Renault 5 electric mechanics
Being an electric car that will not be fully revealed until February 2024, there is still no clear data on the power supply it will offer once it is on our roads, although we can expect figures similar to those of similar vehicles, such as the of the Citroën e-C3 against which it will compete head to head in this market. The base model will have a 40kWh battery in addition to a 52kWh extended range battery. The brand has announced a range of up to 400 kilometers – that is, more than 15 kilometers more range than Renault’s current benchmark in electric compact cars, the Zoe.
Now, before the power there are other interesting aspects, coming from the test mules on which this Renault 5 was developed – then it had a Clio shell. Renault wants it to be a fun car to drive and has wanted to do so by incorporating multi-link suspension on the rear axle even in the entry-level version, giving it a dynamism that many SUVs and utility vehicles (which could cost close to twice as much) currently lack. despite the fact that generalist/economical cars have been seen with this scheme for decades.
Added to this is the fact that Renault wanted the steering to be direct (although you can expect there to be a lot of leakage, as is the case in almost all cars on the current market) and the behavior of the chassis to be very stable. The Renault 5 will have a brake-by-wire system instead of a direct connection to the brake discs, but it has still managed to impress those media that have been able to test the model in its testing phase. It is an unusually short car by current standards as it does not reach four meters in length (3.92m to be exact), not as small as the original Renault 5 but in this way a habitable space is achieved inside.
Just as the original Renault 5 was created for a young audience and the Supercinco fell in love with many young drivers in the nineties, the new Renault 5 also has a young audience as a sales target – that is why it needs to be relatively economical, accessible to wallets of young drivers across Europe. A lot of emphasis is also placed on interactivity and connectivity in a world where people are practically born with electronic devices attached to their bodies, as well as on the user experience. It also meets those looking for a more ecological manufacturing given that 22% of the materials are recycled and 85% of the total Renault 5 is recyclable, according to the brand itself.
Do you want more? Here comes the Alpine A290
There are potential customers who like the idea of the Renault 5 returning but perhaps their dynamic performance falls short and they are looking for something wilder. Or in other words, the customers who in other times would have gone for a Copa Turbo, a Maxi or a GT Turbo. If that is the case, the diamond brand’s response is the Alpine A290, a true electric hot hatch that ‘sounds’ promising, although it will take a little longer to arrive. Although no figures have been revealed, it will have more power than the Renault 5, being a response to the Abarth 500e – at the same time, it would be located both in price and performance below the Alpine A110.
The prototype, A290_β, shows interesting ideas, such as a driver’s seat in a central position (like the McLaren F1) and two passengers, one on each side, bucket seats, telemetry on the steering wheel and hydraulic handbrake, as well as an inspired aesthetic both in competition (a nose that evokes Formula 1, for example) and in PC gamers, especially notable on the side. Functions such as the radio, the driving mode selector, the ABS settings and the button to limit the speed during pit stops when on circuits (runs, for example) will reach future electric Alpines.
It is still early to know if the production A290 will really be a center-driven car or the elements that will be maintained compared to the prototype, but it should be a step forward in terms of performance with respect to the standard Renault 5, even the 52kWh one (in fact, it will use the same battery). Of course, there is the possibility that at least one of the two Renault Spain models carries out some sports program, either on circuits or in rallies.
Renault has advanced a price of around 25,000 euros (without taking into account aid or subsidies such as those of the MOVES Plan) for the 5 E-Tech, with more information being given at the Geneva Motor Show on February 26. For the Alpine A290 you can expect a price of around 35,000 euros, according to several sources. It has also been confirmed that there will be more returns from the French firm, such as the Renault Twingo long awaited by Shakira, an even cheaper electric compact (about 20,000 euros or less), based on the shapes of the first-class model generation (which originally inherited part of the mechanics of the Renault 5).
