Renault unveils its future electric car line-up and almost everyone is catered for – even those who like going sideways
YOU won’t remember the Renault 4.
Which is perhaps not a bad thing because it was a tin snail. The only thing it was designed to beat was a Citroen 2CV. Talk about setting the bar low.
You just might remember the Renault 5. But that’s OK. Because that was a solid car and spawned brilliant hot hatches like the Gordini and GT Turbo. Now we come to two cars you’ll definitely know all about.
Scenic carted families around long before everybody had a crossover.
Megane has been on our roads since 1995. Put them all together and . . . voila . . . Renault’s four-car electric car family for the modern age.
Two retro names and two recent ones remastered with battery power, responsible parts and Google brains.
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Just to be 100 per cent clear, the electric Zoe we have now won’t be renewed.
Right, let’s start with 4 as it’s box fresh from this week’s Paris Motor Show.
It sounds like it should sit below 5, but it won’t. 5 is a supermini. 4 is a baby SUV. So it’s bigger and will cost more.
Like Captur and Clio.
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All the shiny silver bits point to the real 4 coming in 2025.
Ignore the black cladding, rally raid suspension and pink lipstick because that’s just show car tinsel.
However, the headlights enclosed in the front grille, third side window and upright brake lights are a nod to the Sixties original. Which is cool.
If you didn’t know that, it doesn’t matter because you’ll like it anyway.
It’s also worth noting that 4 and 5 will use the same hidden parts. The 52kWh battery will do up to 245 miles.
Reconnecting to roots
So how much is it? When 5 was revealed in January 2021, bosses said it would cost a third less to make than Zoe. So about £20k.
But the cost of everything has rocketed since then, so 5 is more likely to start around £25k when it finally arrives in 2024. Expect 4 to be £30k.
As for the bigger EVs, Megane is here now. See our road test.
Scenic will be revealed next year but it won’t reach the UK until 2024.
Like 4 and 5, Scenic shares many parts with Megane but will be bigger and cost more.
Boss Luca de Meo promised: “We’re bringing the best range of cars that you’ve seen from Renault for 30 years.
“People know Renault lost its soul for a while but we are doing things to reconnect us to our roots.”
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And it gets better still. De Meo wants to build a roadgoing version of the mega 3E Turbo concept, which fuses classic Turbo2 looks with two rear e-motors banging out 380hp.
He said: “You know me, I’m serious. We have found the technical way of doing something pretty close to the concept, without the roll cage. But I need to find the money to do it. Maybe I’ll do a crowdfunding operation?”
I’m in. Build it.
RENAULT 4
THE original basic R4 was never a huge thing in Britain – we had the Morris 1000 Traveller – but it sold eight million in total, making it the most popular French car ever.
It was axed after 30 or so years in production, in 1992.
RENAULT 5
RETRO looks, digital interior, affordable. That’s the new 5 in a nutshell. Bosses said it will cost a third less to make than Zoe.
Battery: 52kWh. Range: 245 miles. Price: £25k. Out: 2024. Racy Alpine 5 coming too.
RENAULT SCENIC
BRILLIANT family wagon. I’ve had two. Scenic was axed in the UK three years ago, but is coming back in 2024 as a cool piece of EV kit.
Bigger than the Megane and more costly, but fresher than a pair of Veja shoes.
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RENAULT 3E TURBO
THIS could actually happen. Classic Turbo 2 looks, but with two electric motors sending 380hp to the rear wheels for hero drifts.
Bosses hinted at a road-going version and a rally car, if FIA regulations changed.