Renault has left it late to enter the SUV market and its dumpy-looking Koleos is hardly the most dramatically-styled vehicle in its sector.
But this 4×4’s unprepossessing looks disguise a capable, practical and comfortable vehicle with an attractively-low price entry point that undercuts virtually all of its main rivals.
While French rivals Peugeot and Citroen launched rebadged versions of the Mitsubishi Outlander to grab a share of the burgeoning ‘lifestyle’ vehicle market, Renault bided its time and came up with its own design.
The Koleos was given a curvier look than a traditional SUV in a bid to woo customers who do not like the boxy, aggressive look of many 4×4s.
It is billed as a ‘crossover’ car because it blends the practicality and space of an MPV with the ruggedness of an off-roader and refinement of a hatchback.
Its curved styling does have an effect on load space and head room, but the Koleos remains a spacious vehicle. It will seat five in comfort and there are plenty of storage areas on board.
These include underfloor boxes, a huge chilled glove compartment and doors which will hold a half-litre bottle of water as well as a handful of CDs.
These storage areas account for an impressive 70 litres of space - and that’s before taking into account the boot.
The Super-Fold system enables the rear seats to tip forward and fold down at the touch of a switch.
The tail-gate splits - a very useful feature for families and those with outdoor sport interests - and the bottom section will seat two adults when folded down.
The cabin is attractively finished and mostly appears well-built. Noise levels within the Koleos are commendably low and refinement is good.
The car is being launched in Britain this summer with two diesel engines and two well-equipped trim levels, Dynamique and Privilege.
Prices start at £17,995 for a Dynamique 150hp diesel Koleos and rise to £24,695 for the flagship Privilege 175hp diesel. Note that the entry level car does not have four wheel drive or ESP - always a useful feature in an SUV.
The Koleos shares much of its underpinnings, including the ‘intelligent’ four-wheel drive system, with Nissan’s highly-rated X-Trail.
Though it is presented as a ‘crossover’ car the Koleos has more off-road ability than you might imagine owing to its four-wheel drive system, relatively high angles of approach and departure, and electronic features like Hill Start Assist and Hill Descent.
The navigation system also has a number of specific off-road features like a digital compass and altimeter, and can even display the vehicle’s angle of inclination.
The Koleos offers a nice relaxed drive, both off road and on. It holds the road very well, with high levels of grip.
Ride comfort is excellent - at the expense of some roll through corners. Even over rough hilly tracks in Morocco, the car remained very composed.
At the launch only the 175bhp diesel was available to drive and I found it a good match for the car. I had thought Renault’s 1.5 diesel - which gives up to 50mpg in the Laguna - might prove a good option for the Koleos.
This engine is also available in the Nissan Qashqai range and has proved very popular.
But the Koleos is around 200kg heavier than the Qashqai and Renault engineers were not satisfied with the level of performance the 1.5 could provide.
The car should prove very safe once it has been evaluated by Euro NCAP but its green credentials are tarnished by a relatively high CO2 emissions figure of 209g/km. Renault’s warranty covers the car for 100,000 miles.
The Koleos’ arrival is still a matter of months rather than weeks away, which could hand an advantage to its latest rivals the Ford Kuga and VW Tiguan.
But if comfort and practicality are among your priorities it could be worth hanging on until July 4, when the Koleos finally arrives in the UK.
And who knows, those bulbous looks may just grow on you.
By Peter Carroll
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