I drove Renault's 60s-themed family car full of features - 3 things to know

In the past five years, wow factor has really soared. In an industry getting increasingly swallowed up by , the famous French brand has revived interest from the nostalgia of customers.

The encapsules this focus on the past beautifully. It looks like the , offers an exceptional driving style, and is surprisingly well-built for a sub-£23,000 - there's no doubting why it was awarded European Car of the Year 2025.

That said, the little 5 is not without its problems. Rear passengers over 5ft will find that their knees dig into the seat in front of them, and the boot is not exactly cavernous. For those reasons, Renault have used the same platform to provide a slightly larger model that has even bigger boots to fill - the .

Built from 1961 to 1994, the offered that rare mix of attractive styling, good levels of practicality, and an affordable price. On face value, the new model seems to offer the same, with the compact electric crossover set to start at around £27,000 when it goes on sale in the UK - around £2,000 less than rivals like the and Fiat 600e, and approaching £6,000 under the .

But can the Renault 4 E-Tech offer the same winning formula as its smaller stablemate whilst also proving itself to be a true family-sized runaround? I drove one across Portugal to find out.

Styling:

The original Renault 4 proved that a utilitarian car could be stylish. It was boxy, no doubt, but there were little touches that helped to give it personality, such as the sweeping lines in the bonnet that led up to an interior air vent, the trapezoidal grille, and the tiny bumper overriders on the front wing.

Whilst the new 4 E-Tech is fulfilling quite a different purpose, I'm pleased to see that the model's origins are still fondly remembered. In addition to the very 1960s range of pastel colours, there's still the unusually shaped quarter lights behind the rear doors, the vertical taillight clusters, and ridges along the doors that resemble the rubbing strips on the high-end 4GTL of the 1980s.

That said, things do change over time, not least the taste of new car buyers. As a result, the little Renault has received the crossover treatment, now featuring a stocky front bumper in black plastic, large wheel arches, and a two-tone paint job that is done by printing the secondary colour - something that helps to speed up production and minimise cost.

Interior:

As drivers would expect from a car that shares the same platform as the Renault 5, the 4 E-Tech's interior is suspiciously similar to its smaller siblings, and that's by no means a bad thing.

Unusually for a car that harks back to the swinging 60s, the Renault has a very modern interior design, featuring a faux-denim clad dashboard (or synthetic leather on the top-spec Iconic), a single-piece panel with the instrument cluster and touchscreen, and (replacing the umbrella handle-like dashboard-mounted gearstick of the original R4) a column-mounted selector.

The only issue I found with the 4's interior (and it's a small one) was the radio controls, which are mounted very low on the steering column. At first, it's hard to see it's there and often results in the drivers kneecap changing the radio station as they move their foot from the accelerator.

Practicality:

Despite being based on the same platform as the 5, the Renault 4 E-Tech is 22cm longer. As a result, it has an impressive amount of rear legroom. Even with the front seat set to my specifications, I could comfortably sit in the back; however, headroom is still a touch lacking.

The 4 E-Tech offers a 420-litre boot, which increases to 1,405 litres with the rear row of seats folded. That's quite a bit smaller than the EV3's 460-litre boot and considerably less than the 523 litres you get in the Puma Gen-E. A 55-litre cubby underneath the boot floor is a handy feature, however.

Owners in mainland Europe will also be able to fold the front passenger seat flat - making the Renault ideal for bulky loads like surfboards. It's a neat idea, but devastatingly one that right-hand drive models won't receive.

Features:

Despite being a very basic car at launch (the entry-level Renault 3 variant was so basic that it could only be bought in a rather drab shade of grey), the new 4 E-Tech has all the mod-cons drivers expect from a new electric model. The Renault will be sold in three trim levels in the UK - Evolution, Techno, and Iconic.

Much like the 5 E-Tech, all examples of the 4 have a 10-inch touchscreen which is straightforward to use and comes with Reno - the company's diamond-shaped AI buddy, whilst the entry level model also gets keyless entry, dual-colour alloy wheels, wireless smartphone charging, a rear parking camera (although not the clearest I've seen), and a heat pump as standard.

However, without a doubt, my favourite feature of the new Renault 4 E-Tech has to be the optional 'Plein Sud' canvas roof. Whilst these models forgo the roof rails, buyers receive a near metre-long sunshine roof. The devastating news, however, is it won't be available from launch - something that could put a fair number of prospective customers off.

Performance:

Based on the same underpinnings as the 5, all UK-bound examples of the Renault 4 E-Tech will come equipped with a 148bhp electric motor, driving the front wheels, and a 52kWh battery pack which is made from Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC).

Compared to the lithium-ion batteries typically found in a modern EV, NMC power packs are said to offer significantly improved efficiency, helping the flagship 4 E-Tech to achieve up to 250 miles per charge (although I'd argue 210 is more realistic in real world conditions) and replenish from 15 to 80 percent in half an hour with a 100KW charging point.

Despite being quite a bit more powerful than the entry-level variant sold in Mainland Europe, the 148bhp version of the little Renault is no rival to the Mini Cooper Electric but will still sprint from 0-62mph in less than 8.5 seconds - about the same as a Ford Puma Gen-E or a Fiat 600e.

Driving:

As expected, the Renault 4 E-Tech drives a lot like its smaller sibling, and that's not a bad thing at all. Acceleration, although somewhat hesitant from a standstill, is slick in all modes, whilst the inclusion of adaptable regenerative braking means single pedal driving is possible and, after a bit of getting used to, very enjoyable in city commutes.

The 4 E-Tech is also surprisingly manoeuvrable compared to most rivals, with a 10.8-metre turning circle - there was very little fear of scraping the alloys on the tight roads of the Portuguese villages. On the whole, the Renault's steering is nicely weighted and predictable, but some understeer was experienced at speed.

Renault has somewhat tweaked the 4's suspension setup compared to the 5, but the ride quality is still very similar. Drivers will feel imperfections in the road quite easily, but some rivalling crossovers are much worse. One quirk of the suspension setup is the touch of body roll drivers will experience when cornering at high speed - something the original had in abundance.

However, one rather annoying quirk about driving the Renault 4 at high speed is the sheer amount of wind noise experienced above 60mph - helped by that particularly boxy shape. I can't imagine the roof rails or, when it launches, canvas sunroof will help matters here.

Conclusion:

Despite going up against some of the best-selling models on the market today, there is nothing else quite like the Renault 4 E-Tech. Its appearance may not be quite so cute as the 5, but they are unquestionably retro and, most importantly, distinctive.

However, looking beyond the styling, the Renault offers a very impressive package of good interior space, quality fit and finish, a solid powertrain, and a starting price that puts some electric crossovers to shame.

In some ways, the Renault 4's biggest rival will be the Renault 5 - helped no end by the competitive pricing. That said, whether it will resonate just as well with the driving public is something to await.