Here’s a detailed look at the paint palette available on the all-electric Renault Zoe 5-seater supermini, which we hope will help you choose your perfect new car colour. You can also read our in-depth Renault Zoe review for more details about Renault's electric supermini.
There are 8 main paint options for the Zoe electric car (EV), comprising 1 solid paint, 3 standard metallic paints and 4 slightly more expensive ‘Renault I.D.’ metallic paints. Renault is currently only offering the Zoe in top-grade GT Line+ specification and so the colours below are the ones available for this solitary model. Besides the exterior hues, we also outline the only interior upholstery choice for the Zoe EV that goes with all these body colours.
Paint Types
Solid = A simple body colour with no additives in the paint. Usually comprises 3 coats, these being a primer, then the paint, then a clear, protective lacquer. Solid paints aren’t particularly shiny and are normally the only standard/no-cost colours offered by manufacturers.
Metallic = Same application process as above but the paint now has powdered metal mixed into it, which reflects more light to give the car a shinier appearance. Metallic finishes usually cost more than solid paints.
Pearlescent/Mica = As above, only instead of metal, ceramic crystals (known as ‘mica’) are added to the paint. These not only reflect light but refract it too, giving one colour different appearances in different levels of light. They’re normally as expensive as or pricier than metallic paints.
Matte = Uses special ‘flattening’ agents in the paint/layering make-up to give the car a non-reflective appearance, and sometimes an unusual texture too. These are normally the most expensive and rarest of paint options, and are not offered on many new car models.
Exterior
Glacier White
Type: Solid
Cost: No cost (default colour)
Available On: GT Line+
A familiar opening shade for any car these days, but particularly fitting for saintly EVs, the basic colour on the Renault Zoe is Glacier White, the only solid paint in the palette. It used to be offered alongside a £700 Renault I.D. alternative, known as Quartz White, but that latter finish has been discontinued so if you want a white Zoe, you have to stick with the free paint. It’s a nice enough interpretation of white, although it’s a colour that will – naturally – show up all manner of mucks and messes very quickly.
Highland Grey
Type: Metallic
Cost: £600
Available On: GT Line+
There’s a trend lately for manufacturers to term what we would call ‘silver’ as ‘grey’ instead. And Highland Grey, the Zoe’s first metallic paint choice at £600, falls into this category. If it is a grey, it’s a very, very light one – you might almost say ‘silvery’ – and so it will be a good choice for those with sedate aesthetic tastes. It will also be one of the more low-maintenance paint finishes for the Renault EV, as silvers… sorry, greys… tend to be more forgiving when it comes to displaying accumulated winter road grime.
Titanium Grey
Type: Metallic
Cost: £600
Available On: GT Line+
This is more what we imagine grey to actually look like. Titanium Grey is a lot darker than Highland, veering beyond the sort of gunmetal range into something approaching charcoal. However, it should look really smart whether it’s sparklingly clean or caked in dirt, and it won’t require frequent washing throughout the year as a result.
Diamond Black
Type: Metallic
Cost: £600
Available On: GT Line+
Black is always a great colour for any car… as long as it’s clean. Despite thinking that black will probably hide dirt better than any other automotive paint colour, it in fact shows up the encrustations of winter road salt far more easily than a silver or grey would. Diamond Black metallic, the last of the 3 £600 paint finishes for the Zoe, is no exception to this rule.
Midnight Blue
Type: Renault I.D. Metallic
Cost: £700
Available On: GT Line+
Now we move into the more desirable, and thus slightly more expensive at £700 apiece, Renault I.D. paints. The first of these is an incredibly dark blue, which looks suitably classy on the Zoe’s reserved exterior lines. Midnight Blue will, like Diamond Black, show up more light-coloured grime than you’d credit it for, but it’ll look superb when it’s all cleaned up and polished.
Celadon Blue
Type: Renault I.D. Metallic
Cost: £700
Available On: GT Line+
Probably the most recognisable colour available for the Renault Zoe EV. Celadon Blue I.D. is a light, watery blue and it’s a popular finish for this zero-emissions hatchback – you see lots of Zoes in this sky-like shade. Interestingly, the word ‘celadon’ used to be applied to jade-green Chinese ceramics, rather than blue items.
Flame Red
Type: Renault I.D. Metallic
Cost: £700
Available On: GT Line+
A bold red with a lustrous metallic sheen, Flame Red I.D. is a cracking colour choice for the Zoe – but not one you see often. It’ll manage to wear year-round road filth better than some of the other finishes in the range, yet it should look absolutely smashing when you’ve just washed it. Flame is also arguably the sportiest-looking metallic available for the Renault EV.
Aconite
Type: Renault I.D. Metallic
Cost: £700
Available On: GT Line+
Finishing on a bold, unusual colour that’s coming right back into automotive fashion these days, Aconite is a deep purple – so insert your own ‘Smoke On The Water’ gag here. Named after a widespread northern hemisphere-dwelling genus of plants, which, er, are highly poisonous, Aconite is nevertheless a beautiful and distinctive shade of paint for the Zoe.
Interior
Part Recycled Fabric And Part Synthetic Leather Upholstery
Type: Recycled cloth and man-made leather
Cost: No cost
Available On: GT Line+
Available With All Body Colours?: Yes
Just the one interior to go at, a mix – on the upmarket-aspiring GT Line+ – of both recycled fabric material for the centres and then man-made leather for the outer bolsters. It’s a nice enough blend of the 2 textures, although it is more black-on-black design for what is already quite a sombre interior, as EVs go.
Check out our latest Renault Zoe lease deals here.
