Renault 5 vs Vauxhall Frontera

The Vauxhall Frontera costs £1,000 more than the Renault 5. For that premium it adds 134 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Renault 5 comes out ahead overall.

The Renault 5 is £1,000 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £144 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Renault 5 comes out roughly £1,080 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 160 miles for the Renault 5 and 155 miles for the Vauxhall Frontera - effectively matched, and both well below their WLTP figures because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV.

The two are within 13 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 605 mm of total clearance for the Vauxhall Frontera and about 592 mm of total clearance for the Renault 5. The Renault 5 also turns in a 0.8 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 Renault 5 and 90% for the Vauxhall Frontera. That gives the Vauxhall Frontera a modest edge in retained real-world range. The Vauxhall Frontera's LFP-type pack tolerates daily 100% charging, while the Renault 5's NMC-type pack lasts longest kept to about 80% for everyday use. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.