Renault 4 review

The most basic spec is called Evolution and it looks good value at £26,995. Externally it's much like the top spec, including 18in wheels, auto wipers, 10.1in touchscreen, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, two USB-Cs at the front, cruise control, keyless entry, rear parking sensors and (actually quite terrible) rear view camera. It also has a heat pump; good for winter efficiency.

The 52kWh battery, 148bhp motor and 250-mile WLTP range are the same on all versions. We’d dearly like a bigger battery option to break that 300-mile barrier, but suspect the extra weight would undo all the good work on the suspension. Not to mention the packaging. Can’t have it all.

The step up to the Techno trim is £2,000. It's the one we’d pick: you get the denim-style bronze-stitched upholstery, plus Google-based satnav and EV route-planner, a bigger driver's screen, Arkamys sound system, electric folding mirrors, wireless charger, fabric dashboard, ambient lighting, adaptive cruise, paddle shifters for the regen, and the driving modes. Two extra USB-Cs find their way into the back.

Iconic tops the list at £30,995. It’s mostly cosmetic tweaks: non-body coloured roof, black door mirrors and roof rails etc outside, plus the even fancier cloth/leather interior you can see above, inclusive of the illuminated ‘Renault 4’ on the dash. The tailgate becomes powered, the front seats and steering wheel heated, the cruise control gains lane centring and you get other safety gizmos like sign recognition and rear cross traffic alert.

A vast fabric sunroof is coming as an option, but you can’t have that and roof rails.

What’ll it cost me in electricity?

At home? Peanuts. Depends on your tariff of course but get one of those handy overnight deals and you’ll replenish the battery for as little as a fiver, maybe less. At a really dear public rapid charger the maths inevitably go south: ball park, it’ll be £30 for a three-quarter top-up. Hope you’re not doing those on the regular.

The Renault 4 doesn't boast crazy-high charge power – just 100kW – but as it's efficient and the battery is smallish, you recover a good slice of extra range in a short time without having to look for an ultra-rapid charger. In numbers, that's 15-80 per cent in half an hour, which will get you another two hours of motorway driving.

It'll also accept three-phase AC charging at 11kW, for a complete charge in four and a half hours. Plus it can deliver power outward – vehicle-to-load.

While some cars have hopelessly optimistic range-to-go meters next to the speedo, Renault's is pretty accurate, adjusting its prediction according to your recent driving style, and even whether you'll be gaining or losing altitude in the rest of your trip.

The R4's charge system is designed for vehicle-to-grid too, so you can make money by charging when juice is cheap and sell it back to the grid at expensive times. But that takes complicated certification and isn't yet ready in the UK. Future-proofed though, right?