Renault 4 long-term test: report 4
The car Renault 4 Techno+ Run by Allan Muir, managing editor
Why we’re running it To see whether this keenly priced small electric SUV can prove to be better value than more expensive alternatives and offer more than just charming retro looks
Needs to Be comfortable and easy to live with, nippy around town, reasonably practical and efficient enough to deliver a respectable range for occasional longer journeys
Mileage 2044 List price £25,945 (with £3750 grant) Best price £24,495 Price as tested £26,695 Official range 245 miles Test range 213 miles
15 June 2026 – Range for the better
Earlier in the year, when I first got my Renault 4 (R4), I was slightly dismayed to find that its real-world range from a full charge was less than 180 miles. I’d got used to my electric vehicles (EVs) delivering more than 200 miles between top-ups, and sometimes even close to 300 miles, so the R4’s relatively short range seemed like a bit of an inconvenience, even if it’s competitive with what most of its small electric SUV rivals can manage.
However, my car’s efficiency has improved significantly as air temperatures have risen, recently jumping from an indicated 3.4 miles per kilowatt hour (mi/kWh) on average to 4.1mi/kWh. This means its range is now on the right side of 200 miles – in my mind a more comfortable level than before, even if we’re talking about a gain of only 20 or 30 miles.
If I’m looking to eke out range as much as possible, I can always switch to the R4’s Eco driving mode. This is intended to reduce energy consumption by limiting certain aspects of the car’s performance, including acceleration and top speed. Unlike in some other EVs, activating this mode or turning off the climate control doesn’t result in an immediate jump in the estimated range figure showing in the instrument panel, though. The adaptive cruise control isn’t available when Eco mode is engaged, either.
Colleague Chris Haining, who has a lengthy commute and has become very adept at driving efficiently in EVs, spent a few days in my car recently and said he quite liked the challenge of driving it in Eco mode. When you don’t have a lot of power or acceleration in reserve, you have to work hard to maintain momentum wherever possible, especially on the motorway. I imagine owners of the original R4, very low-powered R4 had to take a similar approach.
My commute, though, is a fraction of the length of Chris’s, so I don’t usually need to resort to extreme measures to wring every last drop out of the battery. While the R4 isn’t painfully slow in Eco mode (it can still do 70mph on the motorway), it does feel lethargic when you ask for a burst of acceleration, and this doesn’t sit well with me. One of the things I like most about EVs – even modest-powered ones like the R4 – is their perky, instantaneous response, and I miss that when it’s not available, even temporarily.
What’s more, Eco mode makes the ‘one pedal’ regenerative braking setting even more aggressive than usual. Slowing down simply by lifting off the accelerator pedal – when approaching a roundabout, for example – can feel particularly jerky in this setting. True, I can switch to a milder setting (via paddles behind the steering wheel) to reduce the braking effect, but then I’d have to bring the regular brakes into play as well.
If Eco mode gave me an obvious increase in range, it might be worth my while to use it on longer journeys, but the indicated range readout still seems to fall at about the same rate as in the other modes, and any gains are marginal. I prefer to stay in Comfort mode, which seems to offer the best balance of accelerator response and steering weight.
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