Renault 5 long term test

The car Renault 5 E-Tech 150 comfort techno| Run by Claire Evans, consumer editor

Why it's here To see if the new Renault 5 impresses in everyday life

Needs to Raise a smile on rural roads at the weekends, and complete motorway commutes during the week without stress or too much expense

Mileage 9882 List price new £26,995 Best price £26,995 Price as tested £27,395 Test range 179 miles Official range 251 miles Private price now £21,220 Dealer price now £23,995 Running costs (excluding depreciation) Electricity £420

11 November 2025 – Au revoir, but not goodbye

Although I’m saying goodbye to my Renault 5 (R5), I’m hoping it’ll be more like the French version of the phrase ‘until we meet again’ rather than goodbye for good. 

That’s because the latest version of the 5 has impressed me so much more than the original, which I owned briefly in the 1980s, that I would like to spend more time with it. Although my original 5 was frugal, nippy and fun, it was pretty basic, and that’s not a criticism you can level at the new R5. It’s a really grown-up proposition, both in terms of the way it drives and how well kitted out it is. 

A short driving holiday to Belgium earlier in 2025 demonstrated just how adept the R5 is at eating up motorway miles. Its suspension absorbs bumps well but isn’t too soft, and it has plenty of power to keep up with other cars on high-speed sections of the autoroute. 

It’s also been more fun to drive along winding rural roads than many other electric cars, both on my European road trip and driving around south east England, because it has light, nimble steering, only minimal body roll and plenty of grip. It was also small enough to manoeuvre around the pretty but substantial road furniture on suburban streets in Antwerp, and to park in the narrow spaces that are common in Belgian and British city car parks.  

On the inside, the denim fabric trim of my Techno spec car looks smart without being flashy. The premium feel is enhanced by the fabric-clad dash top and door inserts, which would have been painted metal or hard plastic on my old 1980s car and on some cheaper modern rivals. 

There’s also a fair amount of big car equipment in the R5, including a Google-based infotainment system with a receptive and voice control system that I use while driving every day so I don’t have to take my eyes off the road. 

I’m also glad it has a heat pump as standard because it helps to warm up the interior quickly on chilly mornings. One potential shortcoming is no adjustable lumbar support, but I’ve found the driver’s seat well-shaped and supportive enough to stop me from getting backache on long drives.  

The R5 has been more practical than I’d expected, too. It has lots of useful storage cubbies in the centre console – more than some large SUVs I’ve driven recently – and plenty of room up front. The boot is much larger than that of rivals, such as the Mini Electric and Fiat 500, too. In fact, with the rear seats folded, I managed to get a rather large exercise bike in it. 

One criticism is that the colder weather has affected the car’s range. The available range has dipped as low as 164 miles on particularly nippy mornings. When you consider that the official range is 251 miles, that is a substantial dip in mileage. 

That said, in milder weather, the R5 achieved 205-215 miles between charges, which isn’t too bad. As you’d expect, high-speed driving eats up more range than pottering around town, and the dash readout alters depending on the type of driving you did on the last journey. This means that if I take a short drive around town the day after a motorway jaunt, the pleasing result is that the available range can actually end up higher than it was at the start of the journey. 

Another revelation has been how swiftly the R5 charges up on ultra-rapid public EV chargers. Although its maximum charging speed is only 100kW, it took 20-25 minutes to take the 52kWh battery from 10 to 80% because the charging speed remained doggedly at 70-80kW right up to 80%. This demonstrates a better charging curve than many larger EVs, which drop down to 50-60kW when the batteries hit 40%.  

However, it’s the overall feel-good factor of driving the R5 that is turning me into a Francophile. Its exterior styling is instantly recognisable as an evolution of the original 5, so people regularly come up to talk to me, either because they’re thinking of getting one or they had an old one. It’s also extremely unusual among new cars because it elicits camaraderie among R5 drivers, who often flash their lights and wave when they see my car. 

The friendliness it creates on the road, where people are too often angry and aggressive, has really endeared the R5 to me. So I hope our paths will cross again. 

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