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The Renault 4 E-Tech aims to follow up the brand’s ‘futuristic retro’ formula as demonstrated successfully with the Renault 5 hatchback, but this time with a slightly larger crossover body style.
Renault has been very successful with taking the design of the original 1970’s Renault 5 and updating it as an electric car. The follow-up act is a similar approach for the Renault 4 (production of the original R4 started in the 1960’s). We rate the Renault 5 highly for its excellent design and affordability, so what’s the Renault 4 like to live with?
The Renault 4 E-Tech and the Renault 5 E-Tech are both based on the same ‘AmpR Small platform’ but the Renault 4 E-Tech aims to be more of a family-friendly five-seater crossover compared to the Renault 5 E-Tech hatchback. Unlike the model naming strategies of most manufacturers, where the higher model number corresponds to an increase in vehicle size, the Renault 4 is slightly larger than the Renault 5 (4,144mm in length compared to 3,920mm) with a larger boot (420 litres compared to 326 litres), or 1,405 litres with the rear seats folded, with a space under the boot floor for charging cables. The 80mm longer wheelbase of the Renault 4 translates into more rear legroom than the R5, where space is tight for back seat occupants.
Like the Renault 5, the 4 stands out for the way the classic design has been translated into a characterful modern crossover. Both cars have creative design details, with the 4 featuring a light surround for the front grille, with full LED headlights together with an illuminated logo, and rear lights in three sections (if you park next to a Fiat 500 you’ll notice a close resemblance between the rears of both cars). The interior features soft-touch fabric material on the dashboard and a 3D texture on the inside of the roof, again, as per the Renault 5
In the UK the Renault 4 E-Tech has just one battery size, 52kWh, although a 40kW option is available in Europe.
The Renault 4 E-Tech shares the refined driving experience of virtually all electric cars, with responsive acceleration thanks to the electric motor’s instant torque. Because of its compact size and relatively light kerb weight (for an EV) of 1,462kg, there’s some agility to the driving experience.
In keeping with its crossover styling, the R4 has 18-inch wheels which are large for the size of the car; wheels this big can often spoil a car’s ride quality, but the 4 remains comfortable on most road surfaces unless faced with particularly scary potholes, yet body control is also generally well controlled.
A choice of drive modes – Sport, Perso, Eco and Comfort – can be easily accessed via the ‘Multi-Sense’ button on the steering wheel. Helpfully, the EV stays in the same drive mode next time you start it. With a 0-62 mph time of 8.2 seconds, performance is adequate but not in hot hatch territory; if you need to select Sport to make maximum use the of 150 PS of power, remember that the R4 is front-wheel drive, so there’s always the risk of wheel spin and torque steer on wet, cold roads.
Four levels of brake regeneration include a one-pedal function, and these can easily be changed via steering-wheel mounted paddles. As well as these paddles, behind the steering wheel there’s an indicator stalk on the left, and on the right you have Renault’s traditional (hidden) volume control, the wiper stalk, and above that, another stalk for the gear selector (ie. there are a lot of controls behind the steering wheel). The gear selector gives the options of R, N and D. At the end of the stalk there appears to be a button to select Park, but it’s actually not a button, meaning there’s no way to select Park. Instead you have to carefully push the stalk into Neutral and then operate an electronic handbrake which is in a completely separate position at the bottom of the centre console, which isn’t the most user-friendly gear-changing solution. It’s also possible that when you try to change gear, for example from Drive to Reverse, that you find that the gear hasn’t in fact changed; you need to change gear slowly and put your foot hard on the brake pedal to ensure the car actually changes gear.
The Renault 4’s cockpit has two 10-inch screens: a driver’s display, and a central touchscreen – an openR link system with Google built-in – with permanent shortcut buttons displayed down the right-hand side, even when CarPlay is in use, for Home, Media, Apple CarPlay, Apps and Vehicle. Climate information is also displayed at the bottom of the screen, although you have a row of physical buttons to control climate functions below the touchscreen.
One brilliant feature is a button on the right-hand side of the dashboard that allows you to switch off a collection of safety systems that drivers typically get annoyed by, such as the lane departure warning system.
The Renault 4 E-Tech 100% Electric techno comfort range has an official WLTP combined driving range of 247 miles. During a week on test in winter, the Renault 4 E-Tech’s real-world range was averaging 150 miles. This is significantly less than the official range of 247 miles, and a key reason for this is likely to be that our techno trim test car didn’t have heated seats or heated steering wheel. Heated seats in particular are an important feature to achieve longer range in winter because they reduce the need for cabin heating, which impacts on battery range – even though a heat pump is standard on all trim levels. There are three R4 trim levels: evolution, techno and iconic, and only the top trim level, iconic, comes with heated seats and steering wheel.
In the UK the R4 is only available with a 52kWh battery. A 40kWh battery is available in Europe – presumably it was decided that this wasn’t an option in the UK because the real-world range would be too low in our cold winters.
The Renault 4 E-Tech has a WLTP consumption figure of 4.8 miles/kWh, which is good. It has a maximum rapid charging rate of 100 kW, which should give a 15% to 80% DC charge in 30 minutes.
The Renault 4 has bidirectional charging, supporting vehicle to load (V2L) technology, allowing it to power electrical devices. It also has vehicle to grid (V2G) capability, which enables it to send electricity back to the grid using an 11kW AC bidirectional charger using Mobilize Power services including a Mobilize wallbox. This also allows smart charging (ie. the ability to control when the car is charged to benefit from cheaper electricity rates).
The Renault 4 E-Tech is available in three trim levels: evolution, priced from £23,445; techno, from £25,945; and iconic. from £27,945. All prices are after the highest level (£3,750) UK Electric Car Grant.
In addition to the three trim levels, the Renault 4 has a variety of customisation combinations ranging from a ‘plein sud’ canvas sunroof to a baguette holder (yes you read that correctly).
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The Renault 4 E-Tech has lots going for it. Its platform delivers a comfortable driving experience with a degree of agility, it has characterful design on the outside and inside, and it’s more spacious than the Renault 5, especially in the boot department, and it’s at the affordable end of the EV price spectrum, which is further improved by eligibility for the top level UK Electric Car Grant discount of £3,750. The R4 has two main areas for improvement: the gear selector could be more user-friendly, and it shouldn’t just be the top of the range model that gets heated seats, because without these the real-world driving range in winter is disappointing. The Renault 4 E-Tech is awarded a Green Car Guide rating of 9 out of 10.
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