Renault 5 - Electric motors, performance & drive

We’ve only driven the Renault 5 with its more powerful 148bhp electric motor and found it to be generally smooth and well calibrated. There are three driver modes, which make a fairly substantial difference to everyday driving, even if the overall performance remains relatively conservative.

We’d skip the Eco setting. It doesn’t really do much to increase the overall range beyond making the throttle response very sluggish. The response in Comfort is very natural and progressive, while Sport mode sharpens things up further. In the cold, damp conditions during our test drive, a heavy right foot was enough to cause the tyres to temporarily scrabble for traction. There’s plenty of performance on offer for town and urban driving, but on a motorway, you’ll need to dig a little deeper into the available performance to make rapid progress to the speed limit. A MINI Cooper feels more sprightly, and might be the better choice for those regularly undertaking out of town excursions.

Where there’s still a little bit of work to do is with the brakes, because they’re both a little twitchy and have less consistency than you’d expect. Push the brake pedal at low speeds, and the regenerative braking will snap on without much subtlety, forcing you to concentrate harder than is ideal for town driving. With some acclimatisation, things improve, but the set-up in other vehicles is more intuitive. 

At higher speeds, there are no such issues, because the pedal has good feel and power, remaining consistent as the car switches between regenerative and friction braking systems. From here, the rest of the driving experience is resolved and well balanced. With the car being under four metres long, certain undulations will have it rocking back and forward at speed, but the ride quality is generally well sorted and definitely feels better than in cars such as the MINI Cooper E. 

Renault fits 18-inch wheels across the whole R5 range, so the company has been able to optimise the suspension for that specific wheel size. Overall, Renault has found a good balance between a comfortable ride and decent body control.

The steering is light, but accurate and consistently weighted, and feels well matched to the overall performance and dynamic character of the car. The turning radius is also very impressive, and right on target for an urban-focused car like the R5. 

So overall, the Renault is not quite as engaging to drive as a MINI, but the fundamental chassis balance is good, and it feels ripe for the extraction of more performance in the Alpine A290. For buyers wanting a little more snap to the driving experience, this sportier version of the R5 might well prove to be the more suitable buy. On the flipside, the less expensive 118bhp version provides similar performance to the Fiat 500, and is significantly swifter than the Citroen e-C3 and entry-level BYD Dolphin Active.

What is the Renault 5 like to drive?

In town

The Renault 5’s core function as an urban runaround is clear in how well it copes at low to medium speeds. Around town, it can feel a little on the firm side, but it’s much easier to live with than the MINI Cooper over rough roads. That’s likely due to the standard 18-inch wheels having a good amount of cushioning in the tyres’ sidewalls.

The R5 has a low centre of gravity, which helps to keep body lean fairly well contained. The steering ratio is nicely balanced and feels more natural than the hyperactive MINI, with nice weighting. It could be a touch faster, although this would have disadvantages at higher speeds. 

The car’s turning circle is also very impressive, and the upright driving position and relatively square body make it easy to navigate through narrow streets. Overall visibility when parking is fine, if not great, and we can blame that on the narrow windows that help it look so concept car-like on the outside.

On A- and B-roads

Thankfully, none of this urban focus has compromised the R5’s out-of-town dynamics too greatly, because it feels just as able beyond the city limits. At high speeds, the car can use its full suspension travel, creating a comfortable, yet still well controlled ride. The low centre of gravity helps, too, although if you get too greedy with your speed, you’ll notice it’s not quite as sharp or composed as something like an electric MINI Cooper. 

Traction is more than fine at most speeds, but if you’re aggressive with your throttle inputs in Sport mode, the wheels can spin up. There’s not much in the way of torque steer, though, and thanks to precise and relatively communicative steering, it’s never hectic or uncontrolled. 

The chassis balance is front-led, so the car will always wash out into understeer if you go too fast into a bend. There’s not much in the way of hot hatchback-like adjustability under braking or hard cornering, either, but this is very much a starting point for the R5. We suspect the Alpine A290 version will be set up to be more dynamic and engaging because it feels like underneath all of those systems there’s a fairly fun-to-drive hatchback trying to get out.

On the motorway

Motorway manners are perfectly acceptable, with good suppression of road noise and little to no wind noise. Plus, the car doesn’t feel as if it’s stuck in a low gear, which can sometimes be the case for an urban-focused EV at sustained high speeds. The noise from suspension knocks is well isolated, too.

0-62mph acceleration and top speed

Renault will be offering UK-spec models with two powertrain options, each having a different motor. The range opens with a 40kWh battery pack and a 118bhp e-motor. We haven’t been able to test this version yet, but its 9.0 second 0-62mph time compares well with the entry-level Fiat 500, and is still several seconds faster than the Citroen e-C3 and BYD Dolphin Active.

The larger 52kWh battery pack comes with a more powerful 148bhp electric motor, which produces a peak torque figure of 245Nm. This is a little behind the entry-level MINI Cooper E, which has figures of 176bhp and 280Nm, but the Renault is around 175kg lighter. This difference in weight is even more impressive when you consider the MINI’s smaller 38kWh battery. Even up the two with the same 50kWh-ish battery pack and the difference is an astounding 235kg.

This shows in the car’s performance, because despite the Renault having nearly 40bhp less than the base MINI Cooper E, its 0-62mph time of 8 seconds is only around 0.7 seconds slower. For those wanting more performance, it’s also worth remembering that the Alpine A290, which will be more of a direct competitor to the Cooper SE, has a power boost to 218bhp and a much quicker 6.4-second 0-62mph sprint. 

The R5’s top speed is capped at 93mph, for the sake of both electric range and the e-motor’s gearing.