The reinvented Renault 5 EV will launch in 2024 with a focus on offering ‘driving pleasure’, according to the firm.
The new machine will replace the hugely successful Renault Zoe as the French firm’s entry-level electric hatch, and features styling inspired by the classic model that was produced between 1972 and 1996. The machine was first shown in January 2021, and work has been ongoing since then.
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Renault has now begun a test programme with nine prototype mules, which use the platform, powertrain and battery that will feature on the production models. As that programme starts, Renault has given a few insights into the technical development of the machine.
The Renault 5 will sit on the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s new CMB-B EV platform for small electric cars, which is effectively a development of the platform used for the Zoe. It uses 70 per cent of the parts from the CMF-B architecture that is used for the Renault Clio but, because it has been designed purely for electric cars, Renault claims that manufacturing costs will be 30 per cent cheaper.
While the new platform is used on the mules, although don’t expect any spy shots of them to give any hints of the 5 EV’s final styling: they are using reworked Renault Clio bodies. The test programme has featured cold weather running in northern Sweden, along with further running at Renault’s technical centres in Paris and Normandy in France.
The winter testing it intended to put the electric motor and batteries to the limit, but also to ensure the brakes, shock absorbers and stability systems are working. Jérémie Coiffier, the engineering chief for the model, claimed that “the early test drives are a clear indication that it is a worthy descendant of the Megane E-Tech electric with best-in-class performance for its category.”
Renault added that the modular design of the platform will make it easier to adjust the wheelbase and track width of future small B-segment vehicles, and also highlights the multi-link rear axle and comparatively low centre of gravity in a bid to improve the car’s dynamics.
Delphone De Andria, the performance chief for the new model, claimed that the “Renault 5 will boast real driving pleasure while remaining very competitive for its segment.”
Renault also highlighted that the electric motor for the 5 EV will be 20kg lighter than the unit in the Zoe, while the battery will be 15kg lighter by a design that switches from the 12 modules on the Zoe to 4 larger modules.
The CMF-B EV platform will also be used for the forthcoming Renault 4.
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