• Not the most spacious, even for a small car
• Interior is quite dark, even with bright upholstery
• Plenty of boot space, clever details

How much space is there?

As a small electric car, the Renault 5 E-Tech isn’t especially commodious inside. Front-seat occupants are treated to a reasonable amount of shoulder room, but the roof lining felt a little low to our taller road testers. They sensed that their heads were almost brushing against the quilted fabric in anything but the lowest seat position, albeit exacerbated by what felt like general lack of light in the cabin. 

The seat upholstery of our test car was bright yellow, but with such a small rear window, blocked in part by the headrests of the rear seats, the interior appeared rather dark at times. Still, we were able to get comfortable in the front seats, regardless of the available headroom. 

Not so for the rear bench. We felt particularly cramped in the back of the Renault 5, having to angle our legs towards the passenger doors just to squeeze them in behind the driver’s seat. With it positioned so low, there was no room for our feet under the seat, either. 

Our headroom in the back was constricted by the sloping roof lining, and there was hardly enough shoulder space for two adults to sit back there, let alone three. Long story short, we’d advise sizing up if you require room for adults or large children on the rear bench. It’s about on par with the Mini Cooper Electric back there – adequate for two small kids, but any taller passengers will feel particularly crammed in.

Boot space and storage 

The boot is usefully big, with 326-litres of space including a roomy underfloor cable storage area – 116 litre more than you get in the Mini Cooper Electric. No ‘frunk’ storage under the bonnet, but for a small, 3.92-metre long car the storage space in the Renault is also noticeably better than the three-door Mini.

There are numerous cubby holes around the front of the cabin, including a couple of shallow receptacles for your keys and coins. The drinks cup holders are about large enough to hold a 330ml can while the door pockets are only about wide enough to pop your receipts in. You might be able to fit a drink in there, but you’ll have to squeeze it between the plastic.

Is it easy to park?

Thanks to its relatively small dimensions, the Renault 5 is a simple car to park. We had a good understanding of its extremities as we pulled our manoeuvres, and so getting into even quite small spaces was a relatively pain-free experience.

The reversing camera quality is poor – you’ll find it’s the same in all Renaults – but the 360-degree sensors were all we needed to park the 5 safely and securely. Note that the rear parking camera is only available on Techno trim cars and up.

Safety

• Only a four-star safety rating from Euro NCAP
• The Mini Cooper Electric is a safer choice
• Active safety systems can easily be configured to your preferences

The Renault 5 achieved a four-star rating after its examination by the safety standards organisation Euro NCAP. It scored 80% in its adult and child occupant ratings; the Mini Cooper Electric scored 89% and 87% respectively, and achieved five stars. 

Even so, the Renault 5 comes with a healthy suite of safety systems as standard, including adaptive emergency braking, lane departure warning, driver attention alert and several other features. The car offers a very convenient system to turn some of them off. Simply configure your preferences in the relevant infotainment menu, then hit the My Safety Switch to the right of the steering wheel to engage your bespoke configuration.

Watch the Euro NCAP crash test video of the Renault 5 E-Tech