The boxy hatchback was particularly noted for its sticky-out bottom – possibly inspiring the famed 'shaking that ass' advertising campaign for the Megane in later years.
Renault even produced a hot-hatch version in the 80s called the Renault 5 Turbo – a road-legal version of its rally car with 160PS and muscular rear wheel arches to accommodate the fact that this particular version was mid-engined.
But even the standard car lives long in the memory – and Renault has been looking to the past to define its future.
That’s right: just over half a century on from the launch of the original version, the Renault 5 is back.
If you didn't know, you're a little late to the party, as Renault announced its intentions to revive the car at the start of 2021 when it unveiled a concept car.
Now, the Renault 5 E-Tech, as it’s officially called, is just around the corner – and this time, it’s 100% electrified.
Gone are the engines, which ranged from 0.7 to 1.4-litre four-cylinders (though there was briefly a 1.7-litre in some markets) and in comes an electric motor, which produced around 137PS in the concept car. And we’re expecting Renault to opt for a figure very close to that for the real thing.
As you’d imagine, having been out of production for nearly 30 years, the new one looks very different from its ageing predecessor. Whereas the old Renault looked thin enough to disintegrate if you took a corner too quickly, the new 5 appears lower to the ground and far more robust.
The concept had large door sills, a crease just above them, shaped front wheel arches, and protruding LED housings for the front fog lights, along with large alloys and flush door handles.
A significant part of the old Renault 5’s design language was that the taillights were at the edge of the rear, in practice more part of the side of the car than the back.
While the cut of the boot lid better integrates the lights in the modern concept car, the vertical light pillar remains – and we expect that to make it onto the final design.
Dotted around the vehicle are various number ‘5’ logos and a large nameplate that spells ‘RENAULT’ at the front and rear, though the numberplates will likely cover this up in practice.
Just how much of the above is included in the production model remains to be seen, but Renault says the finished product is not that far removed from the concept.
The teaser pictures it’s released so far appear to back this up, along with a few camouflaged test versions that have been spied in recent months.
The new Renault 5 is slightly smaller than the current Clio, at 3.92 metres long. As a result, the French manufacturer is undoubtedly aiming for the fresh model to be a playful city car which can be thrown about a bit and put a smile on your face.
Earlier this year, a 'mule car' was made available based on a Renault 5 chassis with a Clio body on it. While this didn't necessarily reflect the real thing, it lived up to the 'fun city car' description – a characteristic typical of the old Renault 5.
Nevertheless, if that’s not enough, its performance arm, Alpine, is set to introduce a hot-hatch version further down the line.
A 52kWh battery will provide nearly 250 miles of range on a full charge, though Renault says the entry-level version will have a 40kWh battery, which should bring the price down a bit.
That’ll be helped by a brand-new battery pack, which has fewer than half the number of modules as in the Renault Zoe, which means it’s lighter and more cost-efficient to produce.
The Megane E-Tech has a charging speed of up to 130kW, so we'll expect something similar in the Renault 5.
It'll also be able to output power from the battery – a nice but rare feature on all-electric cars that can utilise its battery power for everyday things. For example, in the event of a power cut at home, you could run your house off it until the electricity supply is restored.
The concept car's interior, which didn’t look far removed from any other Renault, should be taken with a pinch of salt, as we’re expecting something more striking and futuristic.
That's also been teased in a photo, which appears to show a transparent glass information screen with LED graphics.
Behind it, the headrests look like rectangular blocks with an LED ring on each side.
This might suggest they have speakers built into them, but that’s just speculation – though we expect an entirely new infotainment system to be included.
We still don't know much about it, but the new Renault 5 promises lots of character and personality – and we can’t wait to take the finished product for a test drive.
The all-important question on the tip of your tongue: how much will it cost? We don’t know yet, but between £20,000 and £30,000 is likely, with experts divided over how close it will be to each end of this price range.
Given Renault has now confirmed the entry-level will have a smaller battery, it’ll hopefully be closer to the lower figure.
Nevertheless, considering electric vehicles command a hefty premium, this could be the latest in a growing list of new electric cars demonstrating that the prices for engineless vehicles are gradually falling closer to their fossil-fuelled counterparts.
The Renault 5 is due to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show on 26th February and will go on sale soon after.
We should see it on the UK's roads sometime next summer.