Here’s All The Details About The New Renault 5 E-Tech And Yes It Has A Baguette Holder

Sure, the new all-electric Renault 5 E-Tech been leaked onto the internet at least, what, twice now, but I think it’s still an exciting new car and now that it’s revealed officially, with full approval of the ghost of Napoleon or whatever Renault likes to do, we have all the details. And, yes, one of those details is a baguette holder, so you can stop worrying. Let’s dig into this stylish and seemingly sensible little EV and see what’s going on.

The Look

Most obvious, of course, is the retro-inspired styling, which pulls not just from the original Renault 5 (which, remember, we got here in America as the Le Car, which you could buy at AMC dealerships if you didn’t feel like you were cut out for a Pacer, but also from the updated Supercinq from 1984 and there’s even some cues from the wide-hipped Renault 5 Turbo.

If you look at the final design, you can see the influences and references from the three main source cars, but I feel like the overall design still feels quite modern, and not cloyingly retro.

The dramatic rear fender flares are less prominent on the new EV than they were on the mid-engined R5 Turbo, but you can still see them, and there’s a tiny version of the air-exhaust outlet just outboard of the lower part of the taillights on the 2024 car, if you look carefully:

Up front, a lot more liberties have been taken with the design; the grille is reduced to a black bar joining the headlamps (which do appear to have that smiling-eye look):

The hood vent has also become the charge indicator, and there’s lots of LED light effects and blinkery going on. From the press release:

The vent grille on the bonnet of the original car has been reinvented to keep up with the times. Today, it is a charge indicator in the form of the iconic number 5. When the driver approaches the vehicle, it lights up, illustrating the close interaction between human and machine. Another example of a humanised interface is the welcome sequence of the eye-shaped LED headlights, which ‘wink’ at the driver as they approach.

The Tech

The new R5 is Renault’s first car based on the AmpR-Small platform (formerly CMF-B EV, if you’re curious) which is designed to be a small, affordable BEV platform. The car is just under 13 feet long, and Renault says the “targeted weight” should be under 3,300 pounds. Two battery packs will be offered, a 40 kWh and a 52 kWh one, and the electrons gushing from those packs will be spinning a choice of motors, a 120 horsepower one or a 150 hp one. These may not sound like huge numbers for a modern EV, but remember, this is a small EV, and I think those sound like very reasonable specs, personally. We don’t all need to be lugging around 70 to 80 kWh battery packs just to go to work or your weekly pornography outlet store runs or whatever.

The 52 kWh battery is claimed to give 248 miles of range (the smaller pack will do 186 miles, which is 100,000 times less than the distance light can travel in one second, if that helps), which is pretty great, though that’s the WLTP cycle test, so EPA range would probably be lower if this comes to America, which it very likely won’t. Sorry.

Charging speed targets the now seemingly universal metric of getting from 15% to 80% in 30 minutes, and it’ll charge at rates of 11 kW on AC and 100 kW DC. The 11 kW AC charging is bi-directional, so you can charge your small sawmill with the car, if it comes to that, which it definitely might.

These are decent specs, especially for a more city-car-type EV. America could use more EVs in this category.

The 40 kWh battery pack is made up of three large modules with 31 cells per module, and the 52 kWh one has four with 46 cells. The battery pack is set into the floor, like most modern EVs, and the press release makes no mention of any under-hood storage space, so I think we can assume there’s no frunk, which makes sense for such a small EV, where space is at a premium.

In fact, space must be at such a premium that Renault made a point to tell us about how they crammed the braking system and ESP hardware into one, solitary box. Renault cleverly calls this “One Box!” Look:

The new One Box system groups the braking and ESP functions in the same module to reduce the space required under the bonnet. It also halves the response time of the automatic emergency braking system. At the same time, the decoupled braking system delivers a consistently strong pedal feel, contributing to a better sense of connection with the car and the road for the driver, with the switch between regenerative braking and hydraulic braking taking place transparently. The brake pedal is not connected to the callipers, but to an ECU that prioritises energy recovery before switching to the braking system if necessary. The driver can also use the gear lever to select a B mode with increased regeneration.

I’m not sure I’ve read a press release that has touted one housing for braking and ESP stuff?

The Inside

I like the interior, mostly because I always liked the original interior of the R5, which also had those vertical seams across the dash:

The fabric, the press release claims, is both denim and made from recycled PET plastic water bottles.

The big LCD screens are integrated into one unit that is reminiscent of the old plastic instrument cluster, too, and the center stack infotainment screen is slightly canted towards the driver, which seems cool until you actually think about the fact that the passenger is just as likely to use controls on that screen, and then it doesn’t seem so cool.

Hey look! A column shift! Why take up space between the seats for this little make-go-forward-or-back switch, right? The column is a fine place for this.

All The Electronic Crap

Yes, yes, the new Renault 5 E-Tech has the now-expected ADAS (Anthracite Dalmatian Access Syndrome oh shit no wait it’s Advanced Driver Assist System) Level 2 system, effectively a lane keeping and dynamic cruise system, along with front and rear emergency braking, which includes locking the wheels after a wreck. I see how that’s useful for safety reasons, preventing subsequent impacts, but I hope you can easily release it to get the car off the road or onto a tow truck or something.

More eye-rolling is Reno, the car’s “avatar,” or as Renault’s press release puts it, a “virtual traveling companion.” The press release says this about the ChatGPT-enabled software:

“The feeling of empathy created will strengthen the emotional bond between the user and their Renault 5 E-Tech electric.”

Hmm. Okay.

This sort of thing sounds a little more useful, though:

“An example of technology being used to provide real benefit, Reno supports users in learning about the car and its functions. It is an EV specialist, able to answer all sorts of questions and take practical action. For example, you could ask: “Hey Reno, schedule a charge for 8am tomorrow” or “Hey Reno, how can I increase the range of my car?”.

Looking beyond electric functions, the Reno avatar can answer the 200 questions most frequently asked by customers and identified by Renault After-Sales: e.g.: “Hey Reno, how do I connect my phone to the car?” or “Hey Reno, how do I change a tyre?”

I mean, if that works, that’s not so bad?

The Baguette Holder

I know I teased it, and sorry to make you wait so long, but here’s what they’re talking about:

“A further 19 litres of storage capacity is provided by various compartments around the cabin. This space can be configured and customised using 3D-printed accessories, including a tongue-in-cheek baguette holder.”

I guess this means Renault provides you with the files, and it’s up to you to 3D print the accessories? Sure, okay, why not? But I don’t for a minute believe the “tongue-in-cheek” part. They’re just being self-conscious. You know Renault’s designers and engineers adore baguettes and the thought of being trapped in a metal box baguette-free probably makes them want to fucking scream. If you told me the baguette holder came first and the team was instructed to design a car around that, I’d believe it.

And I’d respect it.

The Price

So, Renault hasn’t officially released the pricing, but outlets like this one sure seem confident saying it’ll go for about $27,000. That seems about right, and, good, we need more EVs for under $30K! We need some for under $20K, too, but that’s not so likely to happen. Oh, and, again, it’s still not likely to come to America, so, yeah.

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