Renault showed off the production version of the 5 E-Tech yesterday. It looks a lot like the concept car that was first shown in 2021. It can go up to 249 miles on a single charge, has front-wheel drive, and can make up to 148 horsepower. The French carmaker has said it will not come back to the American market, even though the starting price of about $27,000 was very appealing. We’re sorry, but we’re jealous. Yesterday, the Renault 5 E-Tech, an electric hatchback that stays true to the beautiful style of the 2021 concept car while also making only a few small changes, was shown off. The 5 E-Tech, which costs about $27,000 today, has all the speed and range you need for driving in the city. We will have to enjoy the 5 E-Tech from afar since the French company left the United States in 1987. According to Renault, the production model will have 95% of the same design as the concept car, so we’re happy that the dramatic lighting and short, squat shape will stay the same. The style is based on the first Renault 5, which was made from 1972 to 1985. It had a boxy shape, and the headlights were squared off and pushed out to the ends by a thin, rectangular grille. The headlights are more dynamic on the EV because they need less cooling, but they still have their original shape and are connected by a black trim piece. The beautiful fog lights, which are square with four L-shaped LEDs, are a nod to Renault’s history in racing. The iconic mid-engine inspired them, the rear-wheel-drive Renault 5 Turbo from the 1980s. As the driver approaches the car, a shiny black screen on the left side of the hood that looks like the vent on an old gas-powered Renault 5 shows them how charged the battery is. It has dramatic badging running down the front edge of the door and across the tailgate, with a stylized “5” hidden among a row of closely spaced hash marks. The new 5 E-Tech also has sharp vertical taillights. Renault put a big tablet measuring 10.1 inches and another touchscreen measuring 10 inches behind the steering wheel inside the car. The boxes that hold both screens are slightly tilted toward the driver. There are simple storage cubbies and a row of buttons under the air vents in this layout. With a 100-inch wheelbase and a claimed weight of less than 3,707 pounds, the 5 E-Tech is the first car from the brand to be built completely on their new AmpR Small platform. A single synchronous electric motor powers the front-wheel drive of all Renault 5 E-Tech cars. These cars have three power outputs: 148 horsepower, 121 horsepower, and 94 horsepower. In American terms, these numbers may seem like little, but they should be enough to get you around Paris’s winding, narrow streets. In this small and inexpensive class of European cars, there is only one type of rear suspension with many links. With Europe’s WLTP test cycle, the 52.0-kWh battery, which is the biggest one on the market, should be able to go 249 miles. Up to 100 kW of DC fast charging will be possible, and the 11 kW AC unit will let the charge go both ways. This means that you can charge other electronics in your car or sell power back to the grid when demand is high. From what Renault says, the 5 E-Tech can pull up to 1,102 pounds. It’s too bad that the Renault 5 E-Tech won’t come to the US. A more aggressive Alpine version is being worked on, as shown by the A290 concept from the previous year. However, the hot hatch is likely to be separate from Alpine’s planned market breakthrough in the US, which is expected to be led by a series of electric cars. Please excuse us while we plan our trip to Paris.
