Renault 5

Yahoo

12-03-2025

In some ways it feels like we know the new, reimagined Renault 5 very well already.
It's been four years since the big-wheeled, boldly styled concept car blasted a splash of yellow across our screens. Rather than quietly retreat to Renault's heritage collection, the concept was developed into a production car that looks just as spectacular. And it's not a mere small-series vanity project. The new 5 is here to be Renault's mainstream hatchback, an entry point into its EV line-up. With a headline price of £22,995, it's no more expensive than a mid-spec hybrid Renault Clio.
The 5 has already won a number of awards – not least Car of the Year. Can it add five stars from Autocar to its achievements? We've got a high-spec long-range car to find out.
Some cars are all about the engineering, and while the 5 is a lot more than just a pretty face, it's the pretty face that's grabbing all the headlines. The story goes that when Luca de Meo became CEO of the Renault Group in 2021, he surveyed the design studio to get a handle on the new models already coming down the pipeline and found mostly worthy but uninspiring stuff.
Strategically 'left sitting around' was a styling model of a car that looked remarkably like a reinterpretation of the old 5. It was meant to be just a style exercise by designer François Leboine (who has since joined Fiat and Abarth) that wasn't destined for reality because it was too retro. However, de Meo reckoned this had to be Renault's future direction, so engineering was tasked with bringing it to life.
This was turned first into the 5 concept car that was presented at the start of 2021. Back then, a 2023 release date for the production car was mooted, but it has clearly taken a bit longer. Nevertheless, the design of that original concept has been largely maintained. The production car doesn't stray too far from those lines, and keeps the short overhangs, big wheels and features characteristic of the 5. By and large, it was a case of fitting the mechanicals – some new, some off the shelf – under this new design.
In 2022, Renault hived off its EV and software activities into Ampere, a dedicated new business parallel to its combustion-engine joint venture with Geely called Horse. One of Ampere's tasks was to develop an architecture fit for Renault's new electric plans, and the result is the Ampr Small platform, which will also underpin the upcoming Renault 4 and Twingo.
Renault says there are minimal similarities and shared parts or software with the CMF platform, which, unlike Ampr, does double duty for both electric and combustion-engined models.
However, it is still modular, so that existing components could be repurposed where appropriate. As such, the 5 uses a combination of the familiar and the new. For instance, the front-axle assembly is from the Clio and Captur, and the rear multi-link axle was adapted from the four-wheel-drive version of the Dacia Duster. The latter was chosen because in such a small car the trailing arms of the more common torsion beam axle would intrude into the space for the battery pack. Of course, it also brings ride and handling benefits and puts it on an equal footing with the Mini Cooper E.
The battery itself, despite being available with the same two capacities as the old Renault Zoe (40kWh and 52kWh), is rather different. For one, it is now liquid-cooled (like in most modern EVs) rather than just air-cooled, to ensure it maintains its performance in a wider range of conditions, and is up to being DC rapid-charged at up to 90kW for the small version and 100kW for the larger one. It also has a very different configuration, with fewer separate modules and more cells to a module.
The 5 is assembled in Douai, France, and Renault says most suppliers are located within a 300km radius. From the summer of 2025, this will include the battery packs, which are produced from the raw materials (rather than just assembled from imported cells) in a new facility set up with AESC Envision.
The 5 makes significant gains in terms of sustainability and repairability, says Renault.
The battery consists of a limited number of modules (four in the larger pack, three in the smaller version), which can be removed separately for repair or replacement, rather than requiring the whole pack to be replaced. However, it does still use NMC chemistry, rather than the cobalt-free LFP.
The motors are a development of those found in the Renault Megane and Scenic but they're smaller and lighter, since they don't need to be as powerful. Like those, they are separately excited synchronous units rather than permanent magnet ones, since those don't need rare earth metals. The more powerful Alpine A290 effectively uses the motors from the Megane.
The exterior's retro theme extends to the interior, where the designers have carefully cherry-picked classic design elements and combined them with 21st-century tech to create something that is instantly recognisable as a Renault 5, yet also original, modern and easy to use.
The passenger side of the dashboard, with its ribbed stitching, clearly takes inspiration from late versions of the first-generation Renault 5, but the big instrument binnacle that now integrates two 10in screens is more reminiscent of the mid-engined Renault 5 Turbos, as are the unusually shaped seats, with their seemingly free-standing side bolsters.
