I lived with a Renault 5 for a YEAR… here’s the truth

It's funny what we don't consider to be a family car nowadays when I remember being folded into the rear seats of a Peugeot 206cc in my mid teens. Anything with two rear seatbelts counted as a family car for us!

I had a 5 turbo in the mid 90s. Had a midlife crisis and bought a pop yellow iconic few weeks ago. It’s simple blooming marvellous. Well done Renault. You are to be thanked. Well done. Great vid by the way.

At point 0.37 sec in video,looks like driver nearly goes off road.

0:37 bit of off road action

I have one of these. Insightful and balanced review, I love mine also.

We drive a Scenic E-Tech and had an R5 as a loan car for a service last month. Lovely little thing, really nice interior and very similar tech to the Scenic. Good fun to drive, but it is a small car in the back particularly. Neighbour opposite had a Micra today to try out as he has a Leaf and loved it. I had a look and it’s really nice. Renault (and Nissan) have done a great job on these cars.

Great review! I’ve had mine for a year now, I absolutely love it.

The deal-breakers for me were, the absence of heated seats on all but the top spec (madness in an EV not to have those) and the sneaky way that the PCP interest rate jumped to 6.9% when the ECG was introduced - either Renault were subsidising those early car deals, or the popularity of the car has allowed them to raise the floor.

I love the look inside and out of the car . I might try one out once my vw id3 lease is up .

I bought a green renault 5 for my mam (my choice!!) and collected it on 3rd July 2025. She absolutely loved it and the attention she got in it, people stopping her to talk about it. Unfortunately she only had it a few months when she fell sick and passed away in january this year. I havent been able to sell the car so I'm driving it now, I also have another EV so I dont need the R5 but i absolutely love it and I'm keeping it. I might change my main car regularly over the next few years but I can see the R5 staying as the long term second household car.

gatekeeping heated seats behind the top spec already rules this car completely out for me. and something inside me also doesn't want to support a company with that mindset behind it. (Audi did the exact same with the 2026 q4 or q4 can't remember)

Nissan Micra for the next long termer? 😉

I’ve had mine since December (Williams Clio colours). I went for Iconic Five trim for those heated seats and steering wheel mainly. I love it. Never fails to put a smile on my face. It makes me much happier than my previous BMW i4 did. Just makes me smile and brings joy in a way the BMW never quite managed. It’s not perfect, but I think my final bill was around £26,000 for a top spec one with extended warranty and service plan and a few optional bits for good measure. It’s hard to beat. Not a moment’s regret.

Great review. It does look like a beautiful car.

My bet is on the VW id.Polo for the next long run review.

My first car back in the early 80’s was a R5. Love the retro look, but having sat in a R4 as well, thats the one I would go for. But still nothing beats my Kona Ultimate

More Ziggy, please.

Looking forward to see if Skoda gets a clever green car, that is so interesting or better than this …and with good price. Good work Renault. Good review also .

I'd have one . Needs minimum 60kw battery and the Renault dealership for servicing seems sparse near me. 36 miles

The biggest problem with this Renault 5 is that is not Alpine A290 GTS 😅😅😅.. Great to see you enjoying it Ginny, but now get a new Hyundai Ioniq 3 🤟🤟⚡⚡⚡