Renault is reviving its once best-selling 5 supermini in the form of an all-new, low-cost electric car. The production version of the new Renault 5 is scheduled to arrive in 2024 and will compete with other compact EVs such as the Fiat 500 and MINI Electric.
Pricing is yet to be confirmed, but Renault’s executive vice president for engineering, Gilles Le Borgne, told us at the 2021 Munich Motor Show that: “This will be a real affordable car. We need to be in the range between €20,000-€25,000 (around £17,200-£21,500), but still be profitable. That’s the challenge”.
If Renault is able to keep its pricing within this low bracket, the 5 will be one of the cheapest new EVs to buy. This will put it in direct competition with Volkswagen’s upcoming ID2.all and the current MG4, and it would cost around 33 per cent less than the Renault Zoe.
The new 5 will be the first vehicle based on the Renault–Nissan Alliance’s CMF-B EV platform, which has been specifically designed for smaller electric vehicles. This platform will also be used by the new Nissan Micra.
The brand is claiming up to 249 miles of range for the 5’s larger 52kWh battery pack, which will also likely come with a higher starting price. Le Borgne also confirmed that the entry-level model will be fitted with a 40kWh battery, which will offer a more moderate maximum range but will also be more affordable.
Charging is likely to be similar to that of the Megane E-Tech, which offers up to 130kW rapid-charging speeds – this should allow up to 124 miles of range to be added in around 30 minutes.
The 5’s motor, meanwhile, will be a standardised 134bhp unit that will feature across all of Renault’s upcoming small EVs, as part of the brand’s drive to increase economies of scale, trim down production costs and pass the savings on to consumers.
New 2024 Renault 5: drive and performance
Not only is the new Renault 5 intended to be budget-friendly, but Renault also wants it to be fun to drive, just like its ancestors.
We’ve already driven a Clio-bodied Renault 5 prototype ahead of the production car’s 2024 arrival and, although it was far from a finished product, this has helped give some insight into what this electric supermini will be like to drive.
Direct steering, a stable chassis and an impressive braking system were all highlights of the prototype 5’s performance. The motor also feels like it produces a plentiful amount of torque but, due to the traction control system still undergoing development, the car struggled to maintain tyre grip in the snowy test conditions.
The 5 is fitted with a brake-by-wire system, but this offered reasonable pedal feedback even though it is not directly connected to the brakes.
New 2024 Renault 5: design
The new Renault 5 will draw heavy inspiration from its ancestors, sharing the same boxy silhouette and square front end. However, the firm’s designers have modernised features such as the headlamps, the bootlid and the tail-lights.
It’ll be a five-door electric supermini, with hidden door handles in the C-pillar and rear doors that are flush-fit with the quarter panels to give the illusion of a three-door body style. The flared wheel arches are also a nod to the more extreme Turbo I and II variants of the original Renault 5, which were homologated for world rallying – a hotter Alpine-badged version will be part of the new lineup and Renault has even let us drive a one-off Turbo 3E drift car concept.
Renault won’t fall into the same upsizing trap as many manufacturers. At the 2021 Munich Motor Show, Le Borgne told us: “This will be a small car at 3.92m. Today, most of the big cars – Clio included – are between 4m and 4.05m. We have decided to go to 3.9 to be agile and be fit for downtown in the city.”
The Renault 5 prototype is the work of designer Gilles Vidal, who Renault headhunted from PSA following his efforts with the similarly retro Peugeot E-Legend concept from 2019.
“The design of the Renault 5 Prototype is based on the R5 – a cult model of our heritage. This prototype simply embodies modernity, a vehicle relevant to its time: urban, electric, attractive,” said Vidal, pointing to the prototype’s similar lines and flush surfacing.
Some styling elements from the original Renault 5 have been repurposed to suit modern motoring. For instance, the bonnet air intake hides the charging hatch, and the fog lights in the lower front bumper are actually daytime running lights. These features could find their way onto the production-ready model.
No official interior shots have been revealed, but the cabin appears to be a minimalist environment, with only a transparent digital instrument panel visible on top of the dashboard.
What will the new Renault 5 mean for the Clio?
In 2021, Renault boss Luca De Meo explained the Renault 5’s positioning to Auto Express, saying: “The mission of that car goes beyond Renault. The mission of the project is to democratise electric technology in Europe – and you do that when you are able to make a competitive electric car in the range of €20,000 to €30,000, making money, obviously.
“It has to be a car that is in that range of price. We want to make it simple, accessible and essential. It needs to be an affordable product.”
But, by aiming the Renault 5 at the supermini segment, Renault has raised some questions about the future of the Clio. De Meo recognised the matter and hinted that it could soon become a car designed solely for markets where combustion engines are still allowed.
“I’m asking myself what to do with the next-generation Clio,” he said. “What kind of concept does it needs to be? Where are the markets? What kind of customer?
“I think we still have time and technical options. But if you think about the European perimeter, it will be difficult to make a small car with combustion engines profitable. You have to hybridise them with a lot of technology.
“In the A segment it’s already happening where the only possibility to compete and to be profitable is having an electric version. That’s why we have the Twingo and the Dacia Spring. And when the water goes up, the next one will be the B segment. Maybe there will be other markets where cars like a combustion-engined B-segment car will be successful, but not in Europe.”
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