Don’t overlook the Renault 4. My biggest lesson after clocking thousands of miles behind the wheel of one over the last six months is that this compact hatchback EV doesn’t deserve to sit in the shadow of its (admittedly awesome) little brother, the Renault 5 E-Tech.
Under the skin it’s very similar to its ever-so-slightly smaller sibling, powering a single front motor from a 52kWh battery pack, but has even more heritage behind it thanks to the 1960s original’s incredible three-decade production run. It’s unapologetically French – which is no bad thing – and sits comfortably at the affordable end of the electric car spectrum.
That means some compromises, but generally, running the car has been a rewarding endeavour. Here’s what I discovered…
You want the baguette holder (even if you won’t use it)
My test car is the range-topping Iconic+ trim, although sadly, it left the factory before the Harman Kardon was made standard on that grade. Curses. There’s also one thing missing that I think should absolutely be a standard feature.
I simply had to have the baguette holder. It’s an official Renault accessory consisting of three parts – a real wicker basket, a plastic bracket which attaches said basket to the side of the centre console, and a removable fabric liner to ensure crusty debris is easily ejected. It’s not cheap, mind, at £138, and it does eat into passenger legroom a bit.
How many times have I used it, you ask? Other than to take this photo, precisely zero times. Perhaps I’d used it if I lived in France and had better access to excellent stick-formatted bread (the stuff you can get from Tesco just isn’t the same). Regardless, I couldn’t imagine having a 4 without one.
The Renault 5 is so much cooler
With its taller suspension and slightly bigger body compared to the Renault 5, the 4 is the clear choice in terms of comfort and practicality. But in terms of desirability, the 5 wins hands down. As a modern reimagining of the iconic original Renault 5, it’s spot on, and its more squat, wide-looking stance gives it a lot more visual presence.
The 4 isn’t an unattractive car, but its more upright stance doesn’t look as sporty. It also doesn’t do as effective a job of replicating its OG namesake, but that’s probably not a bad thing when the original 4 was more of a frumpy workhorse than an automotive fashion accessory.
The rear parking camera is the worst thing about it
Even 10 years ago, the reversing camera quality on this car would probably be considered poor. The feed isn’t very clear, and the resolution looks to be low. Worse still, once you get close to the object, something called ‘Zoom auto’ kicks in, switching the feed to a top-down view, with which I find it even harder to gauge where the back of the car is. I did eventually discover that this feature can be switched off.
It’s missing something you get on left-hand drive R4s
For many, mid-life crisis activities are things like buying sports cars, taking up golf, or perhaps trying to perfect home-baked sourdough. For me, it’s surfing, coinciding with a move to the south coast. I was excited, then, at the prospect of the Renault 4’s trick front passenger seat. It folds fully forwards, enabling loads of up to 2.2 metres to be loaded right up to the dashboard. In other words, a decent-size surfboard should fit nicely.
Or at least, it would do if this were a left-hand drive 4. It turns out Renault didn’t bother engineering this neat solution for right-hand drive cars, which is why ‘my’ 4 has roof bars to help enable my new hobby of falling off a long chunk of foam. I suppose there’s always the option to get the Plein Sud convertible and have the board sticking out of the roof…
The cabin is minimalistic, in the right way
There’s a simple, classy aesthetic to the Renault 4’s cabin. But this sense of minimalism doesn’t come at the cost of physical buttons – Renault has resisted the current trend to lob everything into a central touchscreen, retaining a bank of proper controls for the climate functions. Other manufacturers should take note.
While there are inevitably some cheaper bits of trim, the important stuff you come into contact with more often feels surprisingly plush considering the car’s low price.
It’s not one for long journeys…
With a mix of driving, it’s possible to get the 4’s efficiency up to around four miles per kWh, giving a real-world range of roughly 210 miles – not too far off the official WLTP figure of up to 249 miles. But as with a lot of EVs, it’s much less impressive for sitting at cruising speeds on motorways and dual carriageways, with the efficiency dropping closer to about three miles per kWh.
It’s not the quietest car at cruising speeds, either, and that isn’t helped by those aforementioned roof bars I’ve had fitted to this particular 4, which tend to whistle if you go much above 50…
…but it’s ideal for urban use
This is where the Renault 4 really shines, and not just because the efficiency improves dramatically during this kind of driving. With a bit more squish than the at-times firm 5, there’s no need to fear speed bumps and potholes, while the light, quick steering makes it a joy to hack around town.
Although 148bhp doesn’t sound like a great deal, the 4 picks up eagerly, particularly in its Sport mode. For urban driving, it’s an ideal power output. And finally, at 4.14 metres it’s also reasonably compact – barely longer than the 5, despite its sizeable increase in practicality. That matters when you’re trying to find a spot to parallel park into.
The value is outstanding
In the UK the R4 is eligible for the bigger Band 1 government Electric Car Grant (ECG), which means it gets a chunky £3,750 lopped off. The result is a starting price of £23,445, while even the top Iconic+ grade is only £27,945. It’s still a smidge under £30k if you spec the same trim with the Plein Sud retractable roof.
The starting price of a Citroën e-C3 Aircross is slightly lower, but for that you’re getting the smaller battery version, which lacks the Renault’s range. It feels like a cheaper car inside too. The Ford Puma Gen-e comes across as more expensive than both, but it is a bit more expensive, and it isn’t as interesting to look at as the 4.
Even value-focused Chinese brands are struggling to compete with the Renault 4’s exceptional value. Just look at the Leapmotor B03X, which starts from £26,995; we found it quite uneven in our first drive.
If I were after a cheap, practical EV, the Renault 4 would probably be at the top of the list. I’d just have to think long and hard about whether I’d need its extra space, or if I’d rather have the more chic Renault 5. Either way, it’d be getting a baguette holder.
