Renault 4E-Tech, bringing the past to the present

Car ownership comes at a substantial outlay, the relationship with your new chariot spread over a minimum three to four years. It’s important therefore to like your purchase, relish each time you walk to it and glance back when you’re fifteen feet away from it, all to endorse your great choice and taste.

There are many cars out there that provide good, efficient transport, but sadly lack real personality and leave you with no aftertaste of any consequence. I compare it to eating popcorn – great while your eating it, but within minutes of finishing you are hungry, your memory of the popcorn forgotten. Choosing your new car should not be a popcorn event, your relationship a bit more substantial than a bag of cooked corn.   

Winner of the overall accolade of Continental Tyres Irish Car of the Year 2026 was the Renault 5, a car evoking its past by clever design allied to modern safety, comfort and entertainment systems. The outer styling is really good and it performs great on the road, delivering a very satisfying drive, simply a great product from Renault.

Rolling back into their design archive, Renault have now given us the new Renault 4, again harking back to the boxy, column-gearchange, very adaptable car of the late sixties and early seventies. The Renault 4 E-Tech electric is now available at dealerships from €27,995 (including SEAI grant) and from €199 per month with Renault’s 261 PCP offer with 3.9% APR.

Once more, they have got a lot right about this car, carrying as it does, a number of strong design cues from the original. That’s not to say that Renault have forced these aspects to the detriment of practicality and modern owner demand.

Last Word First

A short launch drive was enough to whet the appetite for more, the 4 E-Tech easy company on the twisty coastal roads of east Wicklow. There is a lot to like about its character and it will take a longer drive to access how it copes on longer journeys and varying road surfaces, albeit coped very well with all Greystones and Bray had to offer. This has to be a definite contender on your test drive list, if you are fishing in the B-segment pond. Impressive.

Dimensions

8cm longer than the Renault 5, with an overall length of 4,144mm, a width of 2,020mm and a height of 1,552mm, this all-new Renault 4 enters the shark infested waters of the B-segment Compact Crossover, where cars like the Ford Puma, Gen E await.

Power & Charging

Being a full EV, this new Renault 4 comes in two power choices, a 40k/Wh with 120bhp and probably its most popular variant, the 150bhp, 52k/W, with driving ranges of 308km and 409km respectively. Equipped with a 100 kW DC charger, the 52KWH battery can be replenished from 15 to 80% in just 30 minutes*, or an 11 kW AC 0-100% charge in 4 hours 51 minutes*. The 40KWH battery features 80 kW DC charging.

Trim Levels

The Renault 4 is available in three trim levels – evolution, techno, and iconic, and next summer with the option of the electric “plein sud™ canvas roof on the latter two. This can be opened at the touch of a button or by voice control to reveal an 80x92 cm view of the sky that can be enjoyed by all passengers.

Interior Space

Boot space of 420 litres, accessed by a hands-free power tailgate on iconic models, is made easily accessible by the wide, high opening and low load sill. Various touches like the four lashing hooks, two bag hooks, rubber bands to hold objects in place, and clever storage compartments – including a 55-litre underfloor area perfect for the charging cable – make everyday life a breeze for busy families. With the rear seat folded down, this space grows to 1,405 litres.

Tech

Renault’s OpenR Link system is standard across the range, with wireless Android Auto™ and Apple CarPlay connectivity, accessed via a 10.1-inch central touchscreen. Techno and iconic models go further with Google services built-in, including Google Maps with charging-optimised route planning and a variety of apps from the Google Play store. On these models, the central screen is joined by a 10-inch digital driver information display.

A favourite of mine is the new One Pedal function (available from techno), which optimises regenerative braking, decelerating smoothly when the driver releases the accelerator pedal and coming to a stop without the driver having to apply the brake.

Safety Systems

Up to 26 advanced driver assistance systems are available, including rear occupant safe exit alert, active driver-assist combining adaptive cruise control with Stop & Go and lane centring assist, as well as blind spot monitoring and hands-free parking. The Renault 4 E-Tech electric also includes My Safety Shield, which allows drivers to activate their preferred settings at the touch of a button.

Trim Levels Renault 4 E-Tech electric

evolution standard equipment

• 18” Steel wheel wheels with two tone ‘Jogging’ wheel trim
• automatic high/low beam
• automatic windscreen wipers with rain sensor + sensitivity setting
• adjustable door mirrors, manual folding
• electric front and rear windows with one touch
• heated windscreen washer nozzles
• rear wiper
• keyless entry
• automatic air conditioning
• grey quilted textile upholstery with tricolour stitching
• grained mottled light grey dashboard
• front centre storage console with armrest
• 60/40 split-folding rear seats
• 10-inch OpenR Link central touchscreen multimedia system
• wireless Android Auto + Apple CarPlay smartphone replication
• 7-inch digital driver information display
• multifunction steering wheel
• 2x front USB-C ports
• cruise control with speed limiter
• rear parking sensors
• rear view camera
• active emergency braking system; urban, pedestrian + cyclist
• driver attention alert
• emergency brake assist with collision avoidance braking
• lane departure warning
• lane keeping assist
• safe front stopping distance warning
• vehicle dynamic control + hill start assist
• vehicle sound for pedestrians
• my safety switch
• electric parking brake
• Isofix child seat anchor points (2x rear + 1x front passenger)

techno standard equipment (in addition to evolution)

• 10-inch OpenR Link central touchscreen multimedia system with Google built-in (supporting electric route navigation)
• 18” ‘Sixties’ black diamond cut alloy wheels
• wireless induction smartphone charger
• Reno, the official Renault avatar
• 10-inch digital driver information display
• 2x rear USB-C ports
• adaptive cruise control with stop & go function
• front, rear and side parking sensors
• multisense driving modes - sport, comfort, perso and eco
• frameless electrochromic rear-view mirror
• safety coach + safety score
• hands-free parking
• ambient interior lighting with 48 colour combinations
• cloth/synthetic leather seat upholstery: mixed 100% recycled textile denim copper stitching /dark blue refined textile
• fabric dashboard with grey stitching including touches of textile denim
• synthetic leather steering wheel
• paddle shifters with 4 levels of regenerative braking and one pedal driving
• shark fin antenna
• heated electrically adjustable door mirrors with electric folding
• privacy glass
• roof rails
• electric parking brake with auto-hold

iconic standard equipment (in addition to techno)

• 18-inch 'Parisenne' black diamond cut alloy wheels
• electric power hands-free boot opening
• front seats with manual height adjustment + 6-way driver’s lumbar
• heated front seats
• heated steering wheel
• cloth/synthetic leather seat upholstery: 100% recycled upholstery/black quilted refined textile/grey houndstooth textile with yellow ribbon
• synthetic leather dashboard with yellow stitching
• illuminated 'Renault 4' on dashboard
• active driver assist: adaptive cruise control + lane centring
• contextual adaptive cruise control
• blind spot warning
• intelligent speed assistance inc. sign recognition and speed alert
• rear cross traffic alert