• Up to 247 miles official WLTP driving range 
• We’re confident of an easy 200 miles in the real world
• 15-80% rapid charging in 30 minutes 

What are the running costs? 

The 247-mile figure quoted above will be for the most sparsely equipped 4, although even one with all the toys will officially do 241. We would expect 200 to be easily achieved in the summer based on the 4.3 miles per kWh (mpk) achieved on a mix of roads, with 25 miles at motorway speeds dropping this to 4.0mpk when we first drove this car in Portugal. We recorded a 4.2mpk average across 250 miles on a mixture of UK roads.

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 our testing in Portugal and a nice 30-degree heatwave for our right-hand drive example in the UK. If it’s anything like our experiences with the Renault 5, expect a sub-150-mile range on a mix of roads in winter.  

The charging time from 15%-80% with a rapid charger is 30 minutes or 55 minutes for 0% to 100% charging. 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. 

Note too that the cost of charging a 4 will depend on how it’s charged, a home charger on the right energy tariff offers exceptionally frugal charging costs while a public fast charger will quickly tot up.   

Servicing and warranty 

The Renault 4 E-Tech comes with a three-year base warranty. It offers unlimited mileage cover for the first two years, then a 100,000-mile limit for the third year. Paintwork is covered for three years while the anti-corrosion warranty lasts for 12 years and offers unlimited miles. The battery is covered by a separate eight-year/100,000-mile warranty.  

Included in the manufacturer warranty is Renault Assistance, which offers roadside breakdown assistance, towing to your nearest Renault workshop and other mobility solutions for you to continue your journey.  

There’s also the Renault Easylife Service Plan that breaks service costs down into more manageable monthly fees.  

Reliability 

• It’s too soon to say 
• Underpinnings are shared with the 5 E-Tech 
• We’ll update if any recalls are issued 

It’s early days and too soon to say whether the Renault 4 E-Tech is a reliable choice, but early indications are positive. The Renault 5 E-Tech shares its underpinnings and has been on sale a little longer, with no recalls issued here in the UK.  

We must look through Renault’s back catalogue to gauge how this EV will perform. The Renault Zoe is the most recent Renault EV with substantial reliability data and it’s somewhat positive. There are scattered reports of charging issues and the range not being as advertised, but it looks rather promising so far.