The Renault 5 is the perfect car to kickstart the EV revolution
Mike Rutherford believes the Renault 5 is the most credible and convincing electric car yet
It has been 15 long and frustrating years since droves of electric cars started landing in UK showrooms. From day one, I’ve been a cautiously optimistic fan. But we can’t deny that some negatives – from high prices and range issues to an inadequate charging network – have hindered the EV revolution..
Worry not. Remind yourself it’s still early days and potential buyers of pure-EVs have no need to rush into buying them. Especially as availability is becoming more extensive, less expensive, every day.
That said, I’m about to go out on a limb and say, hand on heart, that you should immediately get up close and personal with what I professionally and personally believe is the most convincing and credible pure-electric car ever to go on sale in Britain.
When I was first handed the keys to an all-new Renault 5 at a secret test track last summer, I was blown away by its less-is-more exterior and interior design, honesty and spirit, plus the entertainment value it offered.
Genuinely and surprisingly, I was charmed, almost infatuated – as were attendees at The British Motor Show, where members of the public and auto industry professionals gave the R5 their seal of approval. With this in mind, I and my fellow judges, jurors and executioners at the international Best Cars of the Year (Best COTY) organisation named R5 as The New Car World Champion 2024/2025.
One of those judges – car design legend Shiro Nakamura – enthused: “Although the all-new 5 is designed as a homage to the original version, it [goes] beyond retro design and expresses modernity.” Another – Tim Shaw, co-presenter of TV’s Car SOS – could barely contain his enthusiasm for the car in its latest guise. In accepting the first-ever major award for the R5, Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo personally urged me to take another drive in one of his 5s.
So I did. And second time around, it somehow looked, felt and drove even more impressively than before. And despite a £22,995 starting price that screams value for money, even the entry version comes with striking Pop Green paint and 18-inch alloys.
True, the 5 is a small, humble hatchback that’s more like a tight 2+2 than a spacious five-seater. But it has the on-road presence, proportions and credibility of no other EV in its class. If there is a similarly priced, better-looking, more desirable and classier pure-electric supermini with greater provenance, I’m not aware of its existence.
In the thousands of columns, road tests and articles I’ve penned for Auto Express since we launched the mag in 1988, I’ve rarely felt moved to slap a ‘highly recommended’ label on an all-new car. The latest, standard R5 is one of the few exceptions. Why? Because, thanks largely to that world-beating exterior and interior design, and its sub-£23,000 starting price, it really is that special as a pure-electric car for the real world.
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