Zaptec Go 2 vs Wallbox Quasar 2: £500 AC or £6,100 bidirectional DC?

The £5,600 between a promise and a product

These two chargers both carry the letters V2G on their spec sheets, but that is where the resemblance ends. The Zaptec Go 2 is a £500 AC wallbox — compact, subscription-free, certified V2G-ready but not yet bidirectional. The Wallbox Quasar 2 is a £6,100 bidirectional DC unit that can push power back into your house or the grid right now, assuming your car cooperates and your DNO agrees. The gap between them is £5,600 — and the question is not which is "better" but whether bidirectional charging has crossed the line from technology demo to domestic appliance.

• Zaptec Go 2 — £500 AC charger with V2G-ready certification, MID meter, free 4G, five-year warranty. Charges your car. Does not export power.
• Wallbox Quasar 2 — £6,100 bidirectional DC unit with V2H and V2G capability, CCS2, three-year warranty. Charges and discharges your car. UK pre-registration only.

What "V2G-ready" means versus what "V2G" means

The Zaptec Go 2 is the only AC home charger in the UK certified V2G-ready. In practice, that means the hardware is built to support bidirectional power flow once the AC V2G standards, car firmware, and supplier tariffs line up. It does not mean it can export a single watt today. You are buying an insurance policy — a charger that will not need replacing when AC V2G arrives — bundled with a perfectly capable 7.4 kW wallbox in the meantime.

The Quasar 2 is different in kind, not just in degree. It uses DC at up to 12.8 kW in both directions via CCS2. That means it bypasses the car's onboard charger entirely. If you own a Kia EV9 — the headline compatible vehicle — the Quasar 2 can run your house during a power cut, soak up solar during the day, and export to the grid at peak rates. That is not a promise. It is a function. But the list of cars that support it is short, DNO G99 approval takes 30–60 working days, installation runs £1,500–£3,000 on top of the unit, and the three-year warranty is two years shorter than the Zaptec's.

Installed, the Quasar 2 will cost north of £7,600. The Zaptec Go 2 installed is roughly £900–£1,100. You could buy the Zaptec, an Easee One for a second bay, and still have change from the Quasar's unit price alone.

When the Quasar 2 earns its price

There is a narrow but real case for the Quasar 2. You have a compatible car. You have solar panels generating surplus during the day. You are on a tariff like Octopus Agile where export and import rates swing by the half-hour. You want whole-home backup without a separate battery. In that scenario, the Quasar 2 turns a 77 kWh car battery into a home energy store — far larger than any domestic wall battery — and the maths can work over several years.

But several caveats stack up. The car must be parked and plugged in to serve as a battery, which limits the arrangement if you commute daily. Battery degradation from frequent cycling is still being studied. And a GivEnergy EV Charger at £478 paired with a GivEnergy home battery may deliver the same grid-independence for a similar outlay, without tying it to the car's presence.

The Zaptec Go 2 as a practical charger

Strip away the V2G conversation and the Go 2 is a solid mid-range untethered unit. The MID-approved energy meter is useful for anyone claiming business mileage — the readings are legally certified, not app estimates. Built-in 4G with no subscription means it stays connected even if your Wi-Fi does not reach the driveway. At 3.2 kg it mounts on almost anything. OCPP 1.6J compliance means it can talk to third-party energy management systems if you later add solar or a home battery.

Its weakness is tariff automation. The Zaptec app handles scheduled charging, but it does not chase half-hourly rates the way the Ohme Home Pro does. On a fixed off-peak tariff like Octopus Go, that hardly matters — set the timer once and forget. On Agile, you are leaving money on the table. If smart tariff optimisation matters more to you than V2G readiness, the Ohme Home Pro vs Zaptec Go 2 comparison covers that ground in detail.

For eligible renters and flat owners, the £500 OZEV grant covers the Zaptec's unit price outright and chips into the install. The Quasar 2 is not OZEV-approved.

The verdict

Buy the Zaptec Go 2 if:

• You want a dependable 7.4 kW charger today with a V2G-ready hedge for tomorrow
• You value the MID meter for business mileage claims or landlord billing
• You would rather spend £500–£1,100 installed and revisit bidirectional in a few years

Buy the Wallbox Quasar 2 if:

• You own a Kia EV9 or another confirmed CCS2-bidirectional car
• You want vehicle-to-home backup and active V2G export, not a future promise
• You have solar, a variable tariff, and the budget for a £7,600+ installed system

For most readers arriving at this page, the Zaptec Go 2 is the right charger. It does the daily job well, holds the V2G-ready position at a twelfth of the price, and carries a longer warranty. The Quasar 2 is a fascinating piece of hardware — but it is still pre-registration in the UK, compatible with a handful of cars, and priced like a home renovation. When bidirectional DC becomes a mainstream proposition, it will be worth revisiting. Until then, the £500 charger is the one to put on the wall.