Reborn Renault 4 EV

Renault 4 reincarnated as battery-powered compact SUV for the modern era

The Renault 4 was a highly popular budget car built by the French manufacturer between 1961 and 1994, and is widely regarded as being the world’s first mass-produced hatchback.

And now it has been reincarnated as an electric SUV for the modern era.

Two years after previewing the newcomer with the 4Ever Trophy concept car, Renault ripped the covers off the production version at the 2024 Paris Motor Show this week.

The new Renault 4 shares its AmpR Small platform with the also-reincarnated Renault 5 hatchback, although the new R4 is larger and taller, riding on a 2.62 metre wheelbase and measuring 4.14 metres in length.

While the exterior styling is decidedly faithful to the original and somewhat rudimentary Renault 4 of the 1960s, it’s a whole ballgame beneath the skin, with a fully electric powertrain and a dual-screen cabin complete with built-in Google.

 
Renault design boss: "the spiritual successor to the R4 is the Dacia Duster"

Get ready for some new design lingo: what Renault calls 'spiritual retro' and 'stylistic retro'

OK, brace yourself for some new design jargon. Renault Group head of design Laurens van den Acker now distinguishes between 'spiritual retro' and 'stylistic retro'.

The Renault 5 and new Twingo are 'spiritual retro'. They do the same job as the cars they reference. The 5 in its day was a chic but cheap and economical urban car. So is the new one. The first-gen Twingo was actually one of the cheapest new cars on sale in its day, and the new one will also have its price pared to the bone.

By contrast, van den Acker says the new 4 is 'stylistic retro'. It has lots of visual nods to the original, but it has a different role. The 1961 one was a simple rural car, but the new one is smart and fairly upmarket for a little crossover. It'll cost about £5k more than an R5.

"Actually the spiritual successor to the R4 is the Dacia Duster." Cheap, versatile, robust, no-frills. Yeah, that's about right.

 
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