Renault 4 e-bike: a missed chance to make cargo even cooler?

Step into a certain corner of motoring nostalgia and you can almost see it: a classic Renault 4-inspired bicycle in soft blue-grey, a jaunty fourgonette-inspired rack brimming with baguettes, fromage and - why not - a bottle of Beaujolais. The original “quatrelle” was beloved because it was useful and unfussy. Imagine that spirit on two wheels.

Which is why the reality lands a tad flat. The Velobecane Renault 4 is a compact, folding e-bike with all the sensible bits: a rear rack rated to 25 kg, full mudguards, decent lights for winter rides and a kickstand. In other words, a perfectly serviceable everyday machine for city and suburban trips. And at 1,300 euros it's well priced too.

What it isn’t is a bike that looks or feels like Renault design at its best. We weren't expecting it to look like the ai generated concept above, but there are no playful nods to the original R4’s character and no fresh thinking. It’s a famous badge on a very conventional bicycle.

Car brands and bikes: more than a logo, please

Renault isn’t alone here. Peugeot’s cycling heritage is deep, and plenty of carmakers have dabbled with two wheels, but too often the output reads like a licensing exercise rather than a design brief. If the big names truly believe in cleaner, calmer streets, our request is simple: put your smartest engineers on bikes that solve everyday, unglamorous problems - the school run, local deliveries, the weekly shop - and make them delightfully simple in appearance and use.

Would a Ford Transit delivery trike built for high-street traders feature a tight turning circle, a Euro-pallet-friendly box with side access, and a torquey electric motor that shrugs off hills? And would a Volvo seven-seater cargo bike aimed at the school run, have a roll-cage-inspired cabin, a slew of airbags, cup holders aplenty and interior mood lighting that makes winter pick-up time less stressful. Would a true R4 fourgonette cargo bike be lightweight, repairable and modular - half workhorse, half weekend companion?

Ideas like this can be more than gimmicks; they’re about bringing practical bikes into the mainstream. Tools that cut costs for households and businesses, reduce traffic and emissions, and make short trips a pleasure rather than a chore.

After all, cities are crying out for vehicles that fit - physically and socially. Here’s hoping the first big automotive brand that treats the bicycle not as merch but as mission will win hearts, headlinesand, crucially, miles ridden.

Until then, we’ll keep dreaming of that pedal-powered quatrelle - and keep cheering on the builders already making bikes worthy of daily graft.

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