Renault 5 E-Tech Review 2025

When Ford Fiesta production ended in 2023 you’d be forgiven for thinking that demand for small hatchbacks had shrunk to such a degree that other manufacturers would quickly follow suit. Not a bit of it if this retrofuturistic French fancy’s anything to go by. Find out if there’s style behind the substance with out full Renault 5 E-Tech review.

Effectively replacing the Renault Zoe, the born-again Renault 5 E-Tech isn’t the first electric car to use retro-inspired styling to shape a model designed for today’s motoring world. Referencing its classic camper vans is the Volkswagen ID.Buzz, while the Fiat 500 Electric is a second reimagining of its 1957 Nuova 500.

The latest MINI Cooper Electric is new from the ground-up and combines a nimble, fun driving experience with battery-powered efficiency. Similar claims might be made of the new Ford Capri, but that’s a can of worms for another day.

Yet the new Renault 5 isn’t a slavish replica of its forebears — instead a bang-up-to-date compact five-door hatchback with a handful of carefully chosen references to its history. Its overall silhouette and shape of its lights are obvious nods to the original R5, as is the dashboard which is scalloped out on the passenger side to provide a little more space.

Elsewhere you need to be a bit nerdier to ‘get’ the joke. For instance, on the Renault’s bonnet is a charge level indicator that illuminates more sections of the ‘5’ logo the higher the level of battery replenishment — that same spot on the original Renault 5 was for an air vent.

Nor has the French brand gone all-in with pure electrification for its small-car future. Yes, the new 5’s underpinnings are also used by the Renault 4 E-Tech, born again as a compact SUV, yet the well-loved Renault Clio in petrol and self-charging guises has recently been given a welcome overhaul.

Renault won’t have the small electric hatch market all to itself, of course, with other manufacturers already selling their wares and several more to start soon. Among the bigger sellers are the closely related Peugeot E-208 and its Stellantis cousin the Vauxhall Corsa Electric.

Also within the Stellantis family, albeit using different underpinnings with alternative battery chemistry for a lower selling price are the budget-focused Citroen e-C3 and angular yet charming Fiat Grande Panda Electric.

Joining the fray later in 2025 is the Volkswagen ID.2, although it may be given a different name by the time it goes on sale — expect it to have more visual solidity like a Polo or Golf than the softer-looking VW ID.3.

Plus the Renault 5 itself is the basis of the all-new Nissan Micra, a model which shares very similar bodywork topped and tailed with circular lights, while the interior’s virtually identical save for trim differences.

Renault offers the 5 E-Tech with two electric motor and battery size combinations to keep the choice relatively simple. Gateway to the line-up is the 120PS Urban Range battery which has a 40kWh capacity sufficient for a WLTP Combined cycle driving range of up to 192 miles.

That’s fine for many but for those who tend to travel further more often the 150PS Comfort Range’s 52kWh battery will hold greater appeal thanks to a range of up to 252 miles. It’s also quicker thanks to its 245Nm torque output compared with the 120PS model’s 225Nm, shaving the 0-62mph time down from 9.0 to 8.0 seconds. Even higher performance is available with a pumped-up version of the R5 E-Tech sold as the Alpine A290 — we’ll cover that in its own dedicated review.

Both battery sizes are quoted as requiring up to 11 hours for a full recharge using an AC domestic wallbox. Using public DC rapid chargers speeds things up to around 30 minutes to get from 15%-80% charge.

Three trim levels are available for the Renault 5 E-Tech. Evolution can only be paired with the Urban Range battery, while Techno and Iconic Five can be had with both sizes. Each is well equipped with all models featuring a dual display screen dashboard which can be tailored with a number of accessories referencing the original R5 from 1972.

Remember this is a small hatchback, so if you’re captivated by the Renault’s looks and are thinking of downsizing be sure to check there’s sufficient rear seat and boot space for your typical needs. Neither is terrible but the slightly larger 4 E-Tech is roomier on both accounts.

No car’s perfect and the Renault 5 E-Tech isn’t an exception to that rule but the few niggles we have with it aren’t sufficiently detrimental to shake our assertion that it’s not just the top EV or most appealing new small hatchback available — it’s one of the best cars on sale full stop.

Over recent years there’s been a tendency for cars of all shapes and sizes to have their suspension designed to be ‘sporty’ — firm in other words — usually exacerbated by the fitting of enormous alloy wheels. That the Renault 5 E-Tech’s geared towards the comfort end of the spectrum is welcome, although further honing wouldn’t go amiss.

Along windier country roads as well as when plying motorways, the Renault 5 feels surefooted and substantial — not altogther unsurprising considering it’s a little car that weighs in the region of 1.5 tonnes.

