NEW ELECTRIC RENAULT 4 IS A VERSATILE REINVENTION
The new Renault 4 is a world away from the legendary, rustic R4 that has since become a classic but it has also become a lot better for it.
It seems Renault is now keen to boost its electric range at the lower end of the market, with the aim of luring budget-minded families to the charging station.
Less than a year after the R5 was reborn as an electric city runabout, the French company has brought back the R4.
Built from the same box of modular components, it is a tad larger and a lot more practical. It does not look much like the boxy original and is not quite as agile and dynamic as the new R5.
The R4 will go on sale from €29,400 and just like the R5 it is more upright and has more edges than its historical namesake. The aim of the designers was not to get too retro and frighten off young customers. At the same time, the car continues in a long French small car tradition.
Renault built more than 8 million of the first R4 up until 1994, making it one of the best-selling cars in the world.
Nods to the R4's heritage include round headlights, angular wings and the van-like silhouette. Even the fluted mouldings on the flanks have been transferred to the here and now. And as one of the very few modern cars, the electric R4 can be ordered with an old-school fabric roof, which turns it into an kind of convertible at the touch of a button.
The inside of the car is a welcoming place, the materials are a notch above what you might expect from a Renault and everything is laid out logically.
The quilted seat covers and the roof embossed in the same pattern are nice touches along with the French national flag as a recurring decorative element.
Francophiles will love the baguette holder instead of a conventional home for a cup holder. The only thing missing is the weird gear-knob of the petrol original, which protrudes from the dashboard like the handle of an umbrella.
Naturally the R4 wants to hark back to the past without carrying over the quirks of yore. The steering wheel is conventional, the instruments are digital and the inevitable touchscreen for navigation includes charge planning, more than 100 apps and an avatar that wants to become a digital companion.
Space is what the R4 has plenty of - more than in the R5 and more than many others in its class. The car stands at 4.14 metres long and has a wheelbase of 2.62 metres. The roof is higher too and the rear seats are now comfortable enough for adults too - at least for short journeys.
And the boot is also big enough for holidays. It holds up to 420 litres and can be extended to 1,405 litres. The back of the front passenger seat can also be folded down, to give a clear 2.20 metres across the unusually flat loading sill. The R4 also boasts an electric tailgate.
While the passengers may appreciate the R4's spaciousness, the R5 is still more fun to drive.
What the R4 has going for it is predictable steering along with softer and more comfortable suspension. It is not quite as lively on the road as the R5 and has a slightly larger turning circle.
And that is not the only difference to the R5. Renault has responded to customer criticism by reprogramming the driving profiles for the R4 and for the first time it has provided one-pedal drive. If you take your foot off the accelerator in the right setting, you actually come to a standstill.
Technically, the R4 and R5 share the same architecture and the same drive system. Both models have a 90 kW/120 hp front engine and a 40 kWh battery in the base model, which lasts for 308 standard kilometres in the R4.
Both variants can reach speeds of up to 150 km/h on the road but call for a laid-back attitude at the charging station. The rate of 80 kW maximum charging power for the small battery and 100 kW for the large battery are not even average these days.
The on-board charger also only delivers 11 kW, but it works bi-directionally and turns the R4 into a rolling power bank.
In some respects the R4 is a better buy than an R5. It’s more practical and costs just a little more to run. It has a bigger boot than its rivals and has a dash of charm missing from most cars in this sector.
The world has changed a lot since the first version appeared decades ago and the R4 has become a modern, contemporary runabout that offers a lot of car for the money and brings electric mobility a little further into the mainstream. The French are good at this sort of thing.
And if it weren't for that lame charging ability, the new R4 could well become a bestseller, just like its role model from the bygone days.
