Renault 4 E-Tech Review 2025
Renault 4 E-Tech At A Glance
Styling successfully mixes retro and modern. Driving range appears to be good for its projected price. Loaded with useful and novel kit.
Less expensive, smaller batteried version may not be sold in the UK. You may tire of explaining to Brits who don't recall the original what a Renault 4 is.
To counter the ever-growing number of credible and attractive electric cars from relatively young Chinese firms, long-established car manufacturers have a powerful ace up their sleeves — their history. Given its recent form, it’s no surprise that the second member of this French brand’s ‘Iconic Family’ is the re-imagined Renault 4 E-Tech.
Second member? That’s right — if you’ve somehow manage to miss its maker’s promotional efforts so far, there will be little way of escaping the all-new, fully electric Renault 5 E-Tech.
Although the new Renault 4 and 5 share 68% of their components, including the modular E-Tech underpinnings, the lower-numbered car is actually the larger of the two, being longer — for increased interior space — taller, by courtesy of being a small SUV, plus the suspension’s been softened to promote comfort even further.
Renault’s original 4 never matched the 5’s popularity in the UK, in large part because it was rather a basic, utilitarian model — a kind of halfway house between a modern hatchback and an estate that was designed cope with being driven over rural French terrain.
Consequently, that the reborn Renault 4 E-Tech is an SUV feels fitting and conveniently presents the company with an intriguing choice against a slew of alternatives from the tough-looking Jeep Avenger to its more cutesy cousin, the Fiat 600e.
It will also have to contend with models that put the focus more on driver engagement than the Renault with its optional plein sud full-length fabric sunroof and dashboard-mounted baguette holder. You won’t find those in the Ford Puma Gen-E or Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica.
It also feels somewhat ironic that one of the Renault’s competitors is from a marque that’s written the book on how to plunder a brand’s back catalogue, yet the MINI Aceman is decidedly un-retro.
Not that the R4 E-Tech is a slavish pastiche of 1961’s Renault 4, mind you. Just as when the 1972 Renault 5 is compared with the latest 5 E-Tech it’s easy to recognise how the older models’ shapes and styling motifs have influenced the newcomers. They feel familiar, not facsimiles.
Unlike its forebear, the latest Renault 4 isn’t rudimentary transport for those on a budget, although with a starting price of just below £27,000 it’s cheaper than many of its rivals. Note that's for the 150PS version with the 52kWh Comfort Range battery giving a claimed WLTP Combined cycle driving range of up to 247 miles.
At this stage it seems unlikely that the smaller 40kWh Urban Range battery alternative powered by a 120PS motor — as featured in cheaper Renault 5s — will make it to the UK in the 4 E-Tech.
Charging the Comfort Range battery will take 30 minutes to jump from 15% to 80% using a 100kW DC rapid charger, with a flat to full replenishment using a domestic AC wallbox requiring around 11 hours. An efficiency-boosting heat pump for the battery is standard on all Renault 4s, while the adapter to power external electrical equipment using its vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability is part of the package on all but the entry-level Evolution version.
Renault’s also packed the new 4 with kit including a 10-inch multimedia touchscreen — choose the pricier Techno and Iconic trims and that includes integral Google apps such as the Maps navigation with charge level-optimised route planning and pre-conditioning to prepare the battery ahead of being plugged in.
There’s practicality behind the glitz, though, meaning it should be sensible choice for the couples and young families Renault’s aiming the 4 E-Tech at — its 420-litre boot out-volumes the larger Volkswagen Golf’s to the tune of 39 litres, for instance.
Plus there’s a 35-litre well beneath the floor to house charging cables and other smaller belongings, while loads of up to 2.2m long can be transported thanks to a front passenger seat that folds forwards for extra convenience.
Orders for the Renault 4 E-Tech opened at the end of May 2025 with the Evolution costing £26,995, the better-appointed Techno adding £2000 to that cost and the range-topping Iconic being a further £2000 again. Customer deliveries are set to begin in the summer.
Whether British customers take the new Renault 4 E-Tech to their hearts in a way few did with the original remains to be seen but the new 5 indicates there's a genuine buzz around what the firm's up to. It seems like the right size and type of EV that will appeal to a broad spectrum of buyers, plus with an assortment of bold colours, including two-tone schemes with the options of a contrasting black roof and bonnet, it’ll certainly catch people’s attention. Vive la difference.
Keep this page bookmarked to read our comprehensive electric Renault 4 E-Tech review later in the year.
