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Yaris Vs Zoe - Used Yaris - £5-£6k or Renault Zoe £10k - Sam M

I would like to purchase a reliable hatchback and I was considering a battery owned Renault Zoe, but do you agree correct a used Yaris will hold it's value better? If it's a Yaris are there any models more suitable than others?

The car is being used for school runs and drop offs, about 7000 per annum mileage, 5 door, A.C would be a nice to have. (Are there any models to avoid?)

Thank you. From a novice

Yaris Vs Zoe - Used Yaris - £5-£6k or Renault Zoe £10k - badbusdriver

At that price, a Zoe is going to be an older one and quite possibly tied to a battery lease. Also, at that age, the range is likely to be no more than about 60 miles in the summer (40-45 in the winter?). Of course the range needn't be an issue, depending on what you plan to do with it, and if it is to be a 2nd car. If it is to be a 2nd car, the range doesn't sound like it would cause problems, and you have a drive for off street charging, I`d look at a Nissan Leaf for the same budget.

Otherwise Yaris all day long. Also consider Honda Jazz, Suzuki Swift, Mazda 2, Fiesta 1.25/1.4.

Yaris Vs Zoe - Used Yaris - £5-£6k or Renault Zoe £10k - Bromptonaut

£10k would buy you a 2017/18 Zoe.

Not sure I'd be as pessimistic as BBD on range but even 60 would be enough for a pure commuter user.

Yaris Vs Zoe - Used Yaris - £5-£6k or Renault Zoe £10k - nellyjak
Given the strict choice...would be the Yaris for me without any doubt. (1.33)
Reliability, longevity, better value holding IMO
Yaris Vs Zoe - Used Yaris - £5-£6k or Renault Zoe £10k - Engineer Andy

£10k would buy you a 2017/18 Zoe.

Not sure I'd be as pessimistic as BBD on range but even 60 would be enough for a pure commuter user.

The OP would need to add the cost of getting a home charger unit to the £10k.

Yaris Vs Zoe - Used Yaris - £5-£6k or Renault Zoe £10k - badbusdriver

£10k would buy you a 2017/18 Zoe.

Not sure I'd be as pessimistic as BBD on range but even 60 would be enough for a pure commuter user.

Sorry, didn't read the thread title properly, I thought we were talking about a £5-6k Zoe, which would make a difference!. And I was specifically thinking of a thread from a couple of years ago where someone had bought an older, cheaper Zoe. With a full charge the range showed as 45 miles (though I don't recall the time of year).

Much as the Zoe appeals, pretty much everything I read about them in the motoring press mentions a poor ride. So without having actually tried one to see how bad it is, I think I`d still lean towards the Leaf if it had to be an electric car. £10k wouldn't get you into a 2nd gen Leaf, but it would get you into the bigger battery version (30kWh and up to 155 miles) of the 1st gen car.

Yaris Vs Zoe - Used Yaris - £5-£6k or Renault Zoe £10k - Engineer Andy

£10k would buy you a 2017/18 Zoe.

Not sure I'd be as pessimistic as BBD on range but even 60 would be enough for a pure commuter user.

Sorry, didn't read the thread title properly, I thought we were talking about a £5-6k Zoe, which would make a difference!. And I was specifically thinking of a thread from a couple of years ago where someone had bought an older, cheaper Zoe. With a full charge the range showed as 45 miles (though I don't recall the time of year).

Much as the Zoe appeals, pretty much everything I read about them in the motoring press mentions a poor ride. So without having actually tried one to see how bad it is, I think I`d still lean towards the Leaf if it had to be an electric car. £10k wouldn't get you into a 2nd gen Leaf, but it would get you into the bigger battery version (30kWh and up to 155 miles) of the 1st gen car.

Apparently the 1st gen Leaf doesn't have decent cooling of the batteries. Not sure how much of an issue that is in the UK, given our weather, as I only heard about this from Aussie motoring journo John Cadogan, and obviously their climate is much hotter than ours.

