Car Review: Renault Koleos

Recently, over at the 2018 Retromobile Show in Paris, Renault exhibited some of its most famous and innovative cars. Groundbreaking stuff, in fact. There was a 1961 Renault 4, for example, a car for the masses that sold 8 million, a Renault 16, the first five-door family car, a Renault 5, one of the first hatchbacks, an Espace from the early 1980s, which created the “people carrier” plus a Megane Scenic, which made it compact, and an original Renault Twingo, a miracle of space efficiency.

They bring to mind other bold designs such as the Avantime, currently building up a bit of a cult following, and the short-lived mini-coupe-convertible Wind, no longer sold in the UK, as with much of the much-thinned out range of Renaults sold in Britain.

Bulking things up now, in more senses than one, is the Renault Koleos. Now this is a very frustrating machine, not because there is much wrong with how it looks, goes and stops, but because you can see just how close it is to greatness, like some of its predecessors were, and how narrowly it falls short. Tantalisingly so.

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At the risk of repeating myself, the new wave – tsunami might be a better term – of SUVs and crossover designs put fashion and lifestyle at the centre of their appeal. And yet the interiors show very little sign of contemporary thinking about style and taste. Of the mainstream brands only the products from Land Rover (including of course Range Rover) and Volvo are really trying new looks and novel materials (apparently driftwood painted pale blue is very popular), and melding these family-oriented vehicles with today’s increasingly “connected” and high-tech equipment.

The German marques such as Audi and Mercedes-Benz are premium and sometimes very high-performance, but conservative: the Peugeots, Citroen’s and DS models of the PSA Group more adventurous, but maybe a bit gimmicky. The rest, from Alfa to Vauxhall, are bland, sober, and dark. The Koleos is a notch above them, but far from outstanding, and, to be honest, it needs to be in such a crowded space.

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The interior space of a Koleos is, to be fair, pretty generous and perfectly comfortable. It is a warm (heated everything) and safe-feeling place to be, with the usual high “in control” seating position, but to be honest it is a bit boring up there. I liked the vertical touch screen and the range of kit, but it was, as I say, just not as cool a place to be as a Range Rover or Volvo, though the Renault is undoubtedly better value. (Especially now that everyone wants to fool themselves about the true cost of their motoring by opting for those PCP deals – in effect a prolonged car rental contract.

Yet there are flaws, once again. Plastic wood on the doors for a start – what are they thinking? – and the way gear indicators for the automatic