Driven! Is the New Renault 5 E-Tech the Le Car You’ve Been Waiting For?
It's an affordable mainstream EV that looks cool and is fun to drive. Too bad we’re not getting it here.
All automakers have at least one model, one iconic car, that expresses its DNA, insists Renault CEO Luca de Meo. One of those cars for the French automaker, says de Meo, was the Renault 5, a perky hatchback built between 1972 and 1985 and sold for a time in the U.S. as the Le Car. Compact yet roomy, frugal and fun, more than 5.5 million were built, a (le) car that helped Renault ride out the oil crises of the 1970s. De Meo is clearly hoping that the all-new Renault 5 E-Tech will tap into some of that nostalgia to help smooth Renault’s journey into the EV era.
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The 5 E-Tech is not Renault’s first modern EV. It replaces the subcompact Zoe, which Renault launched back in 2012 and assiduously evolved over its 12-year life, improving its range and drivability to the point where it was considered a legitimate alternative to the company’s internal combustion engine sub-compact hatchback, the Clio, for city-dwelling Europeans. And Renault has other EVs in its current lineup, such as the larger Megane E-Tech, a Golf-sized hatchback, and the Scenic E-Tech compact crossover.
What’s the Tech on the E-Tech?
In terms of EV technology, the single-motor, front-wheel-drive Renault 5 E-Tech breaks no new ground. But it’s underpinned by a new Renault EV platform, dubbed AmpR Small, that is both lighter and easier to build than the Zoe’s and can accommodate more powerful e-motors, up to 220 hp in the case of the Alpine A290, the electric hot hatch from Renault’s performance division. Two versions of the 5 E-Tech are available, one an entry-level model with a 120-hp, 166-lb-ft e-motor powered by a 42-kWh lithium-ion battery, the other with a 148-hp, 181-lb-ft e-motor and a 52-kWh battery. The e-motors are synchronous wound rotor units. They’re not as power-dense as permanent-magnet synchronous motors, but they’re cheaper to build, says Renault, and more efficient at lower speeds.
The 5 E-Tech rolls on a 100.0-in wheelbase, measures 154.5 inches from bumper to bumper, and is 69.8 inches wide and 59.0 inches tall. For context, it’s almost 2 feet shorter than a Nissan Leaf. That makes the four-door Renault a tighter fit in the back seat than either, but its compact dimensions, combined with its 33.8-foot turning radius, make it ideal for navigating the narrow streets of European cities. More important, though, at 3,196 pounds, the 148-hp, big-battery 5 E-Tech weighs 688 pounds less than a Leaf SV Plus. It’s only 212 pounds heavier than the diminutive Fiat 500e, a car that’s 8.6 inches shorter in the wheelbase and 11.4 inches shorter overall.
That relatively low weight helps the 5 E-Tech in two key areas, namely performance and range. Renault says the 148-hp, 52-kWh version accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in about 7.8 seconds on the way to an electronically limited top speed of 93 mph. Quoted range, according to the European WLTP test protocol, is 248 miles, which translates to roughly 200 miles or so under the more realistic EPA test protocol. The Nissan Leaf SV Plus, which has 214 hp and a 60-kWh battery, is only about a second quicker to 60 mph than the 5 E-Tech and, at an EPA-rated 212 miles, offers only marginally more range. The Renault is fractionally quicker to 60 mph than the tiny, 117-hp Fiat 500e but has at least 60 miles more range.
Although there are no plans to sell it in the U.S., based on U.K. retail prices, the top-spec 5 E-Tech would, at about $34,000 (at current exchange rates), be cheaper than either the $37,595 Fiat 500e or the $37,305 Nissan Leaf SV. And for that money you get a solid level of standard equipment that includes heated front seats and steering wheel, adaptive cruise control with lane centering, and hands-free parking capability. And faster charging, too: Renault claims the 5 E-Tech will accept up to 100-kW charge rates, giving a 15 to 80 percent charge time of about 30 minutes on a 150-kW charger. We saw a peak charge rate of 56 kW on a freezing day in London that took the battery from a 21 to 70 percent charge in 31 minutes.
Cool Factor Makes Up for Shortcomings
The performance, range, and price numbers are only part of the story, though. What makes the Renault 5 E-Tech such an appealing urban EV is that it looks cool and is actually fun to drive. It’s not the fastest, and it doesn’t have the best range or the most room. But it’s an EV that makes you smile when you drive it and look back over your shoulder when you lock the doors and walk away. It’s a small car with an abundance of character and charisma that few in its segment can match, regardless of powertrain.
The exterior design riffs on the iconic silhouette of the original Renault 5, particularly in terms of the short front and rear overhangs and the way the taillights extend up into the C-pillars. The new 5’s signature exterior colors, Pop Yellow! and Pop Green!, were inspired by colors available on the original 5 in the 1970s. Cool 21st century details include the battery charge indicator portal on the hood, which progressively lights up to form a stylized number 5 when the battery is fully charged. The 5 E-Tech is a much more muscular-looking thing than the dainty original, though, the fenders pumped out over standard 18-inch alloy wheels.
While the indented, black-panted side sills cleverly hide the thickness in the bodyside that’s an inevitable consequence of packaging a battery under the floor, you do feel like you’re riding on, rather than in, the new 5 when you slide behind the wheel. But you’re in an interior that’s fun and unexpectedly upscale. The two-tier dash structure allows for padding in a variety of materials, including denim made from recycled plastic bottles, which is also applied to the seats and door trims. The seats, inspired by those in the original Renault 5 Turbo, are also trimmed in fabric made from recycled plastics and feature bold contrasting panels and 5 logos. Renault says up to 128 different combinations of colors and textures are possible.
