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New electric 5 points to a Renault resurgence

8 months ago

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Writer:

Andrew Frankel | Ti co-founder

Date:

26 February 2024

As days go, today will likely be one of the better ones in the recent history of Renault. This morning, the company announced its new Scenic had fought off strong competition from the likes of the new BMW 5 Series, Peugeot 3008, Kia EV9 and Volvo EX30 to win the coveted Car Of The Year award – better known as the European Car of the Year – then it pulled the wraps off the production version of the new Renault 5 to near unanimous and rapturous acclaim at the Geneva International Motor Show.

Much of the praise – along with accompanying sighs of relief – stems from the fact that the showroom car is almost identical in external appearance to the 2021 ‘concept’ show car that got us so excited about the rebirth of the Supercinq in the first place. But there seems to be plenty to keep the head happy too, including a starting price of less than £25,000 when UK sales begin early next year. The cheapest electric example of its likely closest rival, the Peugeot e-208, is currently listed on its website at £32,650.

Of course Renault may be pricing to excite and it remains to be seen what that cost actually buys and how long it will remain at that level, but we know the car will come with two battery sizes (40kWh and 52kWh) and a choice of 121 or 148bhp power outputs, the latter likely to offer a 0-62mph time of around 7.5sec.

The Fiat 500 Electric, the best and most desirable alternative out there, costs £31,195 with a 116bhp motor with a WLTP range of just 203 miles with its 42kWh battery, while Renault claims 186 and 249 miles for its two battery sizes and charge at 80 and 100kW respectively.

This new Renault 5 E-Tech is only part of a compact EV product push from Renault, following this year’s Scenic and 2023’s excellent Megane, with the new Renault 4 due to be unveiled later this year for sale in 2025 and a new Twingo scheduled for 2026.

If Renault can keep them all this good looking, price them affordably and make them reasonable to drive, the future for the storied French brand will look brighter than it has in a very long time.

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