Renault 5 review: Electric supermini is a cheap and charming star

April 11, 2025 Matt Allan

The Renault 5 has won awards left, right and centre, but can it really live up to the hype? I’ve been driving one to find out

The Renault 5 is one of the cars I’ve been most excited to drive this year.

That’s partly due to nostalgia for my parents’ first-gen 5 from my childhood and partly because, on paper, it shows so much promise.

Renault was one of the first brands to offer a compact, relatively affordable EV in the Zoe and while it was flawed it got an awful lot right. So when Renault said it was reinventing its iconic 5 supermini as an EV, hopes were high that the experience from the Zoe would result in something that could deliver range, practicality and style in a well-priced, city friendly package.

Hopes got even higher when Renault announced the new R5 would start at less than £23,000, bringing it to a whole new level of affordability, and undercutting perceived rivals like the Mini Cooper, Fiat 500 and Peugeot E-208.

But prior good form and on-paper promises only mean so much. Can the revived Renault 5 live up to expectations?

Design, interior and technology

The new Renault 5 gets off to a good start by treading a line between retro homage and modern reimagining. There are enough details and design cues from the original R5 that you can see a through line, but it’s not slavish or over the top.

It has that same sharp-edged shape and the same squat proportions (albeit scaled up). Touches like the flared bottom to the tail lights are reminiscent of the 5 Turbo, and the original car’s bonnet vent has morphed into a light-up charging indicator in the new car. But elements like those and the rectangular headlights don’t look retro or contrived and will appeal to those who have never heard of the R5 before, as well as those who remember the original.

The new Renault 5 neatly recalls the original car’s shape and proportions

Fitting its position as a funky city car, the Renault 5 comes as standard in vivid green, while the bold Pop Yellow paint is likely to prove popular. But there’s something appealingly understated about the sophisticated Midnight Blue of my test car.

Inside, the squared-off Gordini-inspired seats have a retro feel but elsewhere this is a thorough modern car, with a dash-top unit housing a 10.1-inch touchscreen and digital instruments, plus a multifunction steering wheel borrowed from the Scenic.

Around the cabin, the basic interior plastics look and feel like you’d expect in a £23,000 supermini. The door tops, centre console and under-dash are all pretty average shiny black plastic. But what Renault has done brilliantly is to splash enough other textures and finishes around to elevate the overall look and feel. Higher-spec cars get a fantastic quilted faux leather panel on the passenger side dash with bright yellow contrast stitching. Then there’s the vivid yellow panel in the seats made from recycled textiles. Even the headliner has a quilted look to add some texture and character.

While the R5 is a true supermini – at 3.9m long – front space is remarkably generous, with good levels of adjustment for the seat and steering wheel. The payoff is limited rear space. It’s what you expect from a supermini, but with the driver’s seat at full stretch, there’s no space for another human being in the back. Still, having five doors does give it a practicality boost over rivals like the Mini and Fiat 500. The boot, too, is a very respectable 326 litres and there’s a 41-litre space under the floor for your cables.

The R5’s interior uses makes clever use of multiple materials

The infotainment system uses the latest Android-powered OpenR Link interface and it’s quick and clear with big, bold icons. It also supports wireless Apple and Android mirroring as well as running Google Maps natively.

As with all new cars, there’s a slew of driver ‘aids’ that – thanks to ill-conceived regulatory demands – come on every time you start the car. However, Renault has addressed this with the ‘My Safety’ button which lets you activate a personalised setup (ie with everything off) at the press of one button.

Renault 5 battery, motor and performance

Powertrain options for the Renault 5 are simple. You can have a 118bhp motor and 40kWh battery, or a 148bhp motor and 52kWh battery.

The entry-level setup returns 191 miles of range and a 0-62mph time of 9 seconds, while the more potent pairing offers up to 252 miles and shaves a second off the acceleration standard.

That’s the one I’ve driven and it feels well suited for this car. There’s enough instant pep from the motor to dart around town, and sufficient grunt to safely execute a motorway overtake without running out of puff. It will be interesting to see how the lower-powered variant feels in comparison.

There are three regular drive modes – eco, comfort and sport – plus a custom option. Truthfully, apart from a duller throttle in eco mode, there’s not a great deal of difference between them. There’s also no single-pedal driving, but there is a well-balanced ‘B’ mode that enhances the regenerative braking.

The Renault 5 rides and handles impressively for a supermini

On the move, the Renault 5 manages a careful balance between city friendly manoeuvrability and high-speed stability. The steering is light but not as horribly light as Renaults of the recent past. It’s direct and quick and the chassis feels well sorted, so the Alpine A290 should be proper fun. But it also feels really well planted on the motorway and rides remarkably well for a small car, so won’t get wearing on longer journeys.

Renault quotes energy consumption of 4.1m/kWh for the 148bhp Iconic Five trim. Over 500 miles, most at French autoroute speeds, I saw around 3.5m/kWh, although slower going in the UK returned close to 4m/kWh. Lower-spec cars make do with 80kW DC charging, while the higher-grade versions get 100kW. Both should take their respective batteries from 15-80% in 30 minutes.

Renault 5 price and specification

There’s been a lot of attention on the Renault 5’s starting price of £22,995, which makes it one of the very cheapest EVs on sale right now. But there’s also a pretty big gap between the cheapest and most expensive versions.

The entry price will get you the ‘urban’ powertrain featuring the smaller battery and motor in Evolution trim. £24,995 will get you the same entry-level motor and battery in the better equipped Techno grade or you can pay £2,000 more for the Techno with the longer-range ‘comfort’ setup.

There are nods to the original Renault 5 all over the new car

At the top of the range, the Iconic Five starts at £26,995 for the shorter-range version and £28,995 for the comfort range. That’s starting to look less ‘affordable’ but still undercuts the Mini Cooper SE by around £1,000.

Even basic cars get LED lights, 18-inch diamond cut alloys, the 10.1-inch screen, wireless phone mirroring, cruise control and parking sensors. They also get all-round electric windows, two-zone climate and a heat pump, none of which you get on the £22,000 Citroen E-C3.

That’s pretty much everything you need, but if you want a rear view camera, adaptive cruise control, vehicle-to-load charging, or tinted glass, you’ll need the Techno spec. Iconic Five, meanwhile, adds heated seats and steering wheel, highway driving assistance and fancier interior trim and ambient lighting.

Verdict

The Renault 5 had high expectations upon it and it’s managed to meet all of them.

The EV world has been crying out for small, fun and affordable cars, and the R5 ticks so many of the boxes, from style and price to driving enjoyment and range. What’s more, it does all that while delivering a feelgood factor and character that not many rivals can match.

While top-spec cars aren’t spectacular value, the extra styling touches and range are worth splashing out on if you can. But even entry level cars pack plenty of kit, usable everyday range and a retro-inspired look that turns heads wherever you go.