Renault 5 E-Tech 2025 long-term review – second report
Lined up on the starting grid at Goodwood, the two cars resemble the ‘before and after’ photos from a bodybuilding magazine. Each one is ostensibly a Renault 5, but the similarities almost end there.
On the left is my long-term test Renault 5 E-Tech. Compact and straight-sided, its classic hatchback proportions draw directly from the first two generations of R5. In normal circumstances, it looks understated and effortlessly cool: the fashionable EV du jour. Here, it seems decidedly out of its comfort zone.
On the right is the new 5 Turbo 3E, an electric hot hatch inspired by the original 5 Turbo. Squat and square-jawed, with comically swollen wheel arches to stretch over its wider track, this is the 5 after six months of pull-ups, squat thrusts, raw eggs and protein shakes. It’s also the fastest and most expensive car Renault has ever made.
First drives of the 5 Turbo 3E won’t take place until later this year, or perhaps early 2027, so when Renault invited me for a flat-out passenger ride around Goodwood Motor Circuit, chauffeured by one of its tame racing drivers, I jumped at the chance. EVs this exciting don’t come along very often.
How my long-term 5 E-Tech felt about this one-sided, David-and-Goliath encounter with its ‘mini-supercar’ sibling was less clear. But if a car was capable of arching an eyebrow, then giving a nonplussed Gallic shrug, I suspect it would have done so.
Classic 5 Turbos on show
The journey down through West Sussex on a balmy July evening was glorious. Unlike the related Alpine A290, the Renault isn’t a hot hatchback, but its well-judged damping and calmly calibrated controls make it a pleasure to drive.
This 150hp version offers zesty performance (entry-level cars have 120hp), even if you rarely feel inclined to squeeze every joule of energy from the 52kWh battery. I’m not convinced by Sport mode, either, which makes the car feel nervier and less fluid without improving performance. Loose-limbed Comfort mode works best, even on flowing country roads.
Arriving at Goodwood, I park alongside Renault royalty: a lineup of classic 5 Turbos brought along by their enthusiastic owners. Sold between 1980 and 1984, these mid-engined mutants were designed to meet rallying homologation rules, with enormous hips punctured by air intakes and cooling vents, plus one of the wackiest interiors ever seen in a production car (scarlet and bright blue in the red, W-reg Turbo pictured above, with an asymmetrical steering wheel).
By all accounts, the old-school Turbo is scarily snappy at the limit, while a total of 160hp from its fuel-injected, Garrett-boosted 1.4-litre engine barely outguns my new EV. Yet this middle-aged hatchback still looks like nothing else. Well, until the new Turbo 3E hums ominously into view.
Every detail is different
The Turbo 3E pictured here is a prototype and not registered for road use – hence being confined to Goodwood. A total of 1,980 cars (a nod to the Turbo’s birth year) are planned when production gets underway next year, priced at £135,000 apiece. Renault says the majority have already been sold.
With a 70kWh battery and two in-wheel motors delivering 540hp across its rear axle, the feistiest 5 can rocket to 62mph in 3.5 seconds and reach a maximum of 165mph. More prosaically, it also charges at up to 350kW and can eke out 250 miles of range – albeit not when performing hot laps at one of Britain’s fastest circuits.
Although the 3E is still recognisably a Renault 5, virtually every detail is different. In fact, the only external parts shared with my long-termer are the tail lights, wing mirrors and door handles. This particular car has a red and black colour scheme, but there are numerous liveries and other ways for buyers customise their Turbo 3E. Dive head-first into the options list and you could splash £200,000.
Inside the Renault 5 Turbo 3E
Inside, the 5 Turbo 3E clearly means business, with chunky sills, Perspex side windows, a substantial roll cage and carbon fibre bucket seats fitted with five-point Sabelt harnesses. It has the raw, no-nonsense ambiance of a racing car.
That didn’t stop Renault from having some fun, though. The digital graphics on the dashboard are inspired by retro video games, including a virtual teddy bear named ‘Drifty’. Yes, really. There’s also a prominent boost button on the steering wheel and an upright, rallying-style hydraulic handbrake. This car’s seats are trimmed in the same garish red and blue as the classic R5 Turbo in the car park, too.
There’s no eruption of noise when Renault’s driver presses the start button (marked ‘Free Play’ – another reference to gaming), but the Turbo 3E is primed and ready. “You OK?” he asks, selecting Drive while holding the car firmly on the brake. “Oh, definitely OK,” I respond a bit too quickly. “Then let’s go…”
Slide away, give it all you’ve got
With up to 3,540 lb ft of torque from its in-wheel motors, all channeled through 275-section Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rear tyres, the car is traction-limited off the line. No doubt, it feels supercar-quick, but it isn’t brutally accelerative like, for example, a new Porsche Cayenne Turbo Electric.
Hurtling into the first corner at Madgewick, there’s more dive under braking and body-roll than I’d expected, but I remind myself that this is a road car – not simply a track toy. Unlike some EV manufacturers, Renault hasn’t layered on an artificial soundtrack, so most of the noise comes from those wide tyres, particularly as our speed increases and the car starts to move around.
Indeed, it seems ‘Drifty’ has whispered in my driver’s ear, because all of a sudden we’re going very sideways indeed. With so much power, a short wheelbase and a wheel-at-each-corner stance, the Renault flicks back and forth with gleeful abandon, taking the long right-hander at Lavant like it’s auditioning for the next Gymkhana video. It feels playful and exuberant, a car that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Racing drivers always make their jobs look easy, and I’m sure there is considerable skill involved in hustling this hyper-hatch around Goodwood. Nonetheless, the way the Turbo 3E will settle into a slide, transition back to the direction of travel, then slingshot away feels balanced and not too intimidating. At least from the passenger seat.
Back in the real world
After a couple of intense laps in the Turbo 3E, I clamber out with brain buzzing and nerves tingling. Then I peel off my race suit, swig some cold water and climb back into my Renault 5 ordinaire for the journey home.
There will be no going sideways this time, but driving back as the curtain of dusk falls slowly across a perfect summer evening is its own reward. I even take the long route, avoiding the M23 and M25 to meander through pretty villages and along hedge-lined lanes.
For my next long-term report, it’ll be back to reality with a bump, as I discuss what the R5 is like to live with, including questions of interior space, battery range and charging costs. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted.
Tim Pitt writes for Motoring Research