Renault has also deployed colours and materials to very good effect. All seat upholstery in the 5 is fabric made from recycled plastic bottles. Some might miss the option of leather (the related Alpine A290 does offer it), but most testers found the soft material very welcoming, particularly when specified in the striking yellow of our test car. It's a breath of fresh air compared with the often dour colour schemes of new cars.
Many expensive new cars are blighted by an interior that is stripped of quality materials and intricate details to drink in, which makes you question what you are spending all of that cash on. The Renault 5 is quite the opposite. With the price tag cut off, you would guess it to be one of the more expensive cars in its class. Instead, it's one of the cheapest.
You can, of course, find harder, scratchier plastics in the 5, but that's a given in this segment. Even those materials feel high quality. If there is a lapse in perceived quality, it's the tinny sound of the door panel when you open and close it.
Renault hasn't skimped on physical controls either. It's not that the designers have gone button-mad like Ineos or Hyundai (an approach we're not against), but the controls that are there are carefully chosen and laid out, and work very well with the touchscreen, to create a user interface that you simply don't need to think twice about on a day-to-day basis.
It's just so intuitive to use. There are conventional controls for the mirrors, and there's a row of rocker switches for the climate control, complemented by a permanent control bar on the touchscreen.
One slight annoyance is the column stalk-type drive selector. This arrangement works well in a Mercedes, but in the Renault the drive selector is joined on the right-hand side of the steering column by the wiper stalk and the media control widget, which can cause confusion. The 5 also doesn't have a 'park' setting, though you get used to simply putting on the handbrake when you've finished driving.
The benefit of a column shifter is that the centre console remains free for storage. In the Renault 5, it's not a very wide space, but it does include a wireless phone charging tray, two generous cupholders and a decently sized armrest cubby.
It all adds up to a great driving environment, and the final piece of this puzzle is present and correct too: the 5 has a nicely resolved driving position. Past Renaults often suffered from a shortness of leg room and thigh support, but that's not the case in the 5. Although the seats don't have cushion angle adjustment, their default position is semi-recumbent. This supports taller drivers' legs very well but may be less comfortable for shorter drivers. The steering column offers plenty of manual adjustment too.
The 5 is unapologetically a small car. At 3922mm, it is shorter than a Clio (4053mm), and despite small overhangs, the 5's wheelbase is shorter than the Clio's as well.
As a result, passenger space is inevitably limited. Accessing the rear seats is easier than in the Mini Cooper E thanks to the rear doors, but once in, occupants won't have a great deal more leg room. The 610mm on offer is about midway between the Fiat 500e (530mm) and the Mini Aceman (710mm). While tall adults won't be comfortable in the back of a 5, children should be fine.
Thanks to relatively large windows, the rear seat area is at least quite airy. Although there's no option of a glass roof and the headliner is a dark grey, the latter has an unusual waffle texture, lending some visual interest. There's little in the way of amenities. A centre armrest, climate vents and USB charge ports are all absent.
Given its small exterior dimensions, the 5 finds a reasonable balance when it comes to practicality. It hasn't sacrificed boot space for more rear leg room and leaves 277 litres, with a further 27-litre compartment under the floor that's ideal for a set of cables.
That's more than the Mini Cooper E's 210 litres but less than the Peugeot e-208's 311 litres. We would have liked to see a variable-height boot floor like in the Mini, given that the Renault's loading lip is quite high and folding down the rear seats leaves a big step. With the drive motor and power electronics at the front, there is no space for a front luggage compartment.
The 5's OpenR Link infotainment system is based on Google's Android Automotive and is fundamentally the same as you will find in the Megane, Austral and most other recent Renaults. The difference is that in the 5 it lives on a slightly smaller, 10.1in screen. This means that the interface is more squeezed and, as such, not quite as easy to use.
By and large, however, Renault's system is one of the better ones out there. It responds quickly, important functions can be accessed with big virtual buttons and the menu structures are fairly simple. Unlike the interface on Minis, it doesn't sacrifice clarity for gimmicky graphics, either.
