Renault 5 E-Tech review: a £21,495 retro electric hatchback

Most modern electric cars look like an aerodynamic computer mouse or a futuristic spaceship, as Asel, our resident EV reviewer, put it in our video review. Great for efficiency, but a little bit samey. The Renault 5 E-Tech is the exception. 

It's a retro electric hatchback that starts at £21,495, and covers about 205 miles in the real world with the bigger 52kWh battery. On the flip side, the back seats are tight and the boot probably won’t pack in a family holiday’s worth of luggage.

So is it style over substance? For this Renault 5 E-Tech review, Asel spent about 600 miles finding out. He drove the Techno Comfort Range trim level (now called Techno+), which is the mid-level spec. Here's our verdict.

• The Renault 5 E-Tech starts at £21,495 with the 40kWh battery, or £23,945 with the bigger 52kWh battery, after the Electric Car Grant. 
• Range is about 205 miles from the bigger battery.
• The boot holds 326 litres, which is good for a small car.
• A 10 to 80% charge costs as little as £2.55 at home, on Octopus Energy's Intelligent Octopus Go - EV Saver tariff.
• On an ultra rapid public charger, 10 to 80% takes about half an hour and costs around £30.14.
• The trade-offs are fairly cramped back seats, especially for adults, and a busy steering wheel.

The Renault 5 E-Tech is a fully electric small hatchback (often called a supermini), and in Asel's words, a nostalgic reboot 54 years in the making. The 1972 original was an affordable city car for everyone. Renault has kept that idea, without passing on a premium price for nostalgia.

It was designed as electric from the start, rather than being a petrol car with a battery squeezed in. The Renault 5 E-Tech was named European Car of the Year for 2025 and UK Car of the Year in 2026, and it's quickly become one of the most popular cars our drivers lease.

The "5" on the bonnet lights up to show how much charge is left. And if you go for the bright yellow or green paint, expect to make some new friends. Of the insect variety. Pick black or white if you don't like bugs.

The Renault 5 E-Tech starts at £21,495 for the 40kWh version and £23,945 for the 52kWh version. Both prices include the government's Electric Car Grant. The 52kWh version gets the full £3,750, and the 40kWh version gets £1,500. The seller applies it for you, so the price you see will already have the grant taken off. If you've watched our video review, you'll notice it shows the £22,995 launch price. Renault has cut its prices since then. The numbers shown here are current as of October 2026.

There are two batteries, 40kWh and 52kWh. Think of kWh as the size of the fuel tank: the bigger the number, the further you'll go. There are also four trims (versions with different kit), and every one except Evolution gets Google built in.

For this Renault 5 E-Tech review, we drove the mid-spec Techno (now called Techno+), and it's got pretty much everything you need. Step up to the Iconic Five+ if a heated seat and steering wheel are non-negotiable on cold mornings.

Cars registered on or after 1st April 2025 pay just £10 in road tax for the first year, then the £200 standard rate.

The Renault 5 E-Tech covers about 205 miles in the real world from its 52kWh battery. The official WLTP (aka lab tested) figure is 250 to 258 miles, depending on spec. Or, as Asel put it, that's if you drive in a laboratory at 52mph. The 40kWh version doesn’t go as far.

Is 205 miles enough? For most people, yes. It covers a week of commuting without you having to think about charging. It's also roughly London to Leeds in one go, though you'd probably want to stop at least once. Cold weather can impact the range of any electric car, but every Renault 5 has a heat pump, which warms the cabin using less battery.

Charging speed is measured in kW, and the higher the number, the faster the charge. On a 7kW home charger, the Renault 5 adds about 24 miles of range an hour. On a rapid charger, the 52kWh car charges at up to 100kW, and goes from 10 to 80% in about half an hour. That's the perfect time, in Asel's words, to head to the loos, pick up an overpriced coffee and check a couple of emails.

Most drivers keep the battery between 10 and 80%, because charging slows down after that, so that's what we've based these prices on. At home overnight, it's a couple of pounds. On a motorway rapid charger, it's more like a round of drinks.

Charging prices and times from octopusev.com in October 2026. Energy prices change, so check the current price before you plan around them.

The cheapest way to charge is at home on a smart charging rate. Intelligent Octopus Go - EV Saver is Octopus Energy's tariff, and the discounted rate is exclusive to Octopus EV drivers.

Public charging usually costs more. That isn't unique to electric cars. Filling up a petrol car on the motorway is more expensive too. Our guide to EV charging costs gives you the full breakdown.