The instrumentation is digital, of course, with a 10.1-inch digital screen (7.0 inches on the base Evolution model) in front of the driver and next to a 10.0-inch touchscreen. In the mid-spec Techno and top-spec Iconic Five trim levels, the touchscreen is powered by Google’s OpenR system, which runs on Android’s OS but effortlessly accommodates Apple CarPlay. Both screens are configurable—the instrument panel offers five different views, and the central touchscreen display can be personalized by way of a variety of colors and digital textures.
One ergonomic gargoyle: The shift lever is located on the right-hand side of the steering column, above the wiper/washer stalk, and it’s easy to reach for the wrong one—the wiper/washer stalk—when you’re trying to put the car in gear. To complicate matters, there’s a third stalk on the right, tucked away beneath the wiper/washer one, that’s used to control the audio system. Trust us, unless you’re familiar with Renaults, you’ll spend hours trying to figure out how to modulate the sound system. One nice feature: Even though the car defaults to all the mandated ADAS systems when you switch it off, Renault lets you select the ones you don’t like (such as lane keep assist, which corrupts the nice steering) and program the car to switch them all off with the press of a single button.
How Does the E-Tech Handle Its Roadgoing Business?
The 5 E-Tech’s relatively light weight and quick steering—only 2.6 turns lock-to-lock —endow the car with the acceleration and agility to effortlessly nip-and-tuck through traffic. But what really makes the little Renault sparkle is the quality of its suspension, which is based on that of the Clio up front and features a multilink setup at the rear. The ride is considerably firmer than the plush, cushy demeanor that was once so characteristic of French cars, but there’s a velvety control to the body motions that you simply don’t get in many small cars these days. The Renault’s damping allows it to breathe over rough and tumble urban tarmac while keeping it controlled through quick twisties. That, combined with the generous sidewalls on the 195/55 tires, the comfortable seats—long a French specialty—and careful attention to sound deadening, gives the 5 E-Tech a premium road feel.
At the same time, there’s also a relative simplicity to the 5 E-Tech that’s oddly refreshing. You won’t find, for example, paddles behind the steering wheel to adjust the level of lift-off regen—your choice is limited to selecting B on the shifter to allow close to one-pedal driving. And there are only two drive modes: Normal and Sport, actuated by the button hanging from the right-hand spoke of the steering wheel. You don’t miss the fine levels of adjustability you get in something like a Hyundai Ioniq 5, because the base settings are well resolved. The regen in Normal drive mode is not as overbearing as in, say, an early Jaguar I-Pace, either. For example, when you lift off the accelerator, it feels like you’ve come off the case in an ICE car in third or fourth gear. And Renault’s brake-by-wire system delivers good feel and seamless transitions between regenerative and mechanical braking.
Its relatively modest range means the Renault 5 E-Tech is no road warrior, ready to roll across Wyoming; instead, it’s a car designed to make navigating the urban hustle a little more fun. But if you do venture outside the ’burbs, its ability to accept a relatively high rate of charge means you won’t spend too much time hooked up to a fast charger en route. The Renault 5 E-Tech shows mainstream EVs can be affordable and desirable cars that can also be fun to look at and drive—all while offering everyday usability in the process.
I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t fascinated by cars. My father was a mechanic, and some of my earliest memories are of handing him wrenches as he worked to turn a succession of down-at-heel secondhand cars into reliable family transportation. Later, when I was about 12, I’d be allowed to back the Valiant station wagon out onto the street and drive it around to the front of the house to wash it. We had the cleanest Valiant in the world.
I got my driver’s license exactly three months after my 16th birthday in a Series II Land Rover, ex-Australian Army with no synchro on first or second and about a million miles on the clock. “Pass your test in that,” said Dad, “and you’ll be able to drive anything.” He was right. Nearly four decades later I’ve driven everything from a Bugatti Veyron to a Volvo 18-wheeler, on roads and tracks all over the world. Very few people get the opportunity to parlay their passion into a career. I’m one of those fortunate few.
I started editing my local car club magazine, partly because no-one else would do it, and partly because I’d sold my rally car to get the deposit for my first house, and wanted to stay involved in the sport. Then one day someone handed me a free local sports paper and said they might want car stuff in it. I rang the editor and to my surprise she said yes. There was no pay, but I did get press passes, which meant I got into the races for free. And meet real automotive journalists in the pressroom. And watch and learn.
It’s been a helluva ride ever since. I’ve written about everything from Formula 1 to Sprint Car racing; from new cars and trucks to wild street machines and multi-million dollar classics; from global industry trends to secondhand car dealers. I’ve done automotive TV shows and radio shows, and helped create automotive websites, iMags and mobile apps. I’ve been the editor-in-chief of leading automotive media brands in Australia, Great Britain, and the United States. And I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. The longer I’m in this business the more astonished I am these fiendishly complicated devices we call automobiles get made at all, and how accomplished they have become at doing what they’re designed to do. I believe all new cars should be great, and I’m disappointed when they’re not. Over the years I’ve come to realize cars are the result of a complex interaction of people, politics and process, which is why they’re all different. And why they continue to fascinate me.Read More
