Wired magazine does not devote a lot of time to electric cars, so when it runs a story saying the new Renault 5 EV is will be a “smash hit,” it’s time to sit up and pay attention. Now, before we get carried away, Wired gives the Renault 5 a rating of 8 out of 10 — good, but not perfect. Range could be better and back seat passengers may find leg and hip room a little tight, but there is a lot to love about the new car, starting with styling.
“The new Renault 5 EV is unashamedly nostalgic in look, mining a design trend that’s been around so long that retro is almost retro,” Wired says. “Yet when you see it in the flesh for the first time resistance is futile. Here, surely, is the electric car that will demolish any lingering preconceptions, a surprisingly sophisticated conduit for all-round feel-good vibes that’s packed with big-car tech.” That is high praise indeed. Renault boss Luca de Meo couldn’t agree more. “Some products are magical,” he said. “You don’t have to hold endless discussions, everybody is always in agreement on what needs to be done. And they do it. There’s no inertia.”
Renault 5 EV Shines
A little history is called for. The Renault R5 first appeared in 1972 as a competitor to the Fiat 127 (which later was produced in Russia as a Lada before it reappeared later as the Yugo). From 1976 until 1983, it was sold in North America as Le Car, a rather sly way of emphasizing its Gallic origins to customers who would not know an R5 from an avocado. The R5 was no track day star. It came with a 782cc 4-cylinder engine. A 956cc engine was optional and a 1289cc engine was made available in 1974. Despite its modest power, the R5 was the best selling car in France (and much of Europe) from 1972 until 1986. It was cheap to buy, economical to operate, rugged, and one of the first cars to feature a hatchback instead of a trunk.
Wired writes, “The new R5 aims to brighten your day via its candy colors, and an exterior and interior design that prompts an expertly executed Proustian rush. The silhouette might be familiar, but the new car has fuller proportions and imaginative postmodern touches galore. There’s a cheeky little four corner graphic in the headlights that ‘winks’ as you approach. The foglights below mimic that motif, while the vertical taillights are another echo of the original. They’re now designed for a degree of aerodynamic efficiency that would have boggled the minds of Renault’s engineers back in the day. The chunky wheel arches call to mind the mid-engined R5 rally car, and the new car’s roof can be had in a variety of treatments. It’s a five door car but the rear door handles are cleverly hidden away. And the old car’s hood vent reappears here as a state-of-charge indicator. Each strip represents 20 percent of the available energy.”
Fans of the R5 will recall that Renault stuffed a turbocharged engine into the car where the rear seat used to be, widened the rear axle by a foot or more, and created one of the quickest road cars you could buy at the time. The car was a beast to drive, with many test drivers reporting the turbo was more like an on/off switch. Controlling the available power was tricky, even for professional drivers, but the performance was exhilarating, to say the least.
Specs & Prices
The new R5 uses a bespoke platform, called AmpR, so it has a flat floor and longish wheelbase despite measuring only 3.9 meters (12.8 feet) in overall length. The battery’s case helps stiffen the structure. The new R5 comes with two batteries — 40 kWh and 52 kWh. There are also three motors available — 70 kW, 90 kW, and 110n kW — which are equivalent to 94, 121, and 150 hp, respectively. Both batteries contain prismatic NMC cells from Renault’s battery partner AESC. According to Renault, both the vehicles themselves and the batteries will be manufactured in northern France. Only the larger battery will be available at the start of production.
Prices start at £22,995 ($29,830) with uprated models selling for £30,000 ($38,890), yet the R5 is not a cheap car in terms of its engineering specs. Multilink rear suspension and disc brakes all-round are unusual in this class, suggesting a big-car character in a compact package, Wired says. A heat pump is standard. Maximum charging power is 100 kW — enough to replenish the battery from 15 to 80% in 30 minutes. There is also an 11 kW AC charger built in. Renault says cars fitted with the 52 kWh battery have a range of 255 miles WLTP. An equivalent EPA range would be right around 200 miles, although Renault has no current plans to market the car in US.
An ev that isn’t fucking huge? I’d almost be sold if I wasn’t broke as fuck and I wasn’t worried about the car spying on me. Plus it will probably never be available here.