Renault touts its Google connection more clearly than Porsche (which uses the same Android Automotive foundations in the Macan Electric), and you can log in with a Google account. This means that if you've searched for a destination in Google Maps on your phone, it will appear in the recent destinations in the car's navigation system (which is simply Google Maps). That's very handy, as is Google's traffic information and route planning.
The charge planner (which plots your route via rapid chargers if your destination is out of range) is very good too: it has up-to-date information about chargers and lets you easily swap in alternative chargers if you don't like the ones the software has suggested.
One annoyance with Google Maps is that it insists on asking you about road conditions: whether there's still a car stopped on the hard shoulder, or whether there's police around. It does this with a prominent dialog box that blocks more useful information like the remaining time and distance until you press on it. It's distracting and can't be turned off.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both wireless, quite reliable and integrate well with the car's native interface.
Horsepower wars rage on in other segments, but things remain relatively peaceful in the small hatchback class. With 148bhp, the Renault 5 sits about midway between Stellantis offerings like the Citroën ë-C3 and Fiat Grande Panda on the one hand, and feistier products like the 215bhp Mini Cooper SE. A 0-62mph time of 8.2sec makes the Renault usefully quick, even if that's 0.3sec shy of the quoted time.
For those who desire more performance, there's always the Alpine version with 174bhp or 215bhp. We noted only a marginal amount of deterioration in performance with the battery at a low state of charge.
Drivability is well resolved, with an accelerator pedal that is nicely progressive in the standard mode. It doesn't feel like the software is artificially limiting power, and while there is a kickdown switch at the end of the pedal, you don't need to push past it to get full reserves.
You don't get much choice in terms of regen: D mode gives you very light deceleration when lifting off, whereas B mode ramps it up to be quite strong. It's just a missed opportunity not to offer drivers true freewheeling and one-pedal modes.
Special praise goes to the braking system and performance. It's on a par for stopping distances with the Kia EV3 in both the dry and the wet, and outperforms the Cupra Born VZ by some margin. Even more impressive is the brake pedal feel. It uses a by-wire system, which results in a reassuringly firm pedal that is easier to modulate than almost any other EV or plug-in hybrid.
With the Mini Cooper E, the electric supermini segment already has its class clown. There's plenty to like about its pointy, adjustable and puppyish handling, but its excitable ride can get wearing. This leaves room for a car that takes a more relaxed approach. With the verve of French cars of old, the Renault 5 dives right into this gap.
It impresses with nicely fluid handling. At 1461kg on the weighbridge, it's a good deal lighter than the Mini, and the suspension works with this weight. While the short wheelbase, wide tracks and suspension that is ultimately built to a cost mean large bumps are dealt with rather than simply absorbed, the 5's vertical body control is miles more settled than the Mini's.
There's body roll, sure, but it builds gradually and naturally to add definition to the way the 5 negotiates a corner. Even on economy-focused tyres, there's no shortage of grip, whether on wet or dry roads. The front end has plenty of bite, and a mid-corner lift of the accelerator will rotate the car nicely.
When enjoying a twisty road, it is worth turning 'off' the traction control, which can cut in a little early and limit power too much. It's never fully off, and the stability control always remains on, so there's little chance of things getting out of hand. The 'traction control off' mode works reasonably as a sport mode, but the Mini Cooper E is more sophisticated in this respect, with its faster-acting system that also adds torque vectoring by braking.
With 2.5 turns lock to lock, the 5's steering isn't particularly quick. However, like on other recent Renaults, it is slightly peculiarly tuned to be very keen around the straight-ahead, and less so when you've got some lock wound on. Some testers enjoyed the feeling of agility this gives, while others found this behaviour presents a slight barrier to being smooth with your inputs. With that said, the effect isn't as pronounced as it is on the Megane or Austral, and it suits the lower-slung 5 hatchback more than those taller cars. Relatively strong self-centring gives the steering some weight, but there's not much in the way of feedback.
As a car to go for a drive in, the Renault 5 is beaten by the Mini, which has that bit more texture to its steering and is more throttle-adjustable. However, the Renault is far from outclassed, which is impressive given this is the standard version and not the hot Alpine.
The handling is doubly impressive given that the Renault 5 manages to combine it with quite a mature ride quality for the class.