A significant proportion of that heftiness is due to the batteries, of course, which as per EV norms are located under the floor, helping keep the 5 E-Tech’s centre of gravity low, promoting stability  when cornering, minimising lean when bends are tackled with vim.

While steering feel wasn’t especially high on the Renault engineers’ agenda for the 5, you’ve enough awareness of how true it traces the curvature of corners to quickly build confidence in it, knowing you can progressively apply the acceleratorbefore the wheel’s pointing straight ahead without the tyres scrabbling for traction.

As per legal requirements for all new cars, the Renault’s driver assistance kit includes lane-keeping software that can easily be turned off, yet doesn’t feel as intrusive or needlessly intervening as it can in many other cars.

All Renault 5s come with 18-inch alloy whees as standard. While these add to its aesthetic appeal, larger rims with shallower sidewalls on the tyres don’t usually go hand-in-hand with supple ride quality, which is evident at lower speeds, particularly on urban routes that local authorities have allowed to decay well past their prime.

As the 5’s an inherently softer, more compliant car than the similarly dimensioned Ford Puma Gen-E — the latter’s suspension and damper set-up promoting its sportier intentions — the Renault’s able to absorb road surface imperfections to a greater extent yet it could be better still. Even driven carefully, the 5 E-Tech tends to wobble — rather than shake — along cobbled and broken roads.

Much of the noise from the tyres and suspension working as the Renault 5’s being driven along are carefully muted with sound-deadening material, although the rush of air around the top of the windscreen pillars is more than slightly audible at motorway speeds.

Two choices of front-mounted electric motor are available for the Renault 5 E-Tech, both paired with a specific battery size. As per EV norms it’s driven as an automatic, with a single-speed transmission being the conduit for power being sent to the front wheels.

Only fitted with the smaller Urban Range battery pack is the entry level 120PS electric motor, although it’s hardly a slouch as its 225Nm torque output enables it to dash from a standstill to 62mph in a respectable 9.0 seconds.

Speccing the larger Comfort Range battery also brings about a performance upgrade courtesy of a 150PS motor which produces 245Nm of torque, shaving a full second of the 0-62mph benchmark time. Top speed for both Renault 5 power choices is electronically capped at 93mph to help prevent wasting energy with unecessary alacrity.

Modulating the power available using the accelerator pedal feels natural and easy to mete, so there’s no on-off switch-style bursts of sudden acceleration as you gently manoeuvre around car parks, yet the 5 confidently powers safely into traffic gaps on roundabouts and when committing to an overtake.

All models barring the entry-level Evolution trim with the Urban Range battery also feature Renault’s Multisense driving mode function. Accessed via a steering wheel-mounted button, the 5 E-Tech cycles through Comfort, Eco, Sport and Perso which offers a degree of tweaking between the various parameters. Chances are you’ll do the same as us and leave it in the perfectly acceptable Comfort setting the vast majority of the time.

Regenerative braking with two levels of effectiveness are accessed via the drive selector wand sprouting from the top right of the steering column — D (drive) being the normal level with B offering a greater degree of braking effect.

That drive selector is one of our minor grumbles with the Renault in that it doesn’t have clearly defined steps within it as are typically found on other electric cars, nor does it stay in a dedicated position relating to whether D, N (neutral) or R (reverse) is selected. The display screen has a small-fonted indicator confirming which it’s in, but it lacks the intuition of that used by Ford for the Puma Gen-E’s stalk.

Somewhat frustratingly — and again unlike the arrangement with most electric cars — the 5 E-Tech’s selector doesn’t have a P (park) setting. When you come to a stop and intend to park, the lever has to be nudged into N, as you would with a manual car, before flicking the parking brake switch mounted low down in the centre console. Note that the entry-level Evolution has a manual hand brake lever.

Those crash-testing experts at Euro NCAP assessed the Renault 5 E-Tech’s safety credentials in 2024 and awarded it a four-star rating. For a small car that’s a decent result given the standards are now more rigorous and there’s physically less space to cram everything into.

Euro NCAP scored the Renault 5 at 80% for both adult and child occupant protection, 76% for vulnerable road users and 68% for safety assist. That latter score no doubt influenced by the fact the entry-level model doesn’t have all of the driver aids fitted to the pricier models.

Standard safety-related gear fitted across the 5 range includes cruise control, a speed limiter, rear parking sensors, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, automatic main beam headlights and a driver attention monitor.

Breaking news — a small hatchback has a small interior. Flippant much? Absolutely but until humanity’s found a way to not comply with physics a car with compact external dimensions, such as the Renault 5 E-Tech will have even small internal ones.

Inevitably, the driver’s needs will be taken into consideration first, with both front seat occupants enjoying generous levels of head, elbow and leg room — from here the 5 feels like a much larger car than it really is.

