Johan De Haes
Test driver
In this range test with the Renault R5 E-Tech electric, I want to determine the range under everyday driving conditions. I’ll be testing the range in the city, on the highway, and on regional roads to determine the minimum and maximum ranges. I also wanted to know how long it takes to charge the battery at a fast-charging station. For that, we’re heading to a DATS 24 fast-charging station. DATS 24 is also the sponsor of this range test.
Renault R5 E-Tech Electric Techno 150 pk Comfort Range 52 kWh
The Renault R5 E-Tech electric is an electric car equipped with a 400V nickel-manganese-cobalt battery. Our test car was the Techno Comfort Range version with 150 pk. It starts at 33,100 € and has a battery with a capacity of 52 kWh. The combined WLTP range is 410 km.
It has 150 pk of power, which allows it to go from 0 to 100 km/h in 8 seconds. It’s also important to note that this model supports DC fast charging. Not every version of the R5 has this capability, and I would definitely recommend choosing a model that supports fast charging. In addition, the test car was equipped with a heat pump, which has a positive effect on fuel economy. It was also fitted with all-season tires on 18-inch rims.
In terms of driving experience, it’s a surprisingly fun car to drive. Renault designed the chassis with driving pleasure in mind by opting for a multi-link rear suspension, which provides more dynamic handling in sharp turns. It only has 150 pk, but it drives a bit like a go-kart. Similar to previous generations of the MINI. It was a really hot day during my test drive. At one point, it was 30 degrees, and the grip of the all-season tires in the corners did feel a bit looser. The driver-assistance systems are plentiful, but one positive feature is that there’s a physical button that lets you instantly turn off all those annoying alerts.
The R5 really has a cool look, especially on the outside, but also on the inside. It’s inexpensive, but the materials still feel solid. By the way, this R5 is built in France. Did you know that it takes about 9 hours to produce this model?
In terms of interior space, it’s adequate. There’s more than enough room up front. In the back seat, there’s less legroom and headroom. The trunk is also compact. There’s about 326 liters of space in the trunk; with the rear seats folded down, that increases to 1,106 liters.
All very positive, but this R5 does have one major drawback. There are three levers on the right side of the steering wheel: one for the transmission, one for the windshield wipers, and one for the audio system. To be honest, I’ve accidentally turned on the windshield wipers a few times when I actually meant to shift into reverse. It’s very annoying, and even after a week, I still hadn’t fully gotten used to it. The audio control lever isn’t very convenient either.
The driver’s seat is also a bit too high. Even at the lowest setting, you’re still sitting fairly high up. Another minor criticism is that you can’t control the air conditioning on the display using touch, even though you’d intuitively expect to be able to do so in that location.
But overall, I’m very positive about this R5. It’s not an expensive car, but it does have a certain authenticity to it—there’s a nice personality to this car. Something that’s completely missing from most Chinese cars, for example.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the minimum range of the Renault R5 E-Tech Electric 52 kWh?
We take the highway toward Namur, heading for the roads of the Ardennes. We drive at 120 km/h where possible. We slow down a bit now and then due to roadwork, but overall it’s a smooth ride. After 101 kilometers on the highway, we check the stats again. Fuel consumption is 16.2 kWh/100 km.
This is expected to be significantly higher than in the city and results in an estimated highway range of 321 kilometers. The temperature during the drive was 24 degrees.
We’re now near Marche-en-Famenne and we’re exiting the highway. We’re driving on country roads now, and I want to see what the car is capable of. I drove a bit more sportily for a few kilometers, accelerating more often, and then settled back into a steady pace. After just under 16 kilometers on these roads, at 24 degrees, the average energy consumption is 17.1 kWh/100 km. That’s slightly higher than the consumption on the highway. That brings the “sporty” range to 304 kilometers.
How long does it take to charge the battery of the Renault R5 E-Tech Electric 52 kWh?
For this test, I’m stopping by one of the 85 charging stations operated by DATS 24, the sponsor of this range test. This R5 E-Tech Electric Techno 150 pk Comfort Range model supports DC fast charging at a power output of 100 kW. Renault says this EV can go from 15% to 80% in 30 minutes. If you’re considering a different version of the R5, be sure to check its fast-charging capabilities carefully, as not every version supports fast charging.
We’re conducting the test in warm temperatures of around 27 degrees. At the start of the test, the battery is 18% full and the range indicator reads 82 km. We start charging, and after 30 seconds, we’re charging at a power of 100 kW. I check again after 10 minutes. We’re now charging at a rate of 80 kW. In 10 minutes, the battery went from 18% to 47%. We’ve already gained a total of 112 km in range.
After 20 minutes, the charging rate had already dropped to 60 kW. The battery went from 47% to 67%. We gained another 80 km of range on the range indicator.
After 30 minutes, we stopped the test. I noticed that we were still only charging at a rate of 41 kW. The battery is at 83%, and the range indicator shows 331 km. So in 30 minutes, we gained 248 km and went from 18% to 83% at 27 degrees.
What about AC charging? I can tell you that you can charge at 11 kW, and that the charging time to go from 10% to 100% is about 4 hours and 30 minutes.
What is the maximum range of the Renault R5 E-Tech Electric 52 kWh?
We’ll start the test in the south of Brussels, in Drogenbos. We’ll head toward the city center and the northeast via Brussels-South. The first part of the drive was in very heavy city traffic: stopping and accelerating at relatively low speeds. I drove the first 7 km in D mode. However, there is a more efficient B mode with regenerative braking. So I drove the remaining 14 km in the city in B mode. I did the test in May, and it was sunny with a temperature of about 22 degrees.
After driving 21 kilometers, we have our first figure. The energy consumption comes in at 12.9 kWh/100 km. If we calculate the 12.9 kWh consumption based on the battery capacity, we arrive at an estimated city range of 403 kilometers. That’s a more than respectable result.
Now I want to figure out the maximum range. To do this, I’m heading out onto typical rural roads: light traffic, no traffic lights, and just cruising along at a constant speed of about 70 km/h. These are pretty much the ideal conditions. I’m curious to see if this will be even better than the result in the city.
After driving 44 kilometers in these conditions and at temperatures of 26 degrees, I recorded a consumption of just 9.3 kWh/100 km. Wow, that’s really low. If you can maintain this level of consumption, you’re looking at a range of 559 kilometers.
Conclusion: What is the range of the Renault R5 E-Tech Electric 52 kWh?
In conclusion, I can say that the minimum range on the highway during my test was 321 km at 24 degrees. When driving sportily on country roads , I achieved an even lower range of 304 km.
For maximum range, I managed a solid 559 km on regional roads at 26 degrees. Even in the city, I could count on a decent range of about 403 km.
In practice, for most people it will fall somewhere in between. At colder temperatures, you’ll have slightly less range, and in the summer, possibly a little more. In the fast-charging test , we gained 248 km in 30 minutes and went from 18% to 83% at 27 degrees.
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