Renault confirms UK pricing for 5 E-Tech
Well under £25k for the reborn 5, and from £27k for the 150hp model - orders open in Jan...
It would seem that Renault has some of its va-va-voom back, that early investment in EVs with Zoes and the like really paying dividends now people are more interested. The battery-powered Megane and Scenic have been well received, the reborn 4 looks cool, and now it’s been confirmed how much the most interesting car of the Renaulution - the 5 E-Tech - will cost when orders open in January.
£22,995 is the headline figure, or ‘lower than many people imagine’ according to Renault. That buys a 5 with 120hp, the urban range 40kWh battery (provisionally rated at 190 miles), and evolution spec. That means standard kit like 18–inch wheels, the 10.1-inch OpenR Link infotainment screen, rear parking sensors, LED lights all round and wireless smartphone mirroring. Most of the stuff you need, basically. And £23k compares pretty favourably with the £30k asked for an Allure-spec of Peugeot e-208, which boasts 136hp and a 50kWh battery. Probably the Citroen e-C3 will line up as the closest rival to an evolution-spec 5, with prices from £21,900 for a 44kWh, 199 WLTP miles Plus model.
The next step up for the Renault is to £24,995 and the techno model, still with the 40kWh battery and 120hp. That gets Google built into the infotainment (including DC charge preconditioning), a larger digital dash, the funky ‘5’ bonnet charging indicator, a rear-view camera and ambient lighting, plus it opens up the option to have two-tone paint. Easy to imagine a lot of customers skipping straight to techno, however appealing that entry price looks.
That's because the more powerful 150hp motor is only available from techno spec, and exclusively with the 52kWh ‘comfort range’ battery expected to return 248 miles on the WLTP test. That’s £26,995, or the kick-off point for the MG 4 range in fact, for some idea of the current breadth of the sub-£30k EV space.
Top of the 5 E-Tech 100% electric range (good job it doesn’t need a boot badge) are the iconic models. Over techno they get the ‘chrono’ 18-inch wheels, heated wheel, heated seats, then lots of stuff that seems a bit much for a car of the 5’s ilk: hands-free parking, blind-spot warning, active driver assist and so on. The iconic costs £26,995 for a 120hp car with the 40kWh battery, or £28,995 as a 150hp, 52kWh variant. While options are likely to be a big deal when it comes to speccing a 5, what with the jazzy paint colours and two-tone possibilities, no prices for extras have yet been confirmed.
What has been formally announced, however, is availability: orders for the 5 E-Tech will be open from January, with demonstrators expected at Renault dealers from March, and first deliveries ‘expected shortly afterwards’. So don’t go getting that electric Mini just yet.
Bit of a shame that they don't offer the larger battery with the lower trim level though. For the extra £2000 over the base model surely there must be people who would really appreciate the extra range and power, but don't feel the need for things like two tone paint or a bigger digital dash. In fact I suspect such a car would be the pick of the range if I was in the market.
Still, I guess in the "cutesy retro supermini" market, it's price comparable with something like a petrol MINI. Better looking than the current MINIs to my eyes too.
I'm glad they've resisted the temptation to stick a ridiculously huge battery in it. 40kWh should be more than enough for most people who buy this sort of car.
Not been as excited about an EV since the i3.
Adding real design and character overcomes the fact that EV's are not noisy. It looks superb and seems to have everything.
Now just tax SUV's into the past and get people excited about buying cars they need rather than those that massage their fragile egos.
Because I'm buying a used EV and sure as hell do not see it. You have any examples?
Please, do not start with Taycan, as it is depreciating less than big limos of years past.
Looking at this through somebody else's eyes though, I think it's actually bang on for the market it's aimed at.
The design features (which personally I really don't like), are going to be really appealing to some, the link to the nostalgia past model, the price is even reasonable, I can see 45+ year old ladies lapping these things up by the boat-load.
Good move by Renault, and I hope the development costs can be paid off, and they can return a healthy profit from this.
Not been as excited about an EV since the i3.
Adding real design and character overcomes the fact that EV's are not noisy. It looks superb and seems to have everything.
Now just tax SUV's into the past and get people excited about buying cars they need rather than those that massage their fragile egos.
EVs may no longer have the rock-solid residuals they did a few years ago, but they're mostly not really any worse than comparable ICE vehicles.
Because I'm buying a used EV and sure as hell do not see it. You have any examples?
Please, do not start with Taycan, as it is depreciating less than big limos of years past.
Similarly, 24k for a decently specced small car, new, feels right on the money- a new fabia / 208 would be slower, and lower specced - and cost an extra £100/month to run
The average small car in the UK does about 5000 miles a year; a small petrol engined Fabia will do 40mpg around town without too much difficulty so that's about £60 a month in fuel at current prices, compared to something like £10 for the EV on a cheap tariff. Tax will be the same from April, servicing on EVs tends to be cheaper but insurance tends to be more expensive so that probably comes out in the wash.
I like EVs, we've got one, but people do need to be realistic about the running costs.
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