There’s room for improvement, mind — pun intended — particularly if you go for a version with the baguette holder basket that hooks over the centre console on the passenger side. Another minor irk was the ratchet mechanism for the seatback angle adjustment that positions it in predefined steps rather than a wheel to place it at the exact degree you desire.

Those aside, there’s a generous degree of adjustability in the seat and steering wheel to get comfortable.

Things are less rosy in the back, so bear that in mind if you regularly plan to ferry tall adults around for long distances. A six-foot tall rear passenger will likely have just about enough legroom to sit behind someone in the front of a similar stature albeit with legs splayed.

Three seatbelts are fitted in the back although a trio of passengers accommodating all the positons simultaneously without anyone being uncomfortable is unlikely. The rear doors open wide enough with sensibly-sized openings to allow for the relatively straightforward installation of Isofix-mounted child seats.

Dedicated baked goods carrier aside, storage space elsewhere in the 5 — aside from the cheapest Evolution model — is well-considered with various dishes and trays with rubbery lining in the centre console, one of which is a smartphone wireless charge pad in all but Evolution trim, cupholders, a lidded cubby that doubles as a centre armrest, a sensibly sized glove box and usefully proportioned door pockets.

Pop open the Renault 5’s tailgate and you’ll reveal a 326-litre capacity boot. Acceptable for a small hatch and slightly more than you’d find in a Vauxhall Corsa Electric (309 litres) or Citroen e-C3 (310 litres). Under the Renault’s boot floor, which sits lower than the lip height you have to hoick heavy items over, is a well for a charging cable together with a tray for various tools and the puncture repair kit.

Fold the 5 E-Tech’s 60:40 split rear seatbacks over and there’s another step up from the boot floor to the close-to-horizontal platform they create, with volume increasing to 1106 litres, although in similar states both the Corsa and e-C3 are slightly ahead of the Renault, providing 1118 litres and 1188 litres respectively.

Disappointingly, there’s no additional storage space under the bonnet as the electric motor, air conditioning system and various other components eat up almost all the available space.

Another trueism about small cars is they tend to be at the lower echelons of the pricing scale, so although there’s a premium attached to the Renault 5 E-Tech, its interior isn’t constructed out of lavish materials as costs need to be kept low.

This has been done skillfully in the most part, with few aspects of the 5’s cabin feeling on the cheap side. Sure, there are some harder plastics here and there, mainly in places your hands are less likely to come into contact with, yet everything feels well assembled.

Areas you will prod, poke, flick and twist are of good, substantial quality free of flimsiness. While a number of different materials are used, they’re co-ordinated well to break-up expanses visually as well as providing some tactile delight. In this regard the padding on the dashboard and the upholstered panels on the front and rear doors are most welcome.

Less so is your right hand’s potential to be rather occupied. Not only is that side of the steering column the home of the wiper stalk as per the usual arrangement, there’s also Renault’s much-copied controls for the audio system in a pod of its own as well as a separate drive selector arm in lieu of the a gear lever. Thankfully each is differently shaped and finished so you’re unlikely to inadvertently grab the wrong one.

Despite the inclusion of two screens on the dashboard, the Renault 5 E-Tech’s interior mimic the original’s general shape, with even the small square raised panelled roof-lining being a nod to its 1972 forebear.

Overall the effect is a charming one that pays homage to the R5 history without detrimentally copying what came before.

All Renault 5 E-Techs have a dual-screen dashboard arrangement housed within a framed housing, the 10.1-inch infotainment touchscreen being angled towards the driver for extra convenience. While the entry-level Evolution model has a 7.0-inch screen immediately ahead of the driver containing key information, all other versions feature a configurable 10.0-inch version that can change colour to complement your choice of interior ambient lighting.

Those higher spec models also have Google integration within the infotainment package, including for navigation and voice assistant, while all models have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone connectivity.

Kudos to Renault for installing a bank of physical switches below the touchscreen for various frequently used functions such as for adjusting the climate control settings and demisting the rear windscreen.

Operating the touchscreen is a doddle given how clear the graphics are and how responsive it is to definite finger taps. What’s curiously off the pace is the low-resolution display which springs into life when reverse is selected — its reminiscent of watching online videos using a 20-year-old smartphone. Upgrade that to an HD-spec camera, Renault — it’s woeful for the sake of saving a few centimes.

Yes, there are small electric hatchbacks that cost less than the Renault 5 E-Tech but none of them have been designed with such a high degree of appeal, fun and irreverance engineered in from the outset. The clever aspect is that Renault doesn’t charge an eye-watering price premium for those desirable intangibles.

Gateway to the range is the 5 E-Tech Evolution with the 120PS motor and smaller Urban Range battery — it’s yours for £22,995. It’s a £2000 increase for the more desirable Techno specification, with the flagship Iconic Five grade a further £2000 on top of that.

