Overall rating:

Renault's Fluence performs well and if you ignore the terms and conditions of it being an EV (which you should already be aware of) then this is a good package for the early adopters to snap up.

Key Facts

Pricing: from £22,850 plus monthly battery lease
Engine: Synchronous electric motor with rotor coil and 22kWh lithium-ion batteries
Transmission: single-speed automatic
Body style: four-door saloon
Rivals: Nissan LEAF, Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid
CO₂ emissions: 0g/km
Combined economy: Up to 115 miles from a full charge
Top speed: 84mph (limited)
0-62mph: 13 seconds
Power: 94bhp at 3,000 - 8,900rpm
Torque: 306lb.ft at 400 - 2,600rpm

In the Metal:

Although the Fluence petrol and diesel models aren't sold in the UK, they are sold in many other parts of Europe, so for some markets the look isn't that novel, while to us it is an entirely new car.
Those familiar with the Fluence will see some changes however. Perhaps most notably there is the additional length of the car. About 130mm has been added to the Fluence Z.E.'s rear end, mostly to accommodate the considerable bulk of the batteries, which are stacked behind the rear seats. This makes the already quite substantial Fluence an even larger car with a greater overhang.
There are some styling revisions too. There is a bespoke front grille for the Z.E. version, some slightly dodgy-looking LED rear lenses and a silvery-blue hue to the badging. Meanwhile, the specially designed aerodynamic alloy wheels ride on low rolling resistance tyres. Inside, the cabin is quite normal, really. There is a single-speed automatic transmission and instead of a rev-counter there are displays to show you how much charge you have left. There is also an 'econometer', which shows you instantly whether you are using a lot of charge or in fact, regenerating the battery thanks to kinetic energy recuperation. Compared to the Nissan LEAF, the Fluence Z.E. is more like a normal car that just happens to be powered by electricity.

Driving it:

You push a starter button, select D from the automatic transmission and simply move off in silence. And it never really gets any more complicated than that at all. The Fluence Z.E., like its standard cousins, is sprung very softly and is quite comfortable as a result. We did notice on our test drive that it did get a little unsettled over poor surfaces, but by and large the ride is very comfortable and it encourages a relaxed driving style.

There are some things that you have to get used to about driving cars like this and in particular in the Fluence Z.E. there is quite considerable regenerative braking. You find that, when you take your foot off the accelerator, it comes to a halt on its own quite quickly, without the need to touch the brakes - and this is regardless of whether you are on the flat or, as we found out, going down a hill. Even descending, the car will grind to a halt if you take your foot off the accelerator pedal, which is quite unusual. Other than that, the car feels pretty fast, especially from a standstill, where the electric motor's considerable torque comes into play in a split second. The Z.E. model is two seconds faster to 30mph than a standard Renault Fluence. Although the top speed is limited to 84mph, the instant response from the go pedal makes it feel quite rapid.

What you get for your Money:

As you can imagine, given that this will be a tricky car to persuade people to buy initially, the Z.E. is pretty well equipped with things like dual-zone climate control, TomTom satellite navigation, cruise control, countless airbags and safety systems all as standard. The base price of the car is £22,850, but you also need to lease the battery on top of that, the price of which depends on how long you intend to lease the battery.

Worth Noting

The Fluence Z.E. is still some time away from hitting UK showrooms and realistically is won't really appear in large numbers until autumn 2012.

Summary

As is so often the case these days with new electric vehicles, the Fluence Z.E. is very easy to drive and, as long as you can live within the constraints that an electric vehicle brings, you could own a car that will cost you very little to run and with zero tailpipe emissions. The worry for the early adopters is that their technology, which isn't cheap, will age poorly.