Renault has promised from the beginning that there would be a version of the Renault 5 costing less than 25,000. That car is now here, including a final Dutch price tag and a detailed look at the equipment.
The Renault 5 is a hit. We dare to make that claim now, because the electric retro-Renault has already stolen many hearts and is doing excellently in tests and on sales charts. For those who found the initial base price of just under €28,000 a bit too steep, there is good news. The promised true entry-level model has arrived, and costs less than 25 mille as predicted. 10 euros less, to be exact, because for €24,990 you can get into a Renault 5 95 hp Urban Range Five.
The ‘Five’ named base version is €3,000 cheaper than the Evolution, but looks exactly the same on the outside. Both cars have a striking whip antenna that more expensive versions lack, both cars stand on 18-inch steel wheels with (subjectively) extremely charming wheel covers, and both cars have black window surrounds and beautiful, complete-looking LED lighting.
The similarities between the two cheapest versions of the 5 are also enormous on the inside. We see the same gray upholstery, the same light accents on the dashboard and door panels, the same plastic steering wheel, and the same emptiness between the front seats, where you would find an armrest in other versions. In terms of equipment, there is only one difference: the Evolution has automatic climate control, the Five has manual air conditioning. That could be inconvenient in combination with touchscreen operation, but maybe it won’t be so bad.
The big difference between these versions is therefore not in the equipment, but in the powertrain. The base 5 has less power to begin with, with 95 versus 120 hp, and is also the only 5 with so little power. The acceleration from 0 to 100 takes 12 seconds, considerably more than the 9 seconds that the 120 hp variant needs. The top speed of the simplest 5 is also far from impressive: 130 km/h.
The battery pack is identical to that of the regular Urban Range at 40 kWh, although the most expensive 5s have 52 kWh in the underbelly. The Five lacks the heat pump of the Evolution, which undoubtedly explains why the WLTP range is 310 instead of 312 kilometers. Warning: in winter, that difference can be quite large. V2L functionality for charging (other) devices has also been removed to get to the ‘Five’.
A three-phase charger for charging with a maximum of 11 kW is also present, but the real kicker comes when you arrive at a Fastned or Ionity station. The basic 5 is not suitable for fast charging at all, which actually disqualifies it for trips that may exceed the (in practice) 250 kilometers. There are actually no options and so there is no possibility to add the DC fast charging option to the basic 5. The entry-level version of the Renault 5 is already in the configurator, so you can bet that this car will soon be covered in ‘Back to Basics’ (series).