Browse over 9,000 car reviews
Renault importer Ateco has confirmed Australia is getting the giant slaying Renault 5 Turbo 3E electric hatchback.
With two rear-mounted motors delivering 375kW, the Renault 5 Turbo 3E’s targeted 0-100km/h time of 3.5 seconds would make it as almost as rapid as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N (3.4 seconds), though still over a second shy of the wild Porsche Taycan Turbo S (2.4 seconds).
Australian details of the '80s-inspired hyper hatch, including arrival timing, pricing and allocation size, are yet to be confirmed. Expect an ultra-limited run with a price tag beyond A$200,000. Expressions of interest are now open ahead of a 2026 production start.
The Turbo 3E is the new electric Renault 5 flagship, sitting above the cooking hatch and its 160kW Alpine-fettled version. It has a carbon fibre body wrapped around a bespoke carbon fibre ‘super structure’, though, sharing little with the regular 5.
There are massive side intakes to cool the e-Motors, one of which houses the charging port. Regarding the huge wide-body kit, rear diffuser, wings and bespoke front bumper, Renault CEO Luca De Meo’s design brief was “Make me a little beast”.
The Turbo 3E is expected to have all sorts of driver-centric features, including drift modes, doughnut settings and a physical handbrake — though whether it’s a cable pull or more like the Ford Mustang’s electro-hydraulic ‘Drift Brake’ is unclear.
Renault has promised an “outstanding driving sensation, something completely unexpected” with agility “like nothing else”.
The Turbo 3E is a nod to the Renault 5 dynasty. The hatch started with the regular range, with the 5 GT Turbo added as the mass-production hot model — akin to today’s Alpine A290 — with the mid-engined Renault 5 Turbo 2 as the limited-run flagship.
The recipe was repeated in the early 2000s on the second-generation Renault Clio. Cooking regular hatch, big-engined attainable hot hatch (Renault Sport 172 and 182) and super-limited, borderline insane mid-engined rear-drive Clio V6 at the top of the tree.
It also seems, strangely, as though the Turbo 3E will be a Renault product, rather than Alpine. Suppose that is the difference between outright punch and Alpine’s bent for low weight and overall balance.
Further details such as driving range, battery size and recharging times remain a mystery for now.
“Renault head office in France has been very supportive of Australia. The fact we’ve been able to secure the Renault 5 Turbo 3E for our customers so soon after it was confirmed for production in Europe, shows how committed Renault is to the Australian market – with this and other exciting models around the corner,” said General Manager of Renault Australia Glen Sealey.
Those other ‘exciting models’ are yet to be detailed. Renault has expressed interest in both the regular 5 electric hatchback and its R4 small SUV sibling. Neither model is confirmed for Australia yet.
Comments