Renault 5 review

The e-motor is progressive, and frankly quick enough – it feels balanced against the tyres. It moves away from rest smoothly (unless you're using the auto park brake which tends to release with a snatch) and then gathers pace sweetly.

The mode button – called MultiSense – is on the steering wheel, and Eco limits power which makes you smoother when you're in traffic or hypermiling. Just connect throttle to bulkhead if you suddenly need full bore.

Then you have Comfort and Sport modes plus a Perso one where you configure pedal map, aggression of the A/C and radar cruise, and ambient colours.

Arrive at a corner and the brakes are also progressive, in that stopping force builds proportionally with travel. We'd prefer a bit more rise in pedal effort too, but you adapt. The system is fully powered, with no mechanical link from pedal to pads. A controller balances the regeneration with the friction so you don't feel a transition and it doesn't change even when the battery's full and can take no regenerated energy.

So you’ve arrived at corners. How are they?

The initial steering response is much like the brake pedal: proportional but a little numb. Still, that makes it easy to drive smoothly, and it (mostly) masks torque steer. Besides, the body rolls a little, which gives you a sense of what's going on, as well as helping the inside-front wheel with traction.

But when you really push on, you do get more feel of what's happening with the tyres. The  R5 avoids any nose-heavy attitude and doesn't wash its front tyres wide. When grip does run out, it's likely to be from both ends, and you can tuck the nose in some more with a little accelerator lift. It's pretty engaging.

The original R5 was super-soft. How’s the comfort here?

No, it's not an old French cushion. At town speed the ride is pretty taut, but never harsh or - crucially - noisy. The way it absorbs bumps that in other superminis would kick through the suspension and jar the chassis is uncanny.

As speeds rise on bumpy roads, the springs will take the big hits quite deftly. Actually it feels quite like a Fiesta, which is a compliment. Because the anti-roll bars are soft, you're not rocked about, and the sophisticated rear suspension keeps high-frequency harshness well under control.

This refinement, as with the progressive driving controls, makes the R5 feel like a bigger, more grown-up car when that's what you want. But it'll still play the kid when that's your mood.

Am I assisted?

The lower specs of R5 have basically the legal minimum of driver aids: lane departure warning and over-limit warning. They work pretty well, and there are configuration options for the levels of warning and intervention.

Once you've done that configuration once, you assign it to a hard-button so you can go from full intervention to your preferred scheme (or none at all) with a simple double-press of the button. No need to look away from the road when the speed limit bonger or lane departure grabber go off because they've misread the signs and markings. As all these things do.

The top Iconic trim adds full level 2 assist – adaptive cruise and lane centring which also slows you down for junctions and sharp bends – and surround cameras and hands-free self-parking. But you ought to be able to park this tiddler yourself.

Can it cope with long trips?

All too easily. Again, it’s quiet at speed with barely a trace of wind noise, and although 150bhp may not sound much, the 5 still has decent pull up to (and beyond) motorway speeds. Top speed stands at 93mph. You’ll manage.

181lb ft does a good job of making this feel snappier than you expect. It nips away from lights, tugs healthily out of corners and generally feel vigorous enough. We can’t speak for the 120bhp version yet, but it only lags a second behind to 62mph (9.0secs plays 7.9) and with 165lb ft, has solid torque. Weighs a bit less given its smaller 40kWh battery, 1412kg against 1449.

What if I want more than 150bhp?

The Alpine A290 is your thing then. That comes with 217bhp and more styling. To be honest it’s a little overwrought and doesn’t quite have the easy charm of the standard 5.