Renault 5 E-Tech test drive

Make and model: Renault 5 E-Tech
Description: Electric supermini
Price range: £22,995 to £29,995

Mini says: “Faithful to the 2021 concept car, the Renault 5 E-Tech electric brings a welcome sparkle to the world of EVs”.

We say: The Renault 5 is a distinctive, affordable small EV which offers as much practicality as it does retro style. 

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Introduction

Most concept cars don’t reach production without their more radical aspects being diluted and ‘normalised’ for a buying public, but the story goes that when Renault’s CEO saw the company’s concept for a new electric small car in 2021, he insisted that it had to go on sale with as few changes as possible.

That concept reimagined the Renault 5, one of the first true ‘superminis’ – small hatchbacks – made between 1972 and 1995 that proved a huge success. More than five million were built and as well as becoming the most popular car in France, it found many satisfied owners across Europe.

The 2021 concept was instantly recognisable as a successor to the old 5, despite being a modern electric vehicle (EV). It had the upright proportions, sloping rear end, big wheel-on-each-corner design and various details that sparked instant memories of the original. 

Now, four years on, the Renault 5 (Renault 5 E-Tech electric, to give it its full and official name) is finally arriving in showrooms and looking remarkably like the head-turning concept from a few years ago. It has also gone on to win the European Car of the Year Award, The Car Expert’s Best Small Car 2025 award and a host of other trophies. But does it live up to the hype?

What is the Renault 5?

In short, the Renault 5 is an electric supermini, replacing the previous Renault Zoe, the brand’s initial dip into the world of electric mobility which was popular (despite a disastrous Euro NCAP safety rating), but been long overtaken by the speed of EV development.

Thankfully, the new 5 is much more than a modern Zoe. This is Renault treading boldly down the same path trod by BMW with its Mini, and Fiat with the 500, producing a practical, current car that also distinctly references a classic predecessor and thus makes itself a fashionable lifestyle choice as well as a transport one. 

However, this is also a car that Renault wants to sell in big numbers. So it’s practical – it’s quite light in weight for an EV, and crucially its price starts at just £23K, putting it right at the affordable end of electric motoring.  

First impressions

This is where Renault has possibly had its greatest success – the new Renault 5 is a thoroughly up-to-date electric vehicle but in its body styling it really does reference its classic forebear, with so many details that fans of the original Renault 5 will recognise.

Yet even if you had no idea there was a previous Renault 5 – and much of the target market for this car will be in that category – this is simply attractive, a purposeful little car that owners will feel good driving and being seen driving.

The car offers a very poised stance, with big wheels that fill out the wheel arches, while such elements as the vertical light clusters on the rear pillars, another original Renault 5 detail, appear attractive in their own right.

Renault is certainly making the most of its new fashionable supermini. The paint options include the bright yellow always regarded as the signature colour of both Renault 5 and Renault itself, while there are also various decals and graphics on offer, replicating a market previously well exploited by BMW with its born-again Mini brand.

The retro treatment continues inside with the way the seats and the fascia are styled, but the major impression is the quality of fit and finish. It’s good to see Renault not going down the route of touchscreen-everything with a number of physical controls, though this does lead to a lot of stalks around the steering wheel. 

We like: Car neatly fuses retro elements with modern practicalities
We don’t like: Some spec oddities such as heated seats only on the top model

What do you get for your money?

The Renault 5 is offered with trim levels in the UK, dubbed ‘Evolution’, ‘Techno’ and ‘Iconic Five’. Evolution is only available with the smaller 40kWh battery, which means a range of less than 200 miles – not necessarily an issue when most supermini owners will not get to a quarter of that in an average day’s driving.

Standard equipment includes 18-inch alloy wheels, auto air conditioning, wireless smartphone connection for both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, rear parking sensors, cruise control and LED lights front and rear. Every Renault 5 also gets a heat pump, which aids battery charging in lower temperatures, and ‘vehicle to load’, allowing the car to be used to power external electrical equipment.

Likely to be most popular is the mid-range Techno spec, offering a significant increase in specification for £2,000 more than the Evolution and another £2,000 for the longer-range battery that stretches the official range close to 250 miles. 

Specification highlights include a larger ten-inch driver display (up from the seven inches of the evolution), wireless phone charging, adaptive cruise control, a rear-view camera and multiple driving modes.

Go for the top Iconic Five trim level and you get different alloy wheels, plus heating for the steering wheel and front seats, hands-free parking and some safety extras, including lane centring and a blind-spot warning.

In terms of safety, the Renault 5 scored four stars when tested by Euro NCAP in December 2024. It performs well in crash situations, but misses out on a five-star rating by not achieving top marks in accident avoidance tests. It is, however, much better than the Zoe’s abysmal zero-star rating…

We like: Heat pump standard on all versions
We don’t like: Blind-spot warning only on top models

What’s the Renault 5 like inside?

