Renault 4 returning as compact electric SUV in 2025

Following the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the electric Renault 5 concept, the French brand is dipping into its back catalogue once again and has now confirmed the iconic Renault 4 will be reborn as a family-oriented compact electric SUV in 2025. The new Renault 4 will follow a similar vein to the Jeep Avenger, Hyundai Kona Electric and Smart #1.

The second of Renault’s retro-inspired EVs will be based on the same CMF-BEV platform that’ll underpin the Renault 5 (and the next Nissan Micra). The Renault 4 may also come with the same 40kWh and 52kWh batteries as the Renault 5, the larger of which is expected to offer a range of 249 miles in the more compact R5. The 4 is likely to use the same 134bhp electric motor for powering the front wheels as well, in order to reduce costs.

However, while the Renault 5 is expected to start from under £20,000, based on the price tags of some of the Renault 4’s potential rivals we see it starting at closer to £30,000 – though the brand itself is staying tight-lipped about pricing at the moment.

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Renault has, however, given us our first look at the reborn Renault 4’s styling with this: the off-road-inspired 4EVER Trophy concept that broke cover at the 2022 Paris Motor Show. The concept’s round headlights and illuminated rectangular grille are both nods to the original R4 and are likely to make production. The side view of the show car also hints that the original R4’s rear side window and vertical brake lights mounted close to the car’s rear bumper will be carried over, too. 

Whereas the Renault 5 prototype measured 3.9 metres from nose to tail, the 4EVER Trophy is over 4 metres long with a nearly 2.6-metre wheelbase. That gives us some idea of the proportions of the road-going Renault 4 to come. The concept doesn’t have a cabin we can examine, but the dashboard design hints at a dual-screen setup exactly like the Renault 5’s. 

It is just a concept, but the 4EVER Trophy’s overall shape corresponds with patent images of the reborn Renault 4 that surfaced online earlier this year (below). The design of both pays clear homage to the original Renault 4, with a particularly boxy design, relatively long bonnet and flat front end. But being an EV, both cars’ wheels have also been pushed out as far as possible, reducing the overhangs at the front and rear, and helping to maximise cabin space.

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The 4EVER Trophy has been given a distinctive go-anywhere look with the addition of a spare tyre mounted to the roof rack, flared wheel arches, a tall ride height and two tie-down hooks on the bonnet – like you’ll find on a Ford Bronco. 

Following the response to the Renault 5 prototype unveiled in 2021, Renault’s CEO Luca de Meo revealed to DrivingElectric that the retro-inspired models could be introduced in the near future. “There have been so many products that made history, so it would be a pity not to reconnect with that long history and tradition.

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“We’re not here to only look in the rear-view mirror, we’re here to reinvent things and I think the Renault 5 is a good example,” de Meo said, adding: “A lot of people say to me, ‘why are you doing retro design?’ This is not retro design, it’s just reinvention of a concept. In our library we have a lot of things that we can reinvent.”