Forgive me, because this writeup isn’t only about the banana-looking Renault 5 EV beaming proudly on your screen. It’s ended up being a review of where we are with electric cars as a whole right now, and it revolves around the theme of personality.
Personality is one of those things that’s easy to notice when it’s loud, but strangely hard to define. It’s not about being quirky or different, it’s about leaving an impression, for better or worse. It’s the reason we remember certain people, places, objects, or even cars for that matter, while others blur into a forgettable grey.
Like you, I am a petrolhead, but I have nothing against electric vehicles. I see their struggles, the lack of range, difficultly with charging infrastructure and so on, but I’ve still found myself surprisingly optimistic regarding the concept of an electric powertrain. Maybe that’s because I am yet to drive an electric vehicle, I don’t know.
However saying that, I don’t like the cars. Notice, I said the cars, not the powertrain. Why, may you ask? Because it’s the way some manufacturers are building them, they’re just too soulless. They’re technically brilliant, but they rarely speak any real emotion. You get in, press a button, and glide off like you’re piloting a very fast fridge.
And they look boring too, built to appeal to the masses, not this niche little community of ours who value driving pleasure. Just look at the MG ZS EV for context, I would rather take the bus than drive that.
But thankfully, there are some very good EVs out there, exciting ones even, like the Hyundai Ioniq 5N, Genesis GV60, or Porsche Taycan. It shows us that the future can still be fun, especially when cars like the Ioniq 5N include playful gimmicks like simulated gear shifts, or the Genesis GV60 produces virtual engine sounds. It gives the car personality, and might make the experience memorable.
And that leads me onto the new Renault 5. I must admit, when I heard they relaunched the Renault 5, I thought ‘Here we go, here is a manufacturer trying to leverage its rich sporty hatchback history to sell a boring car to any old Joe.’ And then I saw it, and it looked frankly fantastic. It looked exactly how I would imagine a modern Renault 5 should look.
The sculpted panelling, the cheeky echoes back to its predecessor, like the battery indicator (which was a vent on the old one), the rear lights, the rear vents referencing the R5 Turbo, and so on. It looks sporty, making you wonder whether you really need the uprated Alpine A290 for anything other than performance.
And then there’s the price. It starts at £22,995 of your hard-earned coins for the entry-level Evolution trim, but this one’s the Iconic 5 E-Tech, starting from £28,995 with the more powerful 147.5 bhp motor. In a world where new cars are £40,000+, this doesn’t seem too unreasonable.
Going back to the personality theme, does this new modern R5 have personality? Yes, I think it does. It’s not boring. It has flair. It stands out, especially in this Pop Yellow paintwork. Renault’s got plenty right with this car. So why can’t other manufacturers follow suit and create fun electric vehicles? This one certainly shows that the future can be bright, and not just because it’s yellow.