Slip inside the Renault 5 and many potential buyers might notice the shelf-style fascia in front of the front passenger seat and be impressed by its padding and quality stitching, without realising that the shelf look is yet another nod to the original car.

As well as the driver’s digital display of seven or ten inches, all versions boast a ten-inch central touchscreen. On upper-spec models, this benefits from Renault’s tie-up with Google, with various apps available beyond the obvious Maps, but even the lower-spec versions accept Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connections with their access to Google functions.   

What is a definite plus is the touchscreen not being needed to control the entire car. There are a number of physical buttons, including some four stalks on the steering column, and many aspects of the controls will be familiar to anyone who has driven a current Renault. 

Gear selection is a simple matter of drive, neutral and reverse on most EVs and these functions on the Renault 5 are contained on a very slim stalk emerging top right of the steering wheel – it does look a little odd and, dare we say, fragile compared to its three chunkier siblings but does its job effectively.

In terms of space the rear seats are a little cosy, as one expects in this size of car. Taller passengers in the back will likely feel more comfortable than they would in a Mini, though their legs will be somewhat cramped. 

The boot offers 326 litres of luggage space. It’s not that easy to use, however, as while pleasingly deep and with dedicated storage for the charging cable, it has a high loading lip which will have those with heavy suitcases struggling.

We like: Quality trim with padded, stitched fascia
We don’t like: High boot loading lip

What’s under the bonnet?

The Renault 5 offers a choice of two power units and two battery sizes, both employing a single electric motor driving the front wheels. The choice is between 40 kWh and 52 kWh batteries, and power outputs of 120 or 150hp. 

This is not exactly the swiftest electric supermini out there, though it will offer enough get up and go for most users. The 120hp model will pass 62mph in nine seconds, while the more potent variant does the same sprint a second quicker.

In terms of charging, both variants will take around 11 hours to charge at home using an AC wallbox. The 120 model can only use DC fast charging at a rate of 80kWh, the 150 model 100kWh – in both cases you are looking at around half an hour to go from 15 to 80% energy level. 

What’s the Renault 5 like to drive?

Small electric cars that are really successful tend to have certain qualities – they are excellently behaved in urban environments, able to manoeuvre with ease around traffic-choked town centres but they also offer a little fun behind the wheel when out on the open road. The Renault 5 ticks all these boxes very well, much like its inspiration did back in the 1980s.

As mentioned in the powertrain section it’s not a rocketship small EV – for more pace (though still not that fast in EV terms) you will need the sister Alpine A290. But the majority of buyers will not miss such potency, instead appreciating that the Renault 5 is fun to drive, while the instant response from the electric drivetrain does still allow swift overtaking of slower traffic.

The car will cruise smoothly and silently through urban roads, while up at motorway speeds it remains refined and comfortable, with for a small car in particular a remarkable lack of extraneous noise.

That right combination also shows up when cornering. This is no stiff sports model but it’s not over-soft either, with just the right amount of body roll and a chassis that goes where it’s pointed through proportional steering offering just enough feedback.  

Obviously being a modern EV means that the Renault 5 comes fitted with EU mandatory driver alerts. The good news is that it also boasts Renault’s personalisation feature that allows the intervention of such alerts to be regulated or even removed at a single button press.

Those four stalks around the steering wheel do not leave room for the typical EV feature of regenerative braking paddles and the choices are limited, set in the personalisation feature with a choice of only two levels – certainly you can’t drive this car on one pedal like you can other EVs.  

We like: General combination of comfort and driving fun
We don’t like: Limited brake regeneration

Verdict

The choice of affordable small electric cars is growing quickly. For the same money as the Renault 5, some rivals – particularly from Chinese brands – offer more space and more performance.

The Renault 5, however, scores on being both affordable and a car with personality, an image. It’s the same basic retro-inspired success story that keeps the Mini and the Fiat 500 selling in large numbers, but at a starting price that undercuts both – the Mini by £3.5K. 

Throw in the fact that the success of both those cars means there are many on the roads, while the Renault is both shiny and new and more practical than either of its perceived direct rivals, and you can see why this car is set to be a hit.   

Similar cars

BYD Dolphin | Citroën ë-C3 | Fiat 500e | GWM Ora 03 | Mini Cooper Electric | Peugeot e-208 | Vauxhall Corsa Electric

The market for small electric cars was slow to get moving, but has been accelerating in the last couple of years. The Renault 5 is not the only retro-themed small EV available, with the Fiat 500e and Mini Cooper Electric also trading heavily on nostalgia for previous models.

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