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By Jonathan Crouch

Jonathan Crouch thinks Renault's re-born 4 small hatch looks forward as much as it looks back.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 49

Renault continues to revitalise its back catalogue for the new electric era, here with this car, the 4 E-Tech Electric. Essentially, it's a more practical take on the company's successful electric Renault 5, but is better suited to a small family, with nods aplenty to both past and future.

Backgroundword count: 160

Aside from the Citroen 2CV, no other model better sums up the French approach to affordable transport in the post-war years than the Renault 4. Known as the 'Quattrelle' (after its domestic '4L' badge), over 8 million were sold over a 33 year production run between 1961 to 1992 and Renault has never since made another car quite like it; until now. In 2022, the brand signalled its intention of recreating the spirit of the original 4 into a car for the new electric era by creating a concept design, the 4EVER Trophy. Which was well received enough to, three years on, bring us the productionised 4 E-Tech model we look at here. The youthful target market ought to like the concept of a retro vibe, but few of them will be familiar with the original, so the Gallic designers had to achieve a difficult balance here between trendiness, functionality and nostalgia. How did they do? Let's take a look.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 230

The original Renault 4 was an icon of rural France and, thanks to its long-travel independent suspension and front wheel drive, was known for being quite adept at scrambling over unmade terrain. This E-Tech Electric model doesn't look quite as rough-ready, but it does feature fully independent rear suspension, which is quite unusual in the small hatch class. We haven't yet driven this car, but the signs are good. All the engineering is shared with the 5 E-Tech and the electric Nissan Micra. Which means the Renault Group's AmpR Small architecture platform with front wheel drive and a choice of two batteries and motors. The base package sees a 40kWh battery energising a 121bhp motor and offering 225Nm of torque and an EV range of 186 miles. The more expensive version uses a 52kWh battery with a 148bhp motor, 245Nm of torque and 248 miles of range. This latter version makes 62mph in 8.5s en route to 93mph. This was the first Renault to be launched with a 'one pedal' driving mode, with steering wheel paddles available to alter (via three modes) the regenerative braking level. The 'one pedal' setting is so fierce it can actually bring the car to complete stop when you come off the throttle. A standard heat pump further boosts driving range in cold weather. And there are up to 28 different camera assisted driving aids.

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