The bakers' car (but also a favourite of farmers and travellers) is reborn electric. The Renault 4 E-Tech Electric: how the anti-Citroën 2CV, born in 1961, has changed — and why it is now a new symbol of the brand's electric transition.
After the "Cinq" — as Parisians call the Cinque — Renault tries again with another icon, this time resurrected from the Sixties. We are talking about the Renault 4, the "original" one, the anti-Citroën 2CV born in 1961. The bakers' car, the nonconformist and spartan runabout that became a symbol of an era. The car for those who chose substance over appearance.
It was space and economy. It was the versatile car, the car for everyone — for postal workers and the Gendarmerie alike, ready to compete in rally-raids. The first R4 was "robust, useful and cool like blue jeans", as Pierre Dreyfus, Renault's director at the time, described it — a car capable of crossing genres, eras and social classes. And now the Renault 4 has been reborn electric. Well, reborn… Let's say the name survives, with that "e-tech" redefining its identity. Everything else is a completely different story: more than an evolution, a revolution.
Today's Renault 4 E-Tech Electric is a segment-B car, 4.14 metres long and 1.80 metres wide, weighing around 1,400 kilograms unladen — double that of the original, which ranged between 540 and 720 kilograms. The starting price is €29,900, light years away from the 650,000 lire of its 1961 launch.
Fully electric, more crossover than city car, it is available in three versions and two powertrains: either 110 kW (150 hp) with a 52 kWh battery, or 90 kW (120 hp) with a 40 kWh battery, offering a declared range of 300 or 400 kilometres respectively. Of the original, only a few barely perceptible nods remain: the round headlights up front, the small, vertical rear window, and a sense of practicality.
Reborn in the guise of a crossover (bear in mind that the original was taken out of production in '92 for failing to meet Euro 1 environmental standards), today's R4 returns with "zero" emissions, standing at the highest rung of automotive ecological transition. You might say: two opposite fates, yet bound by the same name. Renault declares a circular-economy material content of 26.4 per cent, including metal, glass and 41 kilograms of recycled polymers. The seat fabric in the Techno and Iconic versions is made 100 per cent from recycled plastic bottles.
Inside it feels like a Renault 5, with large displays on the dashboard, plenty of storage compartments, and materials that are practical yet well-crafted. The original four seats have become five, headroom ranks among the best in its class, and rear passengers are comfortable even when a tall driver is up front. The infotainment system is Google-based, and the Reno avatar — powered by ChatGPT integration — puts a wealth of information at your fingertips.
A nice touch is the option of 3D-printed add-on accessories, and there are welcome "new luxuries" too, such as the hands-free electric tailgate. Frequent loaders will appreciate the low boot sill, along with the modularity that allows objects over 2 metres long to be carried.
V2L (vehicle-to-load) technology allows you to charge even an e-scooter stored in the boot. As for charging times, they vary: with the 11 kW on-board charger, going from 15 to 80 per cent takes three hours and fifteen minutes; with the 100 kW DC charger, just 30 minutes will do. On charging speeds, some rivals do better. The R4 also introduces the "one pedal" function, which raises the level of regenerative braking (adjustable via the steering-wheel paddles) and in practice reduces the use of the conventional brakes to a minimum.
Although the Renault 4 E-Tech weighs twice as much as its ancestor, all those extra kilograms (courtesy of the battery) sit low down, which makes the new R4 agile through corners — where it nevertheless remains "soft", albeit far less so than the original, which was prone to inducing seasickness. Acoustic comfort is decent, suspension comfort is good. Urban and extra-urban environments remain the ideal habitat for this electric version too. Comfort, space and versatility make it the classic family car — versatile, nimble in the city and spacious enough for weekends away. An electric for families that combines practicality and nostalgia, turning a past icon into an electric car with a strong personality of its own.