Honda e vs Renault 5

The Honda e costs £7,720 more than the Renault 5. On the headline specs that premium buys little measurable advantage - the two are closely matched on range, charging and space. The Renault 5 is not just cheaper - it also offers 53 miles more WLTP range, 155 litres more boot space and 1 more seat (5 versus 4). On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Renault 5 comes out ahead overall.

The Renault 5 is £7,720 cheaper to buy. The Renault 5 is cheaper to charge, roughly £144 a year versus £176 for the Honda e, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Renault 5 comes out roughly £7,880 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 115 miles for the Honda e and 160 miles for the Renault 5 - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Renault 5 goes roughly 45 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 31-31 minutes.

The Honda e is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 56 mm narrower than the Renault 5. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 648 mm of total clearance for the Honda e and about 592 mm of total clearance for the Renault 5. The Honda e also turns in a 1.7 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Honda e and 84% for the Renault 5. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.