► The 5’s more practical sibling
► 52kWh battery, 148bhp, 247 mile range
► Around £2k more than equivalent 5
Resurrecting names from the past seems to be going rather well for Renault, especially when mixed with some retro styling and electric drive. After all the buzz surrounding the reborn 5, it’s now time to reanimate the Renault 4 for the 21st century.
Based on the impressive 5, the 4 is a bit longer, taller and family friendly. Renault don’t call it an SUV, but they do compare the relationship between the 5 and 4 to the Clio and Captur. You can even option some of the most pointless side steps I’ve ever seen. Renault’s powerpoint cites the Mini Aceman, Fiat 600e and Jeep Avenger as rivals, but there are plenty of other B-segment e-SUVs to pick from.
Although not quite as achingly desirable to look at as its smaller sibling, the 4’s squarer shape still apes the original without being too retro. Only the 5’s larger battery is offered which will make the 4 pricier, if not by much. Pricing hasn’t been confirmed yet but early indications suggest it’ll be nearer £25k than £30k for the base model. Expect tempting finance deals, too.
So far I’ve only experienced a left-hand drive mid-spec Techno on some very familiar Portuguese roads and a few dirt tracks for good measure. If you’re curious about how we test, have a gander at our explainer page.
At a glance
Pros: Good to drive, very well priced, classy and easy to use interior, big boot, reasonable range
Cons: Ride a touch firm, heated seats only on top trim level, rear foot space could be better
What’s new?
While the 4 sits on the same AmpR Small platform as the R5, both the wheelbase and rear overhang have been extended to boost interior space, and it’s gained some height, too. Total length is up from 3,922mm in the 5 to 4,144mm in the 4, with weight remaining under 1500kg. That’s very skinny for an EV.
One pedal drive comes to Renault for the first time and is accessed by paddles behind the steering wheel. There’s even the option of a full-length electrically operated canvas roof that leaves a hole big enough for rear seat passengers to catch some rays. Shame it won’t be offered at launch, partially because it’s a wonderful nod to the old 4, but also because it gives rear seat passengers a little more headroom if they’re sitting up straight.
What are the specs?
All 4s get a 52kWh battery that’s coupled to a 148bhp motor with a punchy 181Ib ft of torque. It takes a brisk 8.2 seconds to get from 0-62mph which simply destroys the Stellantis family of small e-SUVs for acceleration. A Mini Aceman is quicker still, but you’ll be paying an awful lot more for one of those.
Officially the driving range is up to 247 miles on the combined WLTP cycle, and I don’t think you’ll have too much difficulty getting north of 200 in the real world during summer. I averaged between 4.0 and 4.3 miles per kWh over a couple of days driving despite a fair bit of time on motorways.
Admittedly, it was a delightfully warm 20-23 degrees during testing, so expect efficiency to dip into the 3s come winter. If it’s anything like the Renault 5 (which it will be), that’ll translate into a sub-150 mile winter range.
All 4s can take up to 100kW from a DC rapid charger to give a 30 minute 15-80% time or 55 minutes if you’re going from totally flat to totally full. An 11kW charger is standard so you can benefit from three-phase AC charging. The four hour 51 minute 0-100% time is usefully quicker than the seven hours 47 minutes a 7.4kW wallbox takes.
Vehicle to load is standard so you can plug a three-pin-fed electrical appliance into the R4, and you can tow up to 750kg as well.
How does it drive?
Much like a 5, funnily enough. While Renault has jacked up and softened off the suspension a bit, the engineers didn’t want to make the 4 puddingy in the corners. It’s therefore firmer than I was anticipating if by no means harsh.
The damping feels tight, giving good body control over larger humps and dips if a bit of thudding over smaller, sharper obstacles. Even so, it makes the Aceman feel like a roller skate on a rumble strip and is still one of the better riding small electric SUVs.
Besides, it means the 4 doesn’t at all disgrace itself in the bends. There’s precious little lean, and while it’s not quite as agile as the 5, Puma Gen-E or an Aceman, it’s far more satisfying than all the Stellantis offerings (save for the Abarth 600e and Alfa Junior Veloce) and pretty much every other rival.
The steering is precise, pleasantly weighted and delivers a few sensations from the tyres’ contact patches. The rack is just as quick as the 5’s but the additional wheelbase seems to have calmed its responses a little – no bad thing in my book. Push too hard and it’ll run wide at the front with no danger of the rear getting too involved, but then this doesn’t even pretend to be sporty, and I love it for that.
