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Zoé, The New Renault Concept Car : Little in Size, Big in Driving Pleasure Review

March 2005
Filed under: RENAULT Car News | RENAULT Headlines

The small, upper-range urban car

Renault has chosen the 2005 Geneva Show to take the wraps off its latest concept car, Zoé, a diminutive upper-range urban vehicle which places the accent on genuine motoring pleasure.

New Renault Zoé Concept

In response to the public’s demand for compact, appealing, dynamic models, Zoé features a blend of clear-cut lines and rounded forms. Meanwhile, its luxurious, functional interior puts its innovative asymmetry to maximum effect to reveal a true three-seat layout and voluminous boot.
Another Zoé innovation is its ‘Pass’ system which will automatically adjust interior ambience to match individual driver tastes. One click will modify the choice of music, settings and overall atmosphere.

Renault has given Zoé its own vision of a small, dynamic, upper-range city car. A modern-day expression of luxury in a compact format, Zoé “appeals through its mature, sensuous curves, its characterful frontal styling and hypnotic demeanour. Zoé is charm personified,” says Renault’s Patrick le Quément, Senior Vice President, Corporate Design.

The hatch is raised by a twin opening system, with the rear window and tailgate sliding into each other to keep overall height to a minimum when open while at the same time providing easy access. A further practical feature concerns the rear left quarterlight which can be lowered so small items can be placed on the rear parcel shelf or in the boot.

The motorized passenger door features a two-hinge, three-axis opening system that offers extremely easy access. The travel of the door itself can be selected according to whether access to both the front and rear seats, or just the front seat is required. In this way, the space taken up by the door when open is kept to a strict minimum. Meanwhile, the glazed lateral part of the roof lifts up the instant one of the doors is opened.

A small, compact, functional city car A mere 3.45m in length, Zoé is both practical and functional with innovative opening panels thought through for urban use, including kinematics engineered to facilitate access and loading, especially in situations where space is at a premium.

“Zoé is a vehicle designed for city life. It has been shown that cars carry only 1.4 people on average, but two seat interiors are perceived as a constraint. Zoé is therefore a genuine three-seater complete with a boot located behind the driver’s seat, all built into a compact architecture."

Zoé’s interior is exceptionally spacious for such a small vehicle. Its modular three-seat layout makes a number of combinations possible. A starfish-like switch located on the side of the driver’s seat makes it possible to arrange the cabin layout in one of three pre-set arrangements to optimize the way interior space is used.

Special attention has been paid to ergonomics and comfort. The rear of the front right seat features a built-in footrest, while the rear seat can be likened more to a comfy armchair in which the passenger can literally snuggle up. No preference has been given to any one occupant since all three seats offer the same level of comfort, while the cabin comes with numerous discreet storage bins that allow valuables to be concealed.

A sprightly engine for genuine pleasure at the wheel

Zoé’s short but distinctively penned bonnet conceals a small Renault petrol engine, a new 1.2-litre turbocharged unit that delivers 73kW and maximum torque of 145Nm. Its first-class efficiency enables it to combine attitude with respect for the environment, while its low fuel consumption ensures remarkably low CO2 emission figures (under 140g/km).

Elegant, dynamic exterior design

Zoé’s soft lines have an unmistakable charm, while its flowing lines and the curves of its glass panels take their cue from aeronautic design with curved pillars flanking a vast, panoramic windscreen. The two glass sunroofs carry over to the rear in the form of the rear window, the ‘shallow V’-shaped line of which is a hallmark of Renault’s visual identity.

Developed in association with Valeo, the headlamps feature high performance light emitting diodes (LED) which produce an unprecedented sparkle effect. The frosted glass rear lights ensure a particularly soft tone, while the clear glass indicator housings reveal a deeply hued flash. The rear light clusters themselves take the form of crystal spheres complete with transparent, LED-lit rings that contribute to the overall futuristic feel.

The combination of Zoé’s short, steeply-raked bonnet and its Ribera Red body colour highlights the car’s highly dynamic stance, a sensation reinforced by its long wheelbase, short overhangs and wide track. The impression of power and sprightliness is further strengthened by the air inlets on the bonnet which take the form of concentric half circles.

The robotized five-speed gearbox is operated by steering wheel-mounted paddles.

Poetic luxury inside

Patrick le Quément believes that Zoé is in total keeping with the spirit of Renault’s previous concept cars: “Its interior is simple and its layout is easy to remember. Zoé is a further illustration of our ‘Touch Design’ concept which first appeared on Talisman in 2001 before finding its way onto production models."

The entire cabin focuses not only on an intuitive understanding of its forms but also on ergonomics and simplicity. The thin seats take the form of outspread leaves and are extremely comfortable, while the harmonious dashboard is uncluttered. The centre console houses a variety of controls, including the transmission mode selector, command of the multifunction screen located at the centre of the dash panel, the seat-adjustment joystick and the central LCD screen located within the speedometer dial.

Zoé’s interior ambiance oozes a blend of luxury and technology. The combination of beige ‘kei-light’ leather upholstery and velvety grey paintwork ensures a soft, comfortable, cocoon-like chic. The cabin itself is particularly bright thanks to the two glass roof panels inlaid with LEDs that reproduce a starry canopy when travelling at night. The carpet takes up the same graphic theme as the roof lining with the lines of a printed circuit linking some of the world’s great metropolises… the breeding ground of new trends. The spilled handbag which illustrates the boot mat and the floating impression of the rear parcel shelf made from ‘cloudlike’ materials add a touch of fantasy.

The speedometer, which seems to be freely suspended on a glass plaque, exudes a sense of luxury and lightness. The cascade of transparent cylinders inlaid with aluminium rings and the deeply set screen convey a discreet sense of technology.

A seat-mounted knob enables drivers to tilt the graphics screen to adjust it to their driving position.

Zoé comes with a nomadic ‘Pass’ which enables personal preferences to be memorized with a view to reproducing individual ambiences by selecting favourite music and pre-set seat, driving control and rear-view mirror settings.

Interior equipment

• Three-seater 2 + 1 layout. 410mm fore-aft front passenger seat travel for rear seat comfort

• Boot volume: 297 litres (+17% compared with Clio)

• Transparent integrated analogue speedometer with digital information displayed on a TFT screen set further back

• Nomadic ‘Pass’ system stores personal data to memorize individual settings and ambience

• A constellation of LEDs controlled in clusters set into the opening glazed roof panels Exterior equipment

• Asymmetric front and left access panels

• Traditionally-opening driver’s door plus bigger, motorized pavement-side door articulated by a twoarm, three-axis mechanism

• To facilitate access, the glazed roof panels lift automatically when the doors open

• Rear left quarterlight can be opened using the ‘Pass’ for easy loading of items in the boot

• Motorized, two-part hatch opening mechanism. The two parts slide into each other to optimize boot access

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