Renault 4 review

It's a new small electric crossover. Here at Top Gear we might as well have that sentence set up as a keyboard shortcut (cmd-alt-E-C) because we use it so often. New small electric crossovers keep arriving, many from Chinese brands you haven't heard of.

This one's different, because it has deep roots. Renault has been selling electric cars in Britain for more than a decade.

Also, the 4 itself is closely related to the wonderful Renault 5 EV, but has an 8cm longer wheelbase so there's more room for the legs of the people in the back, and their stuff in the boot. That's why it's actually a little more expensive than the R5, even if their names might make you think the prices are the other way around.

Finally, the 4 takes stylistic inspiration from the 1961 Renault 4. That was one of the first hatchbacks, before the term was recognised. It also, by decades, predated the word crossover, but was new of those too. Which is why French farmers and all sorts of residents in North Africa and South America loved it. It needed only a track, not a road.

Let's not get too carried away with the connection to today's R4, because the original R4 was super-cheap and the new one is a bit more premium.

So is it or is it not retro?

Don't get hung up on the definition. Renault designers say it's like a modern evolution. Maybe if the original Land Rover had died in the mid 1990s, then the current Defender appeared now, you'd have a parallel.

Here's how they updated the old lines. The face was once a single chromed frame with the round lamps at the end, and grille in the middle: now the chrome is substituted by an LED perimeter track. A cut-line between this and the wings follows a gap between the original's wings and forward-opening bonnet-grille assembly.

On the tall flattish sides, you've ridged door panels, like the R4 GTL had. The reverse-raked rear door window and trapezoid rearmost side window keep the faith with the characteristic rhythm of the old car's fenestration. An upright tailgate and tall narrow little lamp clusters complete the picture.

And inside? Sliding windows? Rubber mats? Garden-implement gearlever?

There are the odd nods to heritage, especially in this Techno trim where the upholstery looks like denim, and even has fake coppery rivets. But really it's fully modern. Renault's excellent interface includes well-organised screens and plenty of useful quick-access switches.

In the back, two grown-ups can sit without great hardship. Three across would be a squeeze but doable for a short trip. The boot is surprisingly deep too. More about this under the Interior tab of this review.

How does it drive?

It's a pleasure to get along with. You drive it with your toes and fingertips, as the pedals and steering are light and quick-acting. But once you've acclimatised, that makes it feel perky.

The motor is 150bhp, but it's well under 1,500kg so gets along well enough: 0-62mph is 8.5 seconds. The suspension is pretty sophisticated in design, with multi-link at the rear, so it's precise through bends and quiet when it hits bumps.

The old R4 had a pillowy ride and leant pretty much onto its wing mirrors at the sniff of a tight corner. The new one is quite tightly sprung and very controlled.

It's also pretty efficient. Both versions in the UK have a 52kWh battery, for 250 miles WLTP range. We saw a real 215 miles, including some quite vigorous back-road driving but without autoroute. Cruising at 130km/h (81mph) would have knocked it down to 180-odd miles even in warm weather.

What about the rivals? 

The Ford Puma Gen-E is the most obvious, along with a bunch from the Stellantis empire – Peugeot e-2008, and the electric versions of the Vauxhall Mokka and Jeep Avenger. You could also get into a slightly larger Chinese-branded EV for similar money, like the MG4. A base-model from the Volvo EX30 or Smart #1 or Mini Aceman all cost more than an R4 for shorter range. The mighty VW group's small EVs are still stuck in the concept-car stage.

The R4's battery range is on-target for those price rivals. Few have substantially bigger battery options either, except the MG4 for considerably more money.

A staggering eight million original Renault 4s were sold, but your memory of it is likely as rusty as they mostly are now. So don't worry if all this talk of retro doesn't resonate with you.

The new Renault 4 is a smart little modern car in itself, recognisably different from the waves of generic looking stuff washing up in dealers all over the country. In the EV age, design matters more and more. Renault has had two straight-up hits with the R5 and now R4.

But there's goodness in the R4 beyond its design. Come for the looks; stay for the value, easy ownership, smart tech and genuinely happy drive.