Renault 5 review - Reliability & safety

It’s too early to give a prediction on the Renault 5’s reliability, but Renault as a brand performs quite poorly in terms of customer satisfaction in our Driver Power owner survey, having come 28th out of 32 manufacturers in the 2024 edition. 24.4% of owners also reported an issue with their Renault in the first year of ownership, which is a little worse than average. Just 12.7%, 11.8% and 20.8% of MINI, Fiat and Peugeot owners, respectively, reported the same with their cars. In theory, however, an EV like the Renault 5 should have less to go wrong than the equivalent combustion-engined cars, and we’re yet to hear of any horror stories with the rest of the brand’s electric line-up.

How safe is the Renault 5?

The Renault 5 was crash-tested by Euro NCAP in March 2025, but unfortunately fell short of a full five-star rating. It was awarded four stars with good ratings of 80% in the adult and child protection categories, and a respectable 76% in the vulnerable road user protection category. Where it fell behind was in terms of its safety assistance tech, which was rated at just 68%, and Renault was also penalised because the brand couldn’t demonstrate that the dashboard would afford front-seat occupants of different sizes with the same degree of protection.

The Renault 5 gets a driver attention monitoring system, automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist and a safe-exit warning system that sounds an alert if you’re about to get out of the car into the path of oncoming traffic. Adaptive cruise control with stop and go, plus lane-centring also enable the car to drive semi-autonomously in certain environments.

While all modern cars are mandated by law to default to sounding a warning beep when you exceed the speed limit and to have lane-keep assist activated when the car is started, Renault makes these easy to switch off if they’re too distracting – just two prods of a button can sort this, and there’s even a useful ‘My Perso’ mode to set the safety assistance tech to your liking.

What are the Renault 5’s service intervals?

Renault says its electric models require a service every 12 months. During a service, the battery and motors, braking system, cooling system and cabin air filters will be checked, while the car’s software will be updated if it hasn’t been already.

What is the warranty on the Renault 5?

The Renault 5 is covered by Renault’s standard warranty – that means it’s covered for an unlimited mileage in the first two years, while it’s covered in the third year up to 100,000 total miles. The electric powertrain is covered for up to four years or 100,000 miles, too, while the battery pack has its own warranty which covers it up to eight years of 100,000 miles.