Citroen C-Zero EV Charging Cable

This is a Type 1 car, and that is the first thing to settle

Before you order anything, count the pins on the socket in the car. Five means Type 1, which is what these cables fit. Seven means Type 2 and a different cable entirely, and it is the mistake that gets made most often on older electric cars.

The C-Zero is a rebadged Mitsubishi i-MiEV, sold alongside the mechanically identical Peugeot iOn, and it belongs to the first wave of small electric cars that used the Type 1 connector. Every C-Zero ever sold takes a Type 1 lead at the car end and a Type 2 plug at the charge point end. Nothing about the car changed in that respect across its life.

Two sockets, one on each flank

The C-Zero has an unusual layout that owners of modern cars find surprising. The Type 1 AC socket is on the offside rear quarter panel and the CHAdeMO rapid socket is on the nearside rear, so the two inlets are on opposite sides of the car. When you measure for a cable, measure to the offside, because the nearside flap is no use to a home charge point.

There is a second complication on cars of this era: the rapid charging socket is a CHAdeMO connector on a completely separate flap, on the opposite side of the car from the Type 2 one. CHAdeMO is a dying standard in Britain and new rapid chargers rarely offer it, which quietly makes the home cable more important on a car like this than on a modern one.

3.7 kW, and one figure not to misread

The onboard charger is 3.7 kW and single phase, which means a British house gives it everything it has. There is no three phase version and there never was, so none of the usual arithmetic about phases applies.

One published figure needs care. A German technical catalogue lists the AC power as 2.3 kW with a full charge in nine hours, but 14.5 kWh over nine hours averages only 1.6 kilowatts, which does not fit 2.3 kW either. That entry describes the domestic three pin cable rather than the charger ceiling. Treat 3.7 kW as the maximum.

No cable can lift that figure: the onboard charger decides it. A 16A cable carries 3.6 kW and covers the car, and the 32A option is of no use to it.

How long a full charge takes

Figures are calculated rather than quoted: battery divided by power, 13 per cent for losses, quarter hour rounding. The range column is deliberately cautious, at 3.5 miles per kWh. The pack is 16 kWh gross and 14.5 kWh usable, figures that two independent sources agree on.

These are the shortest charge times of any car we write about. Even the three pin lead fills the battery inside eight hours, which makes the C-Zero one of the very few electric cars for which a household socket is a legitimate primary charging method rather than an emergency one.

Range, and which figure applies to your car

The 2016 to 2020 facelift is homologated at 62 miles WLTP. Earlier cars were tested on the old NEDC cycle at 150 kilometres, about 93 miles, and no WLTP figure was ever published for them. The two are not comparable.

On a car with this little range, charging convenience matters more than charging speed, and being able to fill it overnight from almost any socket is what makes it usable.

Which length for a C-Zero

The C-Zero is 3.48 metres long, the smallest car in this catalogue, and the AC socket is at the offside rear. Even parked nose in, a 5 metre lead usually reaches. Ten metres is for a charge point across a shared drive or well away from the parking space. Choose on the real distance from inlet to charge point, not the distance on the drawing, and never buy it tight.

How these cables are built

The lead is an IEC 62196-2 design, CE marked, IP55 sealed against a British winter and rated from -30C to +50C.

Three pin leads are made to IEC 62752, CE marked and IP67 sealed, with a -30C to +60C specification. Two years of manufacturer warranty, free next working day shipping anywhere in the UK, and a month to change your mind.

Also from Citroen: Citroen e-Berlingo Multispace EV Charging Cable. The full range of Citroen charging cables is on one page.

Citroen C-Zero charging cable questions

Is the C-Zero Type 1 or Type 2?

Type 1, on every car ever sold. You need a Type 1 to Type 2 cable: Type 1 at the car, Type 2 at the charge point. Count the pins on your inlet to confirm, as Type 1 has five and Type 2 has seven.

How fast does a C-Zero charge?

3.7 kW at most, and because the charger is single phase you get all of it at home. A full charge takes about four and a half hours, or under eight from a three pin socket.

Is a 32A cable worth buying?

No. The car is capped at 3.7 kW, so a 16A lead delivers everything it can accept.

Where are the charge sockets?

The Type 1 AC socket is on the offside rear quarter and the CHAdeMO rapid socket is on the nearside rear, so they are on opposite sides. Measure to the offside for a home cable.

How far will a C-Zero go?

62 miles WLTP for the 2016 to 2020 car. Earlier cars were rated at about 93 miles on the older NEDC test, which is not comparable.