Tip into the throttle and it feels muscular, gaining speed with far more conviction than pretty much everything else in the class. An Aceman is quicker, and the Volvo EX30 faster still, but I never felt I needed more power. Even a ridiculously short sliproad saw the R4 sprinting up to motorway speeds without breaking a sweat.
That additional ride height means a couple of off-road detours were completed without a single unpleasant scraping noise under the car. Tyres were the limiting factor on gravel inclines, although I did notice one of Renault’s display cars wearing mud and snow rubber, and engineers were not willing to rule out 4WD coming to the 4…
You do get plenty of gustiness around the door mirrors and tyre rumble can be pretty rowdy on coarse surfaces, but then this is a sub-£30k SUV, not a Rolls Royce Cullinan. Even so, adaptive cruise with effective lane centring comes on mid-range Techno and above, taking some of the strain out of tedious motorway journeys.
What about the interior?
Save for some alternative fabrics for the seats, dash and doors – I’ll have the denim, thanks – and 4 badging, it’s much the same as the Renault 5. The good news is that you get physical heater controls, actual buttons on the steering wheel, switches for mirror adjustment and even volume buttons on the top of the infotainment binnacle.
The bad? Well, I wouldn’t go as far to say bad, but the gear selector doesn’t like to be rushed, and you will absolutely clout the wipers by accident when you actually meant to grab a gear. If you include the audio controls to the right of the wheel, there are four stalks sticking out of the steering column, after all.
The 4 is still waaaay more user friendly than the frustrating Volvo EX30, though. While both run Google-based infotainment, the 4’s standard driver’s display makes checking your speed far easier, the menus are easier to operate on the move and you still get Android Auto.
Quality impresses given the targeted price. You’ll find plenty of hard plastics, but that’s also true of the Aceman and pretty much everything else in the class. However, clever use of fabrics in lively colours make the 4 feel better inside than any other sub-£30k electric SUV, and makes the far pricier Puma Gen-E’s interior look cheap.
Front seat passengers get a bit more headroom than in the 5, but the real gains come rear of the B-pillar. There’s now usefully more space for your feet when sat in the back despite the battery protruding into the rear of the footwell, forcing your feet under the front seats. Rear passengers with big feet will need front occupants to jack their seats up to accommodate them. Six footers are less likely to have their knees either dug into the front seat or forced either side than the 5, but the Vauxhall Frontera and Citroen e-C3 Aircross offer usefully more rear legroom. Headroom is good, even though the rear bench is mounted far higher than the front chairs.
As for the boot, it’s second only to the Puma and its giant Gigabox underfloor storage. The 4 has 420-litres of space under the rear parcel shelf and 1,405-litres with the rear seats folded. This includes a 55-litre box under the boot floor, while there are handy straps and cubbies to stop your boot contents lapping the cargo area as you drive.
Unlike the 5 and most small electric SUVs, there’s virtually no loading lip which makes it far easier to lug heavy items in. It also means the 4’s boot is just the right height for sitting, so it’s basically a cut price Range Rover.
Before you buy
Expect the 4’s model lineup to closely mirror that of the 5, just without the small battery and less powerful motor. That’ll mean base Evolution will go just as far and fast as every other 4, unlike the 5, and is likely to have a generous level of standard equipment. This should include a heat pump, plus 18-inch wheels, wireless smartphone mirroring, rear parking sensors and keyless entry.
Assume you’ll pay around £2k to upgrade to mid-spec Techno to get the natty illuminated grille, Google built in to the infotainment, a larger driver’s display, a wireless charger, drive modes, adaptive cruise with steer assist, all-round parking sensors and paddle adjustable regen with one pedal driving.
You’ll get a bit more safety kit including blind spot monitoring in top spec Iconic, different alloys, and an electric tailgate. Most importantly for cold UK winters, it’s the only way to get heated front seats and a heated steering wheel. They are disappointingly not an option on Evolution and Techno trims.
Verdict
It’s another slam dunk Renault EV, and arguably an even better car than the 5. The 4 inherits all the good bits, adds significantly more practicality and doesn’t appear to jack the price up too much. Yes, a Vauxhall Frontera or Citroen e-C3 Aircross can be had even cheaper and offer more rear legroom, but they’re much slower and won’t go anywhere near as far on a charge.
At a stroke it makes the Ford Puma Gen-E look overpriced, offers better practicality than all Stellantis’ efforts save for perhaps the e-2008, and is far less punishing on bumpy roads than the pricier Mini Aceman. The Renault 4 deserves every one of those five stars.