The Renault 5 now gets more range for the same money

Big news in the world of small cars: the TG award-winning Renault 5 now gets an improved WLTP range of up to 259 miles – and doesn’t ask for a penny extra of your hard-earned cash.

That’s for the ‘Comfort’ Range, and represents an improvement of, er, four miles from its 52kWh battery. All counts though, particularly as the £23,945 price tag (including £3,750 Electric Car Grant) is identical to before.

The ‘Urban’ Range manages up to 197 miles WLTP, up five miles on before, from its 40kWh battery. That one asks for £21,495 (including ECG) on the road.

So, how has Renault found the extra range? That's three-fold, apparently, courtesy of aero improvements to the 1) lower body and 2) door mirrors, as well as 3) “optimised battery electronics”. Some very clever people have clearly been very hard at work at Renault HQ.

This MY27 update also sees a new SmartMode that automatically switches between Eco, Comfort and Sport according to how the car is driven. Don’t sweat it – manual switching between modes is still possible through the touchscreen or by voice command. 

Speaking of, Google’s Gemini AI assistant has also been introduced to the party, and there’s a new magnetic, cooled wireless smartphone charger.

Oh, and Renault has also introduced a couple of new paintjobs, including flame red and shadow grey. Don’t you dare get the grey, people…