Kia Niro? BMW i3? Nissan Leaf?
I’d never buy a Nissan Leaf solely because of the air-cooled battery
I have one from 2016, and I’ve never noticed. What’s the issue?
The issue is people not letting the battery cool down before charging it, if you do it constantly it will kill the battery faster than in a water cooled battery because they tend to run hot in the first place.
Huh… I never did that and still have 90% of the advertised miles after 8 years.
But that’s an anecdote of mine, not real data.
Just using the delayed charge function solves the issue, but I’m pretty sure people just have their battery die on them and that’s it, there’s no sign it’s going to happen.
Hyundai Kona, Fiat 500?
They’d have a fucking meltdown if they saw a Citroen Ami 😂
I’ve seen the ami but it wouldn’t be street legal even if you could get one here.
Huh, must be that Freedom©®™
You can drive a V8 strapped to a snapped frame and drive around sitting on milk crates, but one of them gay cars? That’s illegal
Yeah, they call it a quadricycle, it’s the equivalent of those buggies that old people drive, it’s not a car
And soon(ish) the new Bolt, EX30, EV3, and R3.
I got a bit weird because literally the only ev’s you see people driving in my town are the f150 lightning or the rivian. There used to be more teslas but they probably caught on fire when the weather got cold or the steering wheel came off or something.
An SUV-ish slightly outdated car and two small-ish outdated cars. Might as well throw in the Zoe. Well, they’re good used options but I get the OP about this being the start of small but good EVs. The Hyundai Inster seems pretty good too!
Outdated? The BMW i3 is probably the perfect solution that everyone wants, it just didn’t sell enough for BMW to keep making it, probably because of the premium pricing and size, but it’s a small car that lets you drive an unlimited amount of kms with guaranteed 200km+ electric only…
People complain that small cars aren’t available but when they are they don’t put their money where their mouth is, they instead wait until it’s not available anymore, complain and buy a 10 years old sedan instead.
We do need more compact EV options in the states, and less of automotive brands telling us what we don’t want.
If a magazine that doesn’t usually cover cars suddenly covers cars, my reaction isn’t “this must be great”. It’s “how much did that plug cost then?”
This looks like a replacement for the discontinued Zoe. The range is slightly longer due to the lower weight, and hopefully safer, but otherwise it seems that software and design are the only advancements. Same battery, same engine.
It’s great to see more cars with V2G. I would like to know how people actually get to use it.
Anyway, the Megane already has the same features and a larger battery, so I’m not sure if the design alone can really justify the hype.
Both my kids have had Zoes, one of the original model and one of the latest one. They have been great cars, particularly the newer one that my son has, he does about 15k a year in his. Reliable, great economy, although my daughters replacement Fiat 500e for her Zoe gets a higher miles per kWh but it has a smaller battery.
However Renault can be an absolute pile of crap to deal with. Our local dealer is so bad we would never buy another Renault as they are the only dealer within a reasonable distance (nearest alternative is 25 miles of traffic heavy city driving).
Renault UK can be pretty shitty about denying expensive warranty claims as well from what I have seen. Anybody looking at buying any car should be checking out the reputation of their local dealer before buying but especially for Renault IMO
We are looking at a MG EV4 to replace his Zoe next year, more range, more space, and cheaper than the Zoe/5 with a longer warranty.
I agree. The Renault dealerships near me are combined and absolutely prioritize the more expensive brands.
MG doesn’t seem much better here. They just have showrooms similar to the Chinese brands and all servicing is outsourced to other garages with a MG logo.
Mine has V2L but I have used it in a pinch to keep refrigerator or gas furnace running. Would be nice to be able to just keep the whole thing plugged in and have it go to the breaker box.
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Last sentence, most important.
I know it’s hard to believe but there are people on the Internet who are not living in the USA.
I know right?! But I swear it’s true.
It may be surprising to you, but that is not what I meant.
Not for the vast, vast majority of people
Sorry for the clumsy statement. It was a choice for the writer/editor to put it last in the article. It didn’t reference its availability anywhere else either, which is also odd.
It’s surprising they made this ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52JeWila65Y