Practicality was a pleasant surprise in our Renault 5 E-Tech review. The boot holds 326 litres on Evolution and Techno+ trims. As you’ll see in Asel’s review, one giant pink Octopus suitcase fits, plus a couple of duffel bags fit. Not so much for a family of five heading up to Scotland. The ‘Iconic Five+’ and ‘Roland Garros+’ versions use the underfloor space for a stereo speaker, which reduces your boot to 285 litres.

The back seats are the weak spot. You get rear doors, which the Mini Cooper Electric doesn't have, but anyone near 6ft will have their knees against the seat in front. Renault 5, five passengers? Asel's advice is to stick to two, and four at a push.

Up front, the denim-look seats have raised sides that hold you in place, and the soft leather steering wheel feels properly luxurious. There are physical buttons for the heating, a wireless charging pad and two USB-C ports.

The 10 inch screen runs on Google on most trims. Ask it to navigate somewhere and it plans your charging stops, and you can set it to only show chargers on Electroverse, a public charging app and card. Prefer your phone? Apple CarPlay and Android Auto work wirelessly.

Vehicle-to-load comes as standard too, which turns the car's battery into a giant power bank. We used it to charge a laptop while working from a field. You could even run a blender, if you fancy an Octopus-pink smoothie.

Quiet and refined. On the motorway, as Asel put it, it feels like a bigger, more premium car than one at this price ever should. The 52kWh car goes from 0 to 62mph in 7.9 seconds. That might not sound quick, but it's plenty when you're pulling out of a busy roundabout.

The biggest surprise in our Renault 5 E-Tech review came on twisty B-roads, and we've got loads of those in the UK, haven't we? Renault fitted a more advanced rear suspension than most small cars get, so each back wheel deals with a bump on its own rather than jolting the other one too.

None of these is a deal breaker at this price.

1. The back seats are tight if you regularly carry tall adults.
2. The steering wheel is busy. With four stalks plus buttons, Asel calls it "a little bit overkill", and you'll mistake the wipers for the gear selector at least once on a test drive.
3. Some small details grate. The door bins are shallow, the key is the same big, blocky one Renault has used since the 1990s, and there's a start button. This is an electric car, so why does it need one?

Prices and specs checked September 2026. Clio figures are for the full hybrid, from Renault UK.

The Mini is the obvious retro rival, and it starts from about £26,840. It feels a touch sharper in corners and a little more upmarket inside. But the Renault 5 beats it on practicality. It costs less, has rear doors, and fits about twice as much luggage in the boot.

Thinking of sticking with petrol? The Clio is the natural comparison. The full hybrid runs on petrol, with a small battery and electric motor that help out, and you never plug it in. It starts from £20,995 and returns up to 65.7mpg. The Clio is cheaper, but the Renault 5 has a bigger boot, gets from 0 to 62mph quicker (7.9 seconds against 9.3) and typically costs far less to run if you charge at home. Based on a typical EV with a bigger battery than the Renault 5, a full charge at home costs just £4.32 in a typical EV, compared with £33.94 for the same amount of miles in an equivalent hybrid.

Asel's verdict after 600 miles of driving the Renault 5 E-Tech is that it has style in spades, but Renault hasn't just built a fashion statement here. It's built a genuinely excellent little EV, with maximum personality and no massive SUV price tag. It's ideal for couples, city commuters and smaller households, first-time EV drivers, or anyone downsizing once the kids have left home.

If this Renault 5 E-Tech review has you tempted, leasing is one way to drive one without buying it outright. We offer the Renault 5 on personal lease, with servicing, maintenance and tyres included, so it's one monthly payment rather than a pile of bills. It's also available on salary sacrifice, if your employer runs a scheme with us.

Yes. Our Renault 5 E-Tech review found it comfortable, quiet and fun, with about 205 miles of real-world range from the bigger battery. It won European Car of the Year for 2025. The main downsides are tight back seats and a busy steering wheel.

On a 7kW home charger, the Renault 5 adds about 24 miles of range an hour, so an overnight plug-in fills it comfortably. On a rapid public charger, a 10 to 80% top-up takes about half an hour.

It's still fairly new, so there's little long-term reliability data yet. It comes with a three-year manufacturer warranty and eight years of cover on the battery, and scored four out of five stars in Euro NCAP testing.

The Alpine A290 is the sporty version of the Renault 5, built on the same underpinnings. It has more power, sharper handling and a sportier look, and it costs more. The Renault 5 suits everyday comfort and value better.

A note on our video review: the information in this review is the latest available, so some details, such as range, charging times and prices, may not exactly match what you see in our video.