Renault 5 review

As this is published the UK prices aren't set in stone, but we've had very firm clues it'll start at just £23k. That's for the Evolution trim and small 40kWh battery.

After that it's simple: you add £2k for the bigger battery and more powerful motor, and £2k for each trim step. So the well-equipped Techno with 52kWh is £23k plus £2,000 (powertrain) plus £2,000 (one trim level) equals £27k. Which seems very reasonable.

The next trim step, to Iconic, adds the yellow trim, different wheels – still 18-inch alloys through – and fuller driver assistance including a 360-degree camera and self parking. It also adds heated seats with electric lumbar support.

That's a little annoying: heated seats are a good way to make an EV feel warm in winter without using the battery-draining space heater. Mind you all R5s in the UK have a heat pump. On a warm day we achieved 4.0mi/kWh, suggesting 200-mile real world range is possible when the conditions are right.

Options are few. Lack of configuration makes the supply chain and factory run more smoothly, cutting cost. But instead there's a huge range of body stickers and cabin clutter-holder doodads you can buy afterwards.

UK orders open in January 2025, with deliveries following in April. We predict queues forming.

Renault has an associated company, Mobilize, that sells energy services. For charging on the go, a Mobilize card consolidates bills and gets access to some rapid networks provided you pay a monthly subscription; standard EV stuff, that. More interesting, Mobilize can supply a bidirectional charge box and arrange a tariff so you can buy cheap night juice and sell it back to the grid at a profit.