Being the flagship electric car from Daimler, it doesn’t come as a surprise the EQS grabbed all five stars. The zero-emissions liftback tested by Euro NCAP was the 450+ model in the AMG Line specification with a left-hand-drive layout and a 4×2 configuration. The luxury EV is classified as an “Executive” car and tipped the scales at 2,480 kilograms (5,467 pounds).

Archrival BMW also had one of its latest electric vehicles evaluated by Euro NCAP and the iX also got an overall rating of five stars. However, the premium SUV posted slightly lower scores than the EQS, with an adult protection of 91%, child protection of 87%, 73% for vulnerable road users, and 81% for safety assist.

The version that underwent the crash test was an xDrive40 with all-wheel drive and built in a LHD setup. Classified as a Large Off-Road vehicle, the BMW iX weighed 2,573 kg (5,672 pounds), which isn’t all too surprising given its sheer size and the heavy batteries it has to carry around.

By far the biggest disappointment was the Renault Zoe as it did not receive any stars, despite earning a maximum five-star rating in 2013. The model has since moved on to the second generation, but it’s essentially the same model launched about a decade ago. Euro NCAP has made its tests even more difficult, which has translated into the loss of all stars.

The fact that Renault removed the seat-mounted airbag that protected both the head and the thorax to replace it with a thorax-only airbag has negatively impacted the result. The Zoe is also showing its age in the event of a crash and it also lacks some safety features that other vehicles offer as standard, such as automatic emergency braking.

Euro NCAP also evaluated the most affordable EV money can buy in Europe, the Dacia Spring. Surprisingly, it proved to be overall safer than the Zoe by going home with a one-star rating. However, the tiny electric hatchback was eclipsed by the likes of the Fiat 500e and the MG Marvel R as both earned four stars.

As a final note, the Mercedes EQB got the GLB’s five-star rating from 2019, while the Audi A6 plug-in hybrid, Mazda2 Hybrid, and the Range Rover PHEV scored five stars as well.

Source: Euro NCAP

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With good reason, lots of people jumped to the conclusion the Renault 5’s return as an electric car would spell the end of the Zoe. However, that’s not going to be the case, at least not for a while. In an interview with Autocar, design boss Gilles Vidal clarified the two city-oriented EVs will peacefully coexist. At the same time, the new 5 will not replace the popular Clio B-segment car.

When inquired by Autocar, Groupe Renault’s executive vice-president, Laurens van den Acker, said: “Is it the end of the Zoe? The answer is no, because the Zoe is the best-selling EV in Europe. So, it would be silly to stop vehicles that are best-selling in their segment.”

Technical specifications regarding the reborn Renault 5 are shrouded in mystery at this point, but the zero-emissions hatch could end up replacing the Twingo EV in the company’s lineup. Having three small electric cars competing against each other could cannibalize sales, which the company with the diamond logo certainly wants to avoid.

In related news, Renaultion also detailed what the future has in store for Groupe Renault’s performance brand Alpine. It will be transformed into a pure electric marque and will launch three different EVs. One of them will be a sports car co-developed with Lotus, joined by a crossover, and a city car. The latter could take the shape of a hot hatch variant of the Renault 5, although nothing is official at this point.

Groupe Renault’s low-cost Dacia and Lada brands are also embracing electrification, with compact SUVs riding on the CMF-B platform coming by 2025 with hybrid powertrains for both companies.

Source: Autocar

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Whether you should go for one or not is still up to you, as electric cars while more reliable than ICE ones, have a different set of problems, mostly related to the battery pack. The guys from LoveCars have set out to test the aforementioned trio and see what each car is like. They cover the range indicated by each car when setting off, with the battery fully charged, to see which would cover the most ground.

The BMW i3 showed a range of 99 miles on the dash, the Renault Zoe showed 90 miles while the Nissan Leaf was the best of the three with an estimated range of 112 miles. What makes this test interesting though is that the weather was not nearly as good as you might want it for an EV test, as well as the fact that the i3 was an REx model. That is a disadvantage for the i3 as the range-extended models have a lower battery range.

By the end of the video, the guys tried to sum up which car was more efficient. The trip the trio took was 19 miles long so, considering the range shown by each car when they set off, the end result would show just how efficient each model is. The BMW i3 showed a range of 91 miles at the end of the test, the Renault Zoe 50 miles while the Nissan Leaf showed 88 miles left.

I guess it’s pretty easy to draw a conclusion here.

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