Renault's new all-electric 4 E-Tech made its Irish debut today at an event held in Renault's pop-up store in Dundrum Town Centre. That store is part of Renault's push for a more groovy image and has seen more than 200,000 visitors since January. Anyone popping their heads in today would have had their first chance to see the new Renault 4 in the flesh.
Is this part of the same retro-look thing as the new Renault 5?
While not as immediately striking to look at as its closely related brother, the new Renault 5 E-Tech, the 4 E-Tech nonetheless does a lot of the same mining of Renault's history, with styling that nods to the look of the original Renault 4, even though it's really a modern, compact, all-electric SUV.
It's certainly roomier than the Renault 5, with a large 420-litre boot (35 litres of which are under the floor for the charging cable) and much more spacious back seats, in spite of being based on the same AmpR platform as the 5. It should also be as well-priced as the new 5. The small hatchback has an Irish starting price of €25,995, so the Renault 4 E-Tech should arrive under the €30,000 mark.
That sounds tempting…
Critically, that's where the EV market seems to be moving. According to Seamus Morgan, head of distribution for the Cedar Group in Ireland, which includes Renault, Dacia, and Nissan, said: “With EVs generally, there seems to be a movement towards smaller cars, under the €30,000 mark, with nine or ten of the major franchises that offer such cars. Certainly that's the direction of the volume.”
As with the 5 E-Tech, the Renault 4 E-Tech will come with a choice of batteries - 40kWh or 52kWh - and two electric motors, either 120hp or 150hp, depending on which battery you choose. The maximum charging speed for the larger battery is up to 100kW (up to 80kW for the smaller one), and both versions will charge at 11kW on AC power, with both vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-grid functions.
As for range, surprisingly, given its extra bulk, the Renault 4 is within a couple of kilometres of its smaller brother, thanks to efficiency gains in the motors. The small battery version offers up to 308km on the WLTP test, while the bigger battery 4 E-Tech quotes 409km on the WTLP test. Based on our experience with the 5 E-Tech, that suggests a real-world range of around 320-340km for the larger-battery version.
What's different compared to the 5?
While it's based on the same platform as the 5, the 4 E-Tech gets softer, longer-travel suspension, but it can still turn tightly - the turning circle is 10.8 metres - and in a nod to the original, there's an optional full-length canvas sunroof.
Seven colours will be offered - Glacier White, Urban Grey, Starry Black, Carmine Red, Terracotta Brown, Hauts-de-France Green and Cloud Blue - while the 4 E-Tech will also come with standard safety equipment, which includes Active Driver Assist for level 2 assisted driving, 26 driving aids, rear occupant safe exit alert, and My Safety Switch. There's also built-in Google software for the main touchscreen, and it'll have the 5's independent rear suspension and clever brake-by-wire system.
Renault Ireland hasn't issued an official on-sale date for the 4 E-Tech as yet, but it's expected to be in showrooms in time for 252 registrations in July.