Opinion: Revive and thrive with Renault's 4 and 5

Felix Page and Luca De Meo both see the sense in resurrecting old names

Does nameplate nostalgia give the new 4 an edge?

It’s easy to be cynical about nameplate revivals, and easier still to label the redeployment of historically successful designs as mere laziness, or at least complacency. 

But there’s no denying the commercial potential and objective appeal of a well-rounded retro proposition. Mini, anyone? Lamborghini Countach? Erm… Beetle? Some, anyway. The Fiat 500 is a pertinent example - returning for a second stab at the affordable city car market in 2007, racking up two million sales over the next decade or so, still selling strongly even now (14 years later) and recently spawning one of the most compelling urban EVs on the market.

Perhaps no surprise that Luca De Meo, who played a core role in the launch of the modern-era 500, supports similarly conceived revivals in his current role as boss of Renault. Arguably, they make even more sense in an EV context, whereby a car’s kerb appeal lives and dies on the basis of individualistic design cues and clever packaging methods, and if the 4 and 5 make it to showrooms looking even 80% like their respective concepts, they’ll claim an immediate advantage over their sometimes staid competitors. 

Choosing these hugely popular two cars to revive, in particular, is a canny move because they embody Renault’s objective to remain accessible – designer Sandeep Bhambra said “we still want to do cars for everybody” – while gently pushing upmarket. And intriguingly, they might not even be the last; “afterwards”, said Bhambra, “there are some other cars from the brand which are very successful, of course…”

So let's have a rear-driven, Hyundai Ioniq 6-rivalling Dauphine, shall we? The original even had a frunk. Very avantgarde.