Yaris Vs Zoe - Used Yaris - £5-£6k or Renault Zoe £10k - SLO76
I personally would stick with a petrol engines supermini unless there’s a city centre congestion or parking charge which the Zoe would avoid. There’s little to fear from either but electric battery packs degrade rapidly beyond 7yrs of age and the cost of replacement is crippling, typically enough to write the car off and thus they tend to depreciate rapidly. The Zoe confuses matters by being available with a bought or leased battery pack, the latter usually wipes out any potential fuel saving a low mileage user would see and it makes valuing the car difficult. I’d stick with petrol here but I’d add a few others to that list and I’d spend a bit more of that £10k budget. Remember electricity isn’t free, especially away from the home.

Look also at

Ford Fiesta 1.25 (don’t buy the 1.0 Ecoboost)
Mazda 2 1.5
Honda Jazz 1.3/1.5
Suzuki Swift

Also I’d avoid diesel here.
Yaris Vs Zoe - Used Yaris - £5-£6k or Renault Zoe £10k - Lee Power

Avoid anything Peugeot / Citroen with the 1.2 Puretech engine - earned themselves a reputation for unreliability / expensive repair costs as these engines get older.

Yaris Vs Zoe - Used Yaris - £5-£6k or Renault Zoe £10k - Sam M

Thank you everyone, for a £5k budget is there a particular Yaris you recommend- and any to avoid? I don't wish to pay more as in the next few years I'd like to consider an ev again. Thank you

Yaris Vs Zoe - Used Yaris - £5-£6k or Renault Zoe £10k - badbusdriver

Thank you everyone, for a £5k budget is there a particular Yaris you recommend- and any to avoid? I don't wish to pay more as in the next few years I'd like to consider an ev again. Thank you

Unless all your journeys are around town, probably best to avoid the 1.0 in favour of the 1.33. Otherwise there isn't really much to worry about.

Only exception would be if you were looking for an auto and happened to be looking at a late 2nd gen Yaris, up to 2011. The auto on these is an automated manual and are not that great. 3rd gen onward is a CVT and fine.

But as has been said before, don't restrict your choice to just a Yaris. The other cars I mentioned earlier are very much worthy of consideration, even at £5k. No point walking past a really nice Suzuki Swift locally to go and look at a (supposedly) nice Yaris 100 miles away.

Yaris Vs Zoe - Used Yaris - £5-£6k or Renault Zoe £10k - SLO76

Thank you everyone, for a £5k budget is there a particular Yaris you recommend- and any to avoid? I don't wish to pay more as in the next few years I'd like to consider an ev again. Thank you

I’d buy on condition, history and mileage before anything else but if all things were equal I’d favour the Toyota 4cyl 1.33 motor over the Daihatsu designed 3cyl 1.0. Both are robust if looked after but the 1.0 can suffer timing chain issues if neglected and it’s not that much better on fuel while being substantially less powerful. Again though I would advise widening the net, especially if you’re now insisting on spending half of your original budget. I wouldn’t walk past a tidy Suzuki Swift, Mazda 2 or Ford Fiesta 1.25 to get to a tatty Yaris. Give yourself more options in order to find the best car.

Edited by SLO76 on 06/05/2021 at 12:26

Yaris Vs Zoe - Used Yaris - £5-£6k or Renault Zoe £10k - Sam M

Thank you all, I will aim to widen the net!

Yaris Vs Zoe - Used Yaris - £5-£6k or Renault Zoe £10k - movilogo

electric battery packs degrade rapidly beyond 7yrs of age and the cost of replacement is crippling,

Is it same situation with hybrid car batteries? If the battery capacity is very low say 10% of original will a hybrid simply switch to petrol engine most of the times?

Yaris Vs Zoe - Used Yaris - £5-£6k or Renault Zoe £10k - SLO76

electric battery packs degrade rapidly beyond 7yrs of age and the cost of replacement is crippling,

Is it same situation with hybrid car batteries? If the battery capacity is very low say 10% of original will a hybrid simply switch to petrol engine most of the times?

It’s less of a problem with hybrids as the charging system is more regulated, it keeps it in optimum condition and there’s no damage from rapid charging unless of course it’s a plug in hybrid. Battery packs tend to be much smaller and are far cheaper to replace if they do degrade. Last time I looked a Mk II Prius was £1500 for a new power pack, compared to over £6500 for a Nisssn Leaf. Basically a battery pack for a Toyota Hybrid is little dearer than a clutch and dual mass flywheel change on most modern diesels.