambra — 73.2% adjusted, ranked 133

Common questions

Is the Renault Zoe reliable?: On MOT evidence the Renault Zoe is well below average. It passes 65.7% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 60% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Renault Zoe?: The item recorded most often is "A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn", which appears in 30.0% of failed Renault Zoe tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.
What do testers most often warn about on a Renault Zoe?: The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 23.8% of all Renault Zoe tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Renault Zoe usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 33,176 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.
Does a Renault Zoe get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 86.9% of Renault Zoe tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 55.4%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. The adjusted rate is directly standardised across twenty-five age and mileage bands and reweighted onto the national distribution, so this model is compared against cars that have lived a similar life rather than against a younger or lighter-used fleet.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.