Á«»¨Ö±²¥

The Renault 4 is a small electric car that’s a bit like Goldilocks’ favourite porridge, because it’s just right. It’s big enough for families without being the size of a tank, has more than enough range for most people yet isn’t lumbered with a big, heavy battery, and you don’t have to pay too much for it, either. There’s everything you need with none of the bloat you get with most modern cars.

Small but practical EVs are a dime a dozen, though – you could also consider alternatives as varied as the Ford Puma Gen-E, MG4 EV, Mini Aceman and Fiat 600e. You could even have a look at the excellent Skoda Elroq if you can stretch your budget a bit.

What the Renault 4 has that none of those alternatives can match is kerb appeal. Okay, it doesn’t quite have the uber cool looks of the dinkier Renault 5, but its more upright stance still works superbly with the retro design. It’s a practical, affordable family car that genuinely turns heads.

Renault 4 E-Tech: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 247 miles
Efficiency: 4.8 miles per kWh
Battery size: 52kWh
Max charge speed: 100kW
Charge time AC: 7hrs 47mins, 0-100% at 7kW
Charge time DC: 30mins, 15-80% at 100kW
Charge port location: Left front
Power output: 150hp

Inside it’s just as cool, with a blocky dashboard design that’s multi-layered with different materials that are largely impressive quality, given the price. The Renault 4 has a Google-powered infotainment system, which is quick to respond to your touch and easy to use. Alongside that screen is a simple but effective digital instrument display.

The stylish cabin is far from form over function though, because the Renault 4 is more practical than the 5, in no small part due to the fact it actually has cupholders. Despite adequate storage, there’s still not much space for adults in the back seats, though at least headroom is a bit better than in the 5. At 420 litres the boot is big enough for a pram or the weekly shop; the Ford Puma Gen-E is the only alternative with more capacity.

There’s just the one battery pack, which offers a range of up to 247 miles, which is about average among similarly priced alternatives. We saw better-than-average efficiency of 4.1 miles per kWh during our time with the car.

Performance is nothing special – we’re past the point where every electric car needs whipcrack-fast acceleration. The Renault 4 has enough oomph to get you up to speed on the motorway, and it’s relatively quiet at a cruise, but it’s not the sort of car in which you’ll be eagerly searching out fun country roads. City driving is its forte, where it’s comfortable over bumps and its upright body affords decent visibility.

It’s hard to find too much to fault the Renault 4 on – sure it’s not particularly exhilarating, but it does all the boring day to day stuff brilliantly, with a design and a character that will put a smile on your face.

If that sounds like your cup of tea check out the latest Renault 4 deals available through Á«»¨Ö±²¥, as well as the latest Renault 4 lease deals. You can also browse used Renaults from our network of trusted dealers. Á«»¨Ö±²¥ can help you sell your current car, too.

The Renault 4 starts at a fiver under £27,000 for Evolution models, rising £2,000 for the mid-spec Techno and another £2,000 for top-spec Iconic models. That puts it on the temptingly lower side of average among alternatives – the MG4 EV and BYD Dolphin start around the same price, while the Ford Puma Gen-E and Fiat 600e start closer to £30,000.

If you’re looking at the higher end of the Renault 4’s price range you might also consider entry-level versions of the Skoda Elroq. It’s a bigger, more practical car, but you’ll have to spend even more on higher-spec trims before it will go further on a charge than the Renault.

Easy to drive and comfortable around town, but it’s anything but thrilling on a twisty road

In town

The Renault 4 is excellent around town, because the electric motors offer just enough punch for darting about in traffic but are smooth and quiet so slow-moving traffic is as relaxing as it can be. The suspension jiggles you about a bit over bumps, but it’s generally composed enough on rough roads. The brakes aren’t quite as well-judged as the Renault 5 though, so it’s a touch trickier to come to a smooth stop.

The tall, upright shape means visibility is decent all round and you can sit high to get a good view out the front, which couples with the narrow body to mean it’s easy to navigate through width restrictions and tight city streets.

You get rear parking sensors and a reversing camera as standard, though stepping up to the mid-spec Techno trim adds a system that will park the car for you.

On the motorway

The Renault 4 is one of the best small(ish) electric cars to drive on the motorway, because it’s really comfortable and refined enough that wind and road noise never becomes a problem. It’s not hugely powerful, but has more than enough performance to get up to motorway speeds and pull off overtakes when required.

Cruise control comes as standard, while mid-spec models get adaptive cruise, which maintains your speed and distance to the car in front. Top-spec models get an ‘intelligent’ system that can adapt the car’s speed automatically when approaching bends and roundabouts, as well as adding blind spot monitoring.

On a twisty road

If you’re after twisty road thrills, look elsewhere. The Renault 4 performs adequately, in that it’s easy to judge the steering, there’s good enough grip from the tyres and the body doesn’t lean too much, but it never feels particularly fun.

That’s deliberate, as the Renault 4 is the more sensible, family friendly alternative to the smaller Renault 5, which feels much sportier. The Ford Puma Gen-E is a closer match to the 4 in size and shape, and it’s more fun on a good country road, too.