As already mentioned, a bit of fidgeting and head toss is almost impossible to avoid, but the 5 feels generally quite settled. Certainly, it's much closer to cars from the class above, such as the Kia EV3 and MG 4 EV, than to direct rivals like the Mini Cooper E and Peugeot e-208.
Poorly surfaced roads, potholes and corrugations don't faze the Renault either. All 5s ride on 18in wheels with 195/55 tyres, and it would seem that picking one optimal wheel/tyre package and developing the rest of the suspension to work in harmony has paid dividends because the secondary ride is rarely harsh – at worst, it can be slightly noisy.
Meanwhile, at a cruise, the 5 proves quiet by class standards. At 70mph, 68dBA is on a par with the bigger, more expensive EV3. You can hear a bit of wind rustling around the mirrors, but road noise is exceptionally hushed.
Renault has a pleasingly no-nonsense attitude to the various mandatory driver assistance systems. On all of its latest models (and those of Dacia), it's possible to create a 'My Safety Perso' profile, where you choose which systems you want and which ones you don't. When you start the car thereafter, it takes simply two presses of one physical button to call up this configuration.
As for the useful systems, they are generally quite well resolved. We experienced no false activations of the emergency braking (which works forwards and in reverse), and the adaptive cruise control (which is standard on all but the entry-level trim) is smooth and responsive.
Switching the automatic lane following on or off is easily done using a steering wheel button. We just wish there was a standard non-adaptive cruise control mode. Blindspot monitoring is reserved for the top trim and doesn't have an audible warning.
While the higher segments have their horsepower wars, manufacturers at this end of the market are trading blows on price. Shortly after the launch of the Renault 5, its main rival the Mini Cooper E got a substantial price cut. It also has the Citroën ë-C3 to contend with, so while the 5 is certainly good value, it's not a complete bargain.
Prices start from £22,995 for the 40kWh Urban Range model in Evolution trim. That's £1000 more than the entry-level ë-C3, but several thousand pounds less than a Cooper E. The sweet spot of the line-up is probably the 52kWh Comfort Range in Techno trim, which adds the connected infotainment system, a centre armrest, a wireless charger, and the charge indicator on the bonnet, plus useful extra range.
The big annoyance here is that it lacks heated seats, which are important for keeping warm on short journeys without affecting the range too much by using the heater. In other countries, heated seats can be added with a separate option pack, but in the UK you need to upgrade to Iconic Five. However, even if you do, the Renault 5 is only as expensive as a Cooper SE with a similar level of equipment, and much cheaper than a Peugeot e-208.
On a three-year PCP with a £4500 deposit, the Renault is priced closely to the Mini. For a similar outlay, you could also get a bigger and longer-range, but less upmarket, MG 4 Long Range SE.
Based on the results of our rapid-charging tests, there's very little in it between the 5, Cooper SE and any of the 51kWh 154bhp Stellantis EVs.
In terms of the 5's efficiency, our test procedure paints a very mixed picture. It returned 5.0mpkWh on our everyday test, which mimics town and suburban driving with speeds of up to 50mph. This is a great result and equates to 260 miles of range. However, as soon as you venture onto the motorway and go over 60mph, efficiency plummets. We saw 3.1mpkWh on the 70mph touring test, which translates to a motorway range of only 161 miles.
There will be plenty of buyers for whom this will be a fair compromise, and the cold temperatures during our test were unfavourable (despite the Renault 5's standard heat pump). Equally, you would expect a well-appointed £30,000 car to be more capable of long-distance driving.
The market has been crying out for affordable yet stylish and enjoyable small electric cars. While desirable versions of the Renault 5 still cost more than the piston-powered equivalent, it is a decisive step in the right direction.
It has concept-car-made-real looks inside and out, but doesn't let them compromise user-friendliness. It outclasses all of its rivals with the kind of ride and handling balance that's rarely seen at this end of the market. The 5 manages to be both one of the most comfortable and most engaging small cars – whether electric or petrol.
A five-star verdict eludes it because of the disappointing cruising efficiency. A car of this size should get a very creditable range from 52kWh, but that's only true in town. On long trips, it would need more frequent top-ups than a Mini Cooper SE. Even so, the 5's blend of style, value, driving dynamics and fuss-free tech makes it an obvious class leader.
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