Renault 5 E-Tech Iconic 2025 Owner Review

David Thacker drives a Renault 5 E-Tech Iconic 52kWh 2025.

This is David’s second electric car, he’s owned the Renault 5 E-Tech less than a year and drives 5,000-10,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 1,000-5,000 miles and he achieves 140 miles range on an 80% charge.

David added the Pop Yellow! paint colour and the protection package.

Why did you choose the Renault 5?

Design, internal styling and equipment. The car looks amazing, it’s very comfortable and even 6ft+ people fit perfectly. The ADAS system works better than my old BMW iX3. Interestingly, it’s a car I have been asked about and commented on the most. The running costs are pennies and the dealer seems, so far, excellent. It does my daily motoring and only needs charging once a week or so. In all, it’s been a fantastic purchase, so much so I have an identical car for my home in Spain!

Positives

Design, ease of driving and comfort. Much better to drive then my husband’s Škoda Elroq. Has all the equipment my old iX3 had (except the head up display) and I can heat the car remotely, which is fantastic for those winter mornings.

Negatives

It’s not terribly practical for other passengers and it doesn’t do one pedal driving very well.

Compared to when you first bought the car, does your battery still charge at the same rate & do you still get the same range?

I charge the car to 80%. The range in summer was 160 miles but in winter it’s dropped to 130. The heat pump saves many miles but the weather doesn’t help: it’s too new to talk about battery degradation but the same car in Spain is charged to 100% so I can assess over time what difference, if any, it makes.

Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?

The car has been fault-free. Occasionally, it doesn’t recognise the key for the automatic unlocking and occasionally CarPlay didn’t recognise my phone. This often happens when I have to leave the car for a few seconds to collect a forgotten item for example, but I think that’s a quirk in the system rather than a fault.

What are the standout technological features of the car?

I drive the car in Eco mode. I live in Belfast and don’t need the extra acceleration the other modes provide. The throttle response is progressive and the brake feel is perfect. You don’t know when the physical brakes take over from the motor. CarPlay and the other displays in the car are superb. Radar cruise works well and is useful in stop-start traffic.

Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about your Renault 5

Preconditioning the car – activate it from the app and the car is warm, the heated steering wheel is on and the frost has gone. It’s a real luxury!

What’s the biggest or funniest myth you’ve heard about EVs?

“How many miles? I thought it would only do a hundred miles to charge. And can you charge it when the washing machine is on?”

What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?

I plan to keep this for ten years (if I live that long!) but the newer technologies like solid state and car design does interest me.

Home charging unit(s)

Monta Charge unit at home in the UK and a Wallbox in Spain.

Electricity supplier & tariff

In Northern Ireland we don’t get the very cheap tariffs, so we use Share energy at. 24.9p day or night. The car charging-specific tariffs charge 17p at night but 35p the rest of the time. As my husband works from home it’s not saving anything. Let’s hope for more competition!

Do you use public charging networks?

Insurance

Electric car insurance is very expensive, in my experience. Outrageous bearing in mind I have a 20 year no claim discount!

Please itemise where you’re saving money (or not) owning & running a Renault 5

I did a fuel comparison between my old FIAT 500 and the R5. The EV cost £51 and the FIAT for the same mileage was £320. It’s a fantastic saving over one month! Multiply that by a year and that’s £3,200+ a year; not to be sniffed at!