Vauxhall Corsa-e vs Renault ZOE: safety and reliability

The Renault ZOE is slightly ahead of its rival in terms of safety. It scored the maximum five-star rating from experts at Euro NCAP, while the Corsa-e could only manage a four-star rating.

The ZOE has lane keep and blind-spot assist, AEB with pedestrian detection and traffic-sign recognition, while the Corsa-e in Elite Nav spec has AEB, lane-departure warning with lane assist and collision warning. It’s also worth mentioning that the Vauxhall was tested under more strict current safety standards, since the ZOE's score is from 2013.

We don’t have concerns about reliability for these models because even early EVs such as the Nissan Leaf (and the previous Renault ZOE) have proved to be dependable. The lack of moving parts helps them to stand up to daily use and the batteries have an eight-year warranty for peace of mind.

Vauxhall finished 29th out of 30 in our wide-reaching 2020 Driver Power satisfaction survey, and Renault finished in 15th place in the same poll. However, consider that the Corsa-e is based on Peugeot underpinnings, and that brand came eighth - so we’ll call it a draw considering how new the Vauxhall is.