New R4 EV- not as horrible as I was expecting

[Piet]

I had assumed it was going to be dreadful, then I saw the sneak peak and thought there were some nice aspects, and now after the Paris Motor Show launch I quite like it. The flower power version has yellow lighting and it was good to see, it did make me think of the old days and it was funny and nice that the Renault guys were getting choked up about it too. I like also that tin wheels and hubcaps and slightly knobbly but not ridiculously wide tyres are an option too. Its definitely growing on me.

 

[angel]

Ridiculously large wheels, though, interior full of gadgets and screens...certainly not true to R4 spirit. Just some references to the R4 design details and that's all. Seems that classic car "revivals" is a sure way to sell modern industrial waste nowadays.

 

[laxeian]

Great for the proposed 15 minute communities, if you want to live in one and be part of that, but after seeing the results of car battery meltdowns post floods and hurricanes in the US and the recent Tesla fire trapping its occupants in France any pure EV is just accepting and buying a false agenda.

 

[sdvcatfish]

Which is why we need to preserve our Petrol R4s and preserve this Website

 

[Cyprusnoddycar]

Ridiculously large wheels, though, interior full of gadgets and screens...certainly not true to R4 spirit. Just some references to the R4 design details and that's all. Seems that classic car "revivals" is a sure way to sell modern industrial waste nowadays.

So true Angelos ! I hate all these boring plastic computerised electric hair dryers on the roads these days. Think I will stick to my 2006 Toyota Hilux double cabin and my 1983 Renault 4 GTL. I am also looking for another real Classic as well, maybe a 1960's Jaguar Mk2 or Daimler 2.5 V8 with A/C.
I have been driving for 55 years this year and still a petrolhead !

 

[JdeW]

I have often expressed my opinion when it came to electric driving or the launch of renewed modern design versions of cars.
I stand by my opinion, those newer versions are terrible and detract from the original, and I am not against electric driving but against the wrong technology of electric driving.
The battery powered electric car is more polluting than the petrol version. If we all want to drive better electric then the H2 fuel cell is the only environmentally friendly solution, period!

 

[André4Renaults]

"New R4 EV-not as horrible as I was expecting"; the title rather poses the question just HOW horrIble were you expecting it to be; pretty ghastly I expect! As has been said, the "retro" revolution in car manufacturing-the Fiat 500 & the MINI to name but two shows just how good the earlier designs were and how devoid of new ideas designers are!

 

[JdeW]

I totally agree with you @André4Renaults, most retro designs of today are hideous. Just look at the retro R4, which looks like a failed Dacia design, in my humble opinion every Dacia is disgusting and a failure to look at (no offense).
But I tend to say that the retro Fiat 500 is a success and a feast for the eyes, but the Mini for me is not despite its popularity, maybe because the Mini is in German hands

 

[Piet]

I really like the Fiat 500- my wife has had one for 16 years- but in a garage next to the R4it is wider, just as tall , and if you took the bumpers off the Renault, a tad longer. Internally the 4 is way bigger. But the fuel economy of the fiat is pretty good considering it’s weight. I think it’s strange we accept we should do something like have electric cars but we can’t build cars that weigh less than a tonne. On the one hand saving the planet supposedly while on the other hand pampering ourselves in a three tonne electric SUV.

 

[Sage103]

I totally agree with you @André4Renaults, most retro designs of today are hideous. Just look at the retro R4, which looks like a failed Dacia design, in my humble opinion every Dacia is disgusting and a failure to look at (no offense).
But I tend to say that the retro Fiat 500 is a success and a feast for the eyes, but the Mini for me is not despite its popularity, maybe because the Mini is in German hands

I disagree with your Dacia assessment - I think that the likes of the Duster, Jogger and Sandman look the part but I am biased - I own a Duster which I think exhibits many R4 traits - good ground clearance, 5 doors, soft but rugged suspension. Big difference is that there is 150bhp under the bonnet which can be too much on the 2WD version.

 

[jjad]

Our 'other' car is a Duster too

 

[malcolm]

I have both R4 and R5. I like the new R5. It's a city car like the original and not excessively large. The styling of the original car was quite modern and the new one would have been a bit cleaner had they lost some of the turbo cues but it's reasonably true to the first R5 in intent.

I'm not sure what the new R4 is trying to be. They haven't captured the essence of the styling, and while there is some attempt at practicality they haven't done the low price. It's aimed at a very different market to the original R4 which is better served by the Duster.

I'm not in that market. I've got my eyes on a pre-war Bentley at the moment. I figure if it has lasted 85 years already it should see me out. I doubt anything made today will last more than 15 years.

 

[RichardIRL]

I personally like the new Renault 4 (although I don’t like the back and for the overall design I would have preferred they had taken an approach closer to the one they took with the Alpine A110) but it’s very predictable that it wouldn’t win all the fans of the original.

The original Dacia Duster was actually designed as a modern R4 - but the project was cancelled by Carlos Tavares in favour of the Captur and the design was repurposed for the Dacia Duster instead,

PREMIERA-Renault 4 se bazeaza pe modelul Dacia Duster! Renault 4 4x4 2013 - AUTOLATEST

Conform unor surse inginerii francezi se pregatesc sa lanseze in premiera mondiala primul succesor al modelului mitic Renault 4.

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