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Steering wheel, touch screen, a few buttons: This cockpit resembles the cockpit of many electric cars. If only it wasn’t for the basket woven from willow branches clinging to the center console. It extends into the passenger footwell and looks like a foreign object among all the advanced technology. What do you put there; flowers or umbrella? Wonder. Until Paula Fabregat, Renault’s new R5 E-Tech Electric design chief, waved her baguette. You could have figured this out yourself.
Cool electric small cars can still be counted on one hand. Small, lightweight cars may be ideal for electric drives but have little room for batteries. Not exactly ideal for the range conscious. But potential customers are learning and charging infrastructure is growing; Now is the time for small electric vehicles. But still: no. Honda is even discontinuing the lovely Honda E after just four years.
Ata’s details are everywhere
But Renault is now pulling the plug on the R5 E-Tech Electric at the Geneva International Motor Show (February 27 – March 3). It took only three years to develop the production version of the concept car, which was introduced in 2021. Blick was allowed to have a test session beforehand. In the rolling breadbasket, the brand is interested in emotions rather than just basic mobility, as is often the focus of small cars. Prototype: First generation of the R5, produced from 1972 to 1996. An automotive infinity that shows how devoted fans are to the “little friend” – that’s what Renault called him in advertising.
Even a quick look will see numerous details that the new all-electric version shares with its predecessor. These include the small rear wing and the grille on the front hood. You don’t need the latter in an electric car. So the charging socket needs to be placed there – but then the cable constantly rubs against the front apron. The grille has now turned into an LED display: Each of the five segments of the displayed digit five represents 20 percent battery capacity.
Colors like the 1970s
The proportions are correct too. The first R5 was 40 centimeters shorter, but the new one also reaches 3.92 meters in width and height; Then the conditions are suitable again. There are initially five colors in addition to bright yellow, bright green and the more subtle-looking blue. Underneath is a completely new platform that will also underpin the small SUV R4 E-Tech Electric.
We continue the recognition process inside. “The R5 E-Tec Electric is the most fun car in our model range,” says Paula Fabregat. Except for the breadbasket: That’s why the gauges are in a plastic box like they once were, the seats are similar to those in the old R5 Turbo sports version, and even the slats on the passenger-side dashboard are set back.
In the center console there are storage bins for instant coffee or small items with 3D-printed lids with the R5 motif. Denim fabric made from recycled PET bottles can also be ordered for the panels and seats. A ten-inch touchscreen houses the infotainment system, and all the forests and warning sounds were composed by French synth sound icon Jean-Michel Jarre. There is enough space in the front, the rear is more aimed at children – there is no unlimited space on the 2.54 meter wheelbase.
Three power levels, two batteries
Instead of rear-wheel drive as in the Twingo, Renault uses classic front-wheel drive in the R5 E-Tech Electric. There are three performance levels: The engine always remains the same, but thanks to software changes it produces 95, 122 or 150 hp (70, 90 or 110 kW). Thanks to the multi-link rear axle and curb weight of just 1,350 kilograms, each version should be able to move quickly.
The battery with a capacity of 40 or 52 kilowatt hours (kWh) is located under the body. In the smaller one, the module under the driver’s seat has been removed; This further improves the nearly balanced weight distribution. The range of the small battery is 300 kilometers, and the range of the large battery is 400 kilometers; It is charged with 11 kilowatts (kW) of charging power in the Wallbox and 80 or 100 kW of charging power in the DC fast charger. Premiere at Renault: The electric R5 powers a grid or vacuum cleaner via an adapter and can be used, for example, as a storage device for photovoltaic electricity using vehicle-to-grid technology. It charges when the sun shines and provides electricity to the home at night.
The original R5 rolled off the assembly line more than nine million times; Renault probably also has high expectations from the new model. It starts this year, but prices have not been determined yet. Blick proposes a base price of 28,000 francs, but there is no breadbasket at this price.
Source: Blick
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
