Written by Alan Taylor-Jones Updated: 7 May 2025

Overview

Not content with producing one of the hottest new electric cars out there, Renault has now produced a compact retro-inspired SUV to partner the impressive 5 E-Tech. Called the Renault 4 E-Tech, it’s a bit longer, a bit taller, and a whole heap more practical. 

It uses the 5’s platform but only the larger 52kWh battery with a 150hp motor. That gives the 4 a brisk 0-62mph time of 8.2 seconds and an official range of 247 miles. Those are competitive figures given the price is likely to start at around £27,000, or usefully less than most rivals. 

Yes, the Citroen e-C3 Aircross and Vauxhall Frontera are both even cheaper, although neither can go as far or as fast as the Renault 4. Other rivals you might consider include the rugged Jeep Avenger, practical Peugeot E-2008 and the cargo carrying champion of the class, the Ford Puma Gen-E. 

Continue reading for Parkers’ comprehensive Renault 4 review, and if you want to know more about how we test cars, have a look at our explainer page. 

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What’s it like inside?

Most of the dashboard is shared with the smaller Renault 5, which works well functionally and aesthetically. Big bits of fabric on the dashboard and door cards offset the hard plastics used elsewhere, and the steering wheel feels good to hold. In fact, it’s all rather more pleasant than most rivals costing thousands more, and I’m not sure even a MINI Aceman or Volvo EX30 feel a great deal better. 

The 4’s interior is certainly easier to use than either one of the aforementioned premium rivals. Where you have to access almost everything via the touchscreen in those cars, the 4 gets a whole row of physical heater controls, and useful icons on the screen to skip to key menus. 

Mid-spec and up cars get Google connectivity baked into the 10.1-inch touchscreen that proves easy to use if not quite as sharp-looking as MINI’s system. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard on all models if you’d rather mirror your phone, and all but base trim gets a wireless phone charger. 

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Space up front is good, with loads of headroom and seats that adjust fore and aft enough to suit the very tall and very short. Move to the rear and you’ll find more space than an Avenger or Vauxhall Mokka Electric, if not the Frontera and e-C3 Aircross. Even with the rear bench mounted much higher, headroom is still enough for a tall adult, while rear legroom is better than average for the class. 

Rear foot space is more of an issue, with the battery case causing an intrusion into the back of the footwell, forcing your feet forwards. This isn’t an issue unless your front passengers have their seats in their lowest height setting.  

The boot is second only to the Puma Gen E’s and its giant Gigabox underfloor storage. The 4 has 420-litres of space under the rear parcel shelf and 1,405-litres with the rear seats folded. This includes a 55-litre box under the boot floor, while there are handy straps and cubbies to prevent too much cargo shift on the move. The rear seats have a 60/40 split fold and no load-through facility.

There’s virtually no loading lip, so heaving in heavy items isn’t too stressful. Try to push a long, heavy item in with the rear seats folded, and you’ll encounter a very large step up from the boot floor to the backs of the seats, though. A two-level boot floor would sort this, but isn’t available.

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Range and charging

The 247 mile figure I quoted above will be for the most sparsely equipped 4, although even one with all the toys will officially do 241. I would expect 200 to be easily achieved in the summer based on the 4.3 miles per kWh (mpk) I achieved on a mix of roads, with 25 miles at motorway speeds dropping this to 4.0mpk. 

That translates to a rough real-world range of between 208 and 223 miles during the warmer months – the mercury hovered between 20-23 degrees during my testing. If it’s anything like my experience with the Renault 5, expect a sub-150 mile range on a mix of roads in winter. 

All 4s can take up to 100kW from a DC rapid charger to give a 30 minute 15-to-80% time or 55 minutes if you’re going from totally flat to totally full. An 11kW charger is standard so you can benefit from three-phase AC charging. The four hour 51 minute 0-100% time is usefully quicker than the seven hours 47 minutes a 7.4kW wallbox takes. 

Vehicle to load is standard so you can plug a three-pin-fed electrical appliance into the R4, and you can tow up to 750kg. 

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What it’s like to drive?

The tall roof, generous ride height and boxy shape make the driving experience something of a surprise. Renault has made the suspension softer than the 5’s but not by much, so it turns in more keenly and corners flatter than you might expect. Quick, reassuringly weighted steering and predictable brakes make it a satisfying drive. 

A MINI Aceman is more agile and adjustable with a punishing ride the major disadvantage. The 4 is much more compliant whilst offering good body control, and would be perfectly liveable every day in the UK if the 5 is anything to go by. An e-C3 Aircross is comfier still at the expense of handling. 

Acceleration can’t match the quick MINI or ridiculously rapid Volvo EX30, and that’s absolutely fine. The 4 feels usefully more muscular than an Avenger, Mokka, e-2008 and e-C3 Aircross and never once felt out of its depth. It’s quick off the line so busy toll booths proved no issue, and the 4 is also happy to whizz along at 80mph. 

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Even at these speeds the motor’s whine barely registers. That’s partially because of the door mirrors and windscreen pillars whipping up plenty of wind noise, with coarse surfaces generating lots of tyre roar. 

I couldn’t help but take the 4 a bit off-road given the original’s utilitarian nature. The jacked up suspension prevented any unwanted thumps and crunches from under the car on some beaten up tracks, although it certainly didn’t glide over the terrain.

The limiting factor was tyres as the efficiency biased rubber struggled with a gravel incline. Tellingly, one of Renault’s display 4s wore mud and snow tyres and engineers wouldn’t rule out four-wheel drive. 

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What models and trims are available?

Expect the 4’s model lineup to closely mirror that of the 5, just without the small battery and less powerful motor. That’ll mean base Evolution will go just as far and fast as every other 4, unlike the 5, and is likely to have a generous level of standard equipment. This should include a heat pump, plus 18-inch wheels, wireless smartphone mirroring, rear parking sensors and keyless entry. 

Assume you’ll pay around £2,000 to upgrade to mid-spec Techno to get the natty illuminated grille, Google built in to the infotainment, a larger driver’s display, a wireless charger, drive modes, adaptive cruise with steer assist, all-round parking sensors and paddle adjustable regen with one pedal driving. 

You’ll get a bit more safety kit including blind spot monitoring in top spec Iconic, different alloys, and an electric tailgate. Most importantly for cold UK winters, it’s the only way to get heated front seats and a heated steering wheel. They are disappointingly not an option on Evolution and Techno trims. 

What else should I know?

A full-length electrically operated canvas roof will be optional on Techno and Iconic trims to add a bit of sun to the 4’s interior. It also usefully improves rear headroom if your passengers sit up straight. 

But is the 4 E-Tech a small electric SUV we’d actually recommend? Find out in our verdict on the next page.