Spacious and practical enough for most, but adults will find rear seat space limited

There’s plenty of space and the driving position is excellent, with lots of adjustability in the steering wheel and seat position. The cushion is quite narrow though, and we found the side bolster pressed on our right hip, which becomes tiresome on longer journeys.

Storage represents a huge leap over the Renault 5, not least because there are actually cup holders. You also get a small but useful cubby hole under the armrest and beneath the screen is a place for your phone (which charges wirelessly on all but the base-spec model). The door bins are a bit tight though, struggling to fit larger water bottles.

Space in the back seats

If you have a small family, the Renault 4 is a better option than the Renault 5, which is really tight in the back. However, the 4 is still far from exemplary, and while you can fit adults in the back they’ll probably start feeling cramped on long journeys. Headroom isn’t too bad but there’s not much wiggle room for tall people, and fitting three across will be a terrible squeeze.

Where it’s better than expected is that you can fit a child seat quite comfortably, with two ISOFIX mounting points on the outer rear seats. Although the passenger has to move their seat forward, the dashboard design leaves space for their knees to slide beneath, so it’s not cramped. This makes it ideal for a small family, but unless the driver is short or willing to sit very close to the wheel, there’s not much space for a second child seat.

Boot space

At 420 litres the Renault 4 has a bigger boot than most alternatives, outgunned by only the Ford Puma Gen-E and its cavernous 556-litre boot. Even the bigger, more expensive Skoda Elroq doesn’t massively outdo its capacity at 470 litres. Aside from these outliers, the closest alternatives are the BYD Dolphin and Fiat 600e, both at around 360 litres.

The Renault’s capacity does include 55 litres beneath the floor, which is really easy to access. You have split-folding flaps in the floor giving access to a large cutout, which makes for a great home for the EV charging cable. That leaves the main space free for your shopping, where you’ll find handy bag hooks, straps for holding items firmly in place, and a couple of cubby holes for hiding small items.

A funky interior with an excellent infotainment system, but it’s a shame base models get a smaller instrument display

Electric cars at the more affordable end of the spectrum tend to be a bit plain and feel cheap inside – not so the Renault 4. The interior is a cool mix of materials laid out over a multi-layered cabin that’s characterful without being too fussy. Perhaps only the Mini Aceman matches it for drama.

All models get the same 10.1-inch infotainment system in the centre of the dashboard, which runs on Google software. That makes it one of the fastest and easiest to use systems in any car right now, and you get lots of integrated apps such as Google Maps, which can plan long routes to incorporate charging stops as required. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also standard-fit if that’s what you’d prefer.

Techno and Iconic models get a 10.0-inch instrument screen ahead of the driver, which is perhaps not as customisable as it could be, but displays all of the relevant information clearly. It’s a bit of a shame that the entry-level Evolution model gets a smaller 7.0-inch display here, though.

Each trim has unique seat upholstery, with Evolution models getting grey cloth, Techno adding a dark blue jeans-like textile, and Iconic models getting a posh-feeling quilted cushion and a grey houndstooth pattern with splashes of yellow.

There’s just the one battery option here, as the Renault 4 goes without the smaller battery you can get in the Renault 5. There’s also one motor option, which has 150hp.

It has an official range of up to 247 miles, which is about what you can expect from similarly priced versions of alternatives. For example, the Fiat 600e and Jeep Avenger will do around 250 miles, while the Smart #1 and Mini Aceman will do about 190 miles. If range is key you’ll want to check out the MG4 EV or BYD Dolphin, which recorded 281 miles and 265 miles respectively in official tests.

During our time with the car we saw efficiency of 4.1 miles per kWh, which is quite impressive and would equal a real-world range of about 213 miles. That’s 86% of the claimed range; most cars we test hover around 80% of their claimed figures.

Electric cars are a great option for company car buyers as they fall into the lowest bracket for company car tax. However, they’re also in the lowest road tax bracket for private buyers, and no version of the Renault 4 would have to pay the expensive car supplement in years two to six, either.

The Renault 4 has not been safety tested itself, but it shares the four-out-of-five rating given to the Renault 5 because the experts at Euro NCAP say the cars are so similar. That means it gets a slightly underwhelming 79% for adult occupant protection, though the 85% score for child occupant protection is reassuring.

You get plenty of safety kit as standard, as well as an option for personalised assistance settings so you can quickly switch off any functions you don’t like by simply double pressing a button next to the steering wheel. Mid-spec models get adaptive cruise control and a self-parking system, while top-spec models upgrade the cruise control and add blind spot warning and lane centring.

The Renault 4 is too new to get a view of its reliability. However, Renault had a strong showing in the 2025 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, coming in sixth out of 31 manufacturers.

Renault vehicles include a three-year warranty, covering unlimited mileage for the first two years, and up to 100,000 miles in the third. The electric powertrain has a four-year/100,000-mile warranty. The main traction battery is guaranteed for eight years or 100,000 miles, with a promise to maintain over 70% of its initial capacity.