Renault 4 Plein Sud

[themule]

Strongly considering a Renault 4 Plein Sud as they seem great fun - has anyone got one and if so are you happy with your choice compared to a standard car? Is refinement compromised with the roof closed? Is rear headroom comprised much?
Any thoughts are appreciated.

[NumBMW]

When looking at upgrading my iconic spec, I was told at the dealer it would be noisier, and ours will be doing daily journeys at 60mph on some busy a-roads so I stuck with hard top.

[The_Nugget]

I had a look at one last weekend.
I currently have a 5 and fancied the 4 for the mrs.

The front is fine, headroom no problem.
The rear seats are very high. I’m 5’11 and my head was against the roof even with the roof open. The opening is forward of the rear passenger head area.

Because the rear seats are so high, with the roof open, it did feel like you were riding a roller coaster though!

I’d still have one as I don’t sit in the back!
The mrs isn’t so keen based on range and boot size event though we often don’t go that far or carry that much!

[themule]

NumBMW said:

When looking at upgrading my iconic spec, I was told at the dealer it would be noisier, and ours will be doing daily journeys at 60mph on some busy a-roads so I stuck with hard top.

Thanks - how do you find the hard top as a car?

[NumBMW]

themule said:

Thanks - how do you find the hard top as a car?

Mine won’t arrive for another 5-6 weeks, but I got it on the strength of the test drive. It’s not far from a 5 in the feel good stakes, but with much more room in the back, which we need.
I think it looks great, and the range is usable for us, to only charge once, sometimes twice a week.
Now A-B, moving people/commuting/whatever carsare all as capable as each other, feel good factor is a large part, and then the small little things make up just as much of the choice. The single button on the dash for ADAS disable, physical volume buttons on top of screen, and no massive non integrated iPad screen are the touches that just made sense to me

[themule]

Test drove a non sunroof Iconic+ today and was impressed - it's no rocketship but nippy, smooth and comfortable with great seats. The dealer had a Plein Sud on display but said they weren't available until November. What I did notice that the Iconic+ had a subwoofer under the boot floor instead of the extra storage space - loses some practicality. It also had a sort of slightly rubbery recycled seat and dash material instead of the woven fabric in the Techno trim which also didn't feel quite as nice although probably easier to clean. I also prefer the alloy design on the lower spec car. The downside of the lower spec car is it misses heated seats and steering wheel.
Sitting in the back of the Plein Sud I had just about enough headroom at 6'1" but it does feel much more open. I think headroom in the front is actually more vs the standard car.
Found a lease deal for £249 a month plus 12 months upfront for a 2 year / 6k miles deal for the Iconic+ Plein Sud - seems decent. They did say it could be delivered next month as well so not sure why the dealer told me they weren't available until November in the UK .
So not sure which version to get now.

[Schmeeky]

themule said:

Thanks - how do you find the hard top as a car?

I've had my Iconic+ for a month now, and I'm very much enjoying the change over to electric. I don't have my charger installed yet, but I charge it once a week at Morrisons while I do my shopping. 20% to 80% takes just over half an hour (50kWh charger), but much longer if there's another car charging on the second charge point. Costs about £17.

Car wise, I'm very much enjoying it. The cabin's a nice place to be, with lots of different materials. Even though it's relatively inexpensive for an EV it definitely doesn't feel cheap. The seats are good, it's a pretty comfortable car. Having HVAC controls as actually buttons is great. Even better is being able to turn off all the nannying systems that make it a pain to drive. As mine is the Iconic+ it has the 9 speaker sound system, and that is really very good indeed, in fact it's one of the reasons I went for the I+ model (as well as the heated seats and steering wheel!). The sub takes away a little room in the boot, but only the underfloor bit, and the actual boot itself is great, decent space and a very low lip makes it very usable. Electric opening and closing is a bit of a novelty, but hey ho.

Driving it - it's fun! Pretty damn nippy, handles well and doesn't mind being chucked about.

I've not yet seen another 4 while I've been out in it. My last car was a Duster (brilliant machine!) and they are everywhere, so it's nice to have something a bit more 'niche'!

[tangerine_sedge]

themule said:

Sitting in the back of the Plein Sud I had just about enough headroom at 6'1" but it does feel much more open. I think headroom in the front is actually more vs the standard car.

I'm slightly confused by this statement, because I'm 5'11" and found my head brushing the roof when sat in the back. I have long legs and a short body, so can only assume that you've got longer legs and a shorter body

Has anyone compared the Plein Sud & standard car rear headroom? Is there significantly more headroom in the standard model?

[themule]

I have a Plein Sud on order now, should be here in 4 weeks or so. Can't wait.

[leggerito]

Test drove a Plein Sud the other week and enjoyed the drive more than expected. Will likely pick one up in a few months.

That said I vastly prefer Renault's colour palette on the Twingo and 5. The 4 needs a Guards Red or even just a Williams Blue. Might be the first time I buy a car in grayscale (white) in 15 years of driving.

[The_Nugget]

tangerine_sedge said:

I'm slightly confused by this statement, because I'm 5'11" and found my head brushing the roof when sat in the back. I have long legs and a short body, so can only assume that you've got longer legs and a shorter body

Has anyone compared the Plein Sud & standard car rear headroom? Is there significantly more headroom in the standard model?

I’m 5’11 with short legs and long body and my head was rubbing the roof in the Plein Sud in the back.

[themule]

Have ordered mine in the base Carmin Red colour, looks like the best option to me. The head space in the back is tight for a tall person but I decided it's not enough to avoid the canvas roof which adds an extra level of fun / charm which to mind EVs need as they have a tendency to be slightly dull and 75% of the time it won't have anyone in the back. Also ordered the top spec trim as it was the same lease cost as the lower trim and adds heated seats, heated steering wheel and Harmon Kardon stereo - although it loses the handy storage cubby under the boot floor to the sub-woofer and the interior denim fabric seems nicer in the lower spec Techno trim.

[Mammasaid]

Electrifying have done a comparison with an EV2;