New 2024 Renault 5: price, specs and release date

Renault has confirmed a price and on-sale date for the new Renault 5 EV, an electric car that will use its retro cool to lure you from behind the wheel of your small petrol or diesel. 

It’s a formula that has so far proved popular with cars like the Mini Electric and Honda e EV, while the new Fiat 500e seeks to cash in on the same formula. Electric cars are great for the city, where their short range isn’t such an issue and they’re exempt from paying the emissions charges petrols and diesels are subject to.

New 2024 Renault 5 price and release date

More details on the 2024 Renault 5 were revealed at the firm’s ElectroPop online event where it was confirmed the EV city car is earmarked to go on sale in 2024 with a price tag of £18,500 – or a third less than you’ll currently pay for the firm’s Zoe city car.

How so cheap? Well, the Renault 5’s CMF-BEV platform has an interchangeable battery module that can underpin a variety of cars, it has a ‘right size’ 100kW powertrain and shares all its non EV parts with conventional models from the range.

The 5’s batteries, meanwhile, will be made from Nickel, Manganese and Cobalt which will help reduce battery costs by 60% while improving range by 20% versus other solutions.

The Renault 5 will just be one of 10 electric models set to go on sale by 2020, with the Renault 4ever – a retro special throwback to the Renault 4 – also on the way. It will join models like the electric MeganeE – an EV version of Renault’s family hatchback – and the Alpine dream garage. Alpine being Renault’s sporty badge charged with replacing RenaultSport, it’s set to launch three EVs – a Renault 5 sized hot hatch, a Volkswagen T-Roc sized sporty crossover and a new sports car.

Bigger, isn't it?

Renault is keeping schtum on when the new Renault 5 will go on sale, saying only that it’ll be one of seven EVs that it’ll launch by 2025. In reality, though, you can expect to see this car come sooner than that – the advanced nature of the prototype suggests a new Renault 5 has been planned for some time while the company’s current small EV, the recently refreshed Zoe, provides an oven-ready electric drivetrain that should slot perfectly into the 5’s body. As a result, you can expect to see the new Renault 5 released in 2024.

And the price? Well, we know retro styling and electric power doesn’t come cheap, however, the firm is adamant that the new Renault 5 should be as attainable as possible so you can expect it to carry a price tag of between £18,000 – £25,000, significantly undercutting the Honda (from £28,000) and the MINI (£26,000).

New 2024 Renault 5 styling

The formula for the 2024 Renault 5 is such a well-trodden path, you wonder why it hasn’t already been built: nick the styling from a much-loved classic (the original Renault 5) and fuse it to a modern interior and powertrain, and voila – you have a car that’ll sell like hot cakes. Just think how many MINIs and Fiat 500s you see.

Modern safety requirements mean the new Renault 5 will be much bigger than the old model, but the DNA the cars share is clear in the new version’s blunt front end, offset fake bonnet vent (which hides the charging plug), constant sloping bootline and vertical rear light clusters which rise into the rear windscreen pillars. The new model even mirrors the lower body creases of the old car, which helps make it appear planted to the road.

The new car gets a dark-coloured roof that helps take visual weight off the top half, thick pillars that mean it’ll pass modern crash tests and you can expect it to be kitted out with bright shining LED lights at the front and the back, although not the elaborate designs seen on this show car.

If the new Renault 5 has a bad angle, we don't see it

New 2024 Renault 5 interior

Renault hasn’t shared pics of the interior of the 2024 Renault 5, however, you get a hint of what’s to come in the form of the ‘Hello’ message in the show car’s windscreen.

Much like the MINI Electric and the Volkswagen ID.3 – both of which use multi colour interior LEDs to communicate with their owners – you can expect the Renault 5 to have cutsy features that make it feel like it’s talking, Tamagotchi style, to you. It’ll also come loaded with infotainment screens with colourful maps and excellent connectivity.

The big screens mean that, despite being worlds apart in terms of complexity, the new car will have a similar number of conventional buttons to the old model it mirrors. That’ll leave the way clear for a simple retro design and upholstery trims. Don’t be surprised to see a two-spoke steering wheel and colourful seat fabric in there, too. What the Renault won’t be is a premium small car like the Honda e or MINI Electric, so expect plastic quality to be off the standard of those cars as Renault keeps the 5 as attainable as possible.

In terms of practicality, the new Renault 5 scores points over its Honda e and MINI Electric competition by having rear doors – opened using a handle hidden in the rear pillar – to give your passengers great access to the back seat. If the similar-sized Zoe (which shares the same CMF-B platform) is anything to go by, you can expect the 5 to have, at a push, room for tall adults in the back and a boot that’ll swallow a couple’s luggage for a fortnight.

Cool, eh? Sadly, these lights won't make it to production

New 2024 Renault 5 performance and range

While the MINI Electric and Honda e have relatively small 35kWh batteries giving them nimble handling, the Renault 5 will have a heavier 50kWh battery for a range of 245 miles – more than twice as far as its rivals can go. That gives the Renault everyday usability, while its rivals are better as second cars for a family that already owns a petrol or diesel.

You can expect the Renault 5 to be offered in 110 and 135PS forms, with the former getting from 0-62mph in around 11 seconds while the latter does it in nine. Both will feel much quicker in the real world with scooter-like acceleration off the line and a single-speed gearbox which means you don’t need to worry about changing gear.

The EV’s near-silent running will make it extremely relaxing in town and the car’s regenerative brakes means it’ll slow down the minute you take your foot of the accelerator so, most of the time, you won’t even need to press the brake.

Keep your eyes peeled to this page for more info on the 2024 Renault 5 as soon as we have it.

The Renault 5 Prototype, the wink is in the headlights