There’s no Evolution version of the 150PS Comfort Range power and battery combination, so the cheapest is the Techno weighing in at £26,995. Again, the step up to the Iconic Five is an extra £2000.

Cheapest of the Vauxhall Corsa Electrics is £26,905, albeit with a 136PS motor and a claimed WLTP Combined cycle range that trumps the Renault’s by 30 miles. That same mechanical arrangement costs from £30,050 in the least-costly Peugeot E-208 with five extra miles of range to boot. Citroen will charge you £22,095 for the entry-level e-C3 with its 199-mile range.

With similar levels of charm to the Renault, the MINI Cooper Electric is significantly more powerful, yet is smaller and its practicality is further hindered by only being available with three doors. £26,195 buys you the 184PS version in Classic trim but the claimed driving range is a best of six miles shy of the 5 E-Tech’s tally.

If you want your Renault 5 E-Tech’s running costs to be as low as possible, you’ll need to have a home wallbox charger installed to gain access to cheaper, electric car-friendly tariffs typically of 7p per kWh. For the larger Comfort Range battery, a full charge for that claimed 252 miles maximum would cost in the region of £3.65.

Given the outrageous cost of public rapid charging, we’d advise only using them when necessary for as short a time period as possible. It’s not advisable to use them as an alternative to a wallbox installation.

From April 2025, electric cars are no longer exempt from VED car tax, with the same £195 annual bill as those alternatives with combustion engines. From the same date they also became liable for the Expensive Car Supplement — also known as luxury car tax — when they cost £40,000 or more. Even with a flurry of extra cost options no Renault 5 E-Tech is close to that figure.

Low Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) taxation for electric cars means they are much-favoured by company car drivers able to take advantage of the 3% rate for 2025/26.

Renault 5 E-Tech: Range and charging

Depending on your specification choice, the WLTP Combined cycle driving range for the Renault 5 E-Tech with the 40kWh Urban Range battery is 190-192 miles. Choose the 52kWh Comfort Range alternative and that increases to 251-252 miles.

Renault’s engineered the 5 to be very efficient with its electrical energy. The worst we saw on test was 3.9mi/kWh after a prolonged period of motorway-speed driving in heavy rain. On a dry day at typical city speeds you’ll struggle to get it to dip beneath 4.5mi/kWh.

Whichever battery size you choose, Renault quotes both as requiring up to 11 hours for a full recharge using a domestic wallbox’s AC connection. First-hand experience suggests that’s on the pessimistic side and that it should be quicker in the real-world.

Using public DC rapid chargers is considerably quicker — and pricier. Renault quotes 31 minutes for the Urban Range battery to jump from a 15% to 80% charge, limited by its on-board charger’s maximum flow rate of 80kW. The Comfort Range battery has a 100kW on-board charger, so even with its higher capacity, the same 15%-80% replenishment should be a minute quicker.

Three regular levels of specification are available in the Renault 5 E-Tech range — Evolution, Techno and Iconic Five.

Standard equipment for the Renault 5 E-Tech Evolution includes:

• 18-inch black diamond-cut alloy wheels
• LED headlights with automatic main beam
• Rear parking sensors
• Grey and black cloth seat upholstery with French tricolore stitching
• Light grey dashboard and door trim panelling
• 0-inch driver’s display screen
• 1-inch infotainment touchscreen
• Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring
• Arkamys audio system
• Two dashboard-mounted USB-C sockets
• Single-zone climate control air-conditioning
• Electric windows front and rear
• Cruise control
• Speed limiter
• Battery heat pump

Upgrading to the Renault 5 E-Tech Techno additionally gets you:

• Full LED headlights with French tricolore detail
• LED rear lights
• Automatic wipers
• Dark-tinted rear windows
• Illuminated charge level indicator on the bonnet
• Reversing camera
• Shark-fin antenna
• Recycled denim seat upholstery with grey stitching
• Recycled denim dashboard and door trim panelling
• Soft grain faux leather steering wheel
• High centre console with cupholders and lidded armrest cubby
• 0-inch driver’s display screen
• Integrated Google Maps, Google Assistant and Google Play
• Reno virtual driving companion connected to ChatGPT
• Wireless smartphone charging pad
• Multicoloured LED ambient interior lighting
• Multisense driving modes
• Adaptive cruise control with stop and go
• Electric parking brake with autohold
• Hill start assist
• Auto-dimming internal rear-view mirror

Further features at the top of the range with the Renault 5 E-Tech Iconic Five include:

• 18-inch chrono black diamond-cut alloy wheels
• Front and side parking sensors
• Recycled yellow and grey fabric seat upholstery with 5 logo
• Dark grey padded dashboard trim and yellow marled door trim panelling
• Heated front seats
• Heated steering wheel
• Frameless auto-dimming internal rear-view mirror
• Automatic parking
• Blind-spot warning system