French flair clear in charm of new Renault 4 E-Tech

The Renault 4 E-Tech electric has learned from its sibling the Renault 5 and both are charming buyers as well as winning over the judges in various awards events.

Among the most recent is the Irish Car of the Year 2026 title for the R5 (see below) and ‘Crossover of the Year’ for the R4 at the TopGear.com Awards 2026, whose judges praised its joyful styling, clever use of space, engaging ride and excellent value.

Richie Hickey, sales manager at O’Brien Motor Group in Mullingar, knows why the car appeals to customers. “There’s a bit of nostalgia with the Renault 4. The silhouette looks true to the original car, and the tail lights are modern with LED lighting, but they recall the lights of the 1970s R4. It’s same with the Renault 5 – it’s sleek inside and out, and the way the dashboard is laid out – again, it’s LCD screens, not analogue with needles, that’s the movement of technology over the generations, and that’s where it is.

“But there’s been a big draw to both models and it’s young and old customers. A 4 was synonymous with the Post and Telegraph van years ago. It’s one of those you see it and say to yourself, ‘I can remember that trundling up and down the road’.”

Style is an important factor when it comes to choosing a new car, and Renault made the most of their French flair for design when it came to their latest models. But looks won’t necessarily mean customers will return. That is more likely to depend on other factors such as reliability and cost and ease of ownership, and in the case of electric vehicles, range, and ease of recharging.

Richie has found that Renault customers have largely got over range anxiety and are now embracing the latest EVs, including the Renault 4 and Renault 5.

The fully electric Renault 4 has up to 150hp and a driving range of up to 400km and quick charging, according to official Renault claims. Richie says the real world figure for the 52 kilowatt version of the R4 is 320km to 350km. That is enough for most people, and combined with the pleasure of driving (confirmed by the Westmeath Examiner on a run as far as Ladestown last week), and the practical design of the car (420 litres of luggage space; 40/60 split-folding seats for up to 2.20m of load length; and lots of interior storage space), it means it will be a popular choice.

There are three specs: Evolution, Techno and Iconic; and two battery sizes: 40 and 52 kilowatt.

Concluding, Richie said technology is moving more towards EVs: “The infrastructure is getting better, battery, quality, range… everything is starting to get that little bit longer. So reservations for EVs are starting to dissipate because range anxiety is being taken out of it. We’ve found in the last 18 months customers who would have bought EVs three to four years ago are coming back to change them now, and they wouldn’t go any other way.”

If the Renault 4 sounds like your next car, there are attractive 261 finance offers available from Renault: including 0% APR finance on electric models; 3.9% APR finance on hybrid and petrol range; and up to €2,500 trade-in bonus.

See pobrien.ie or call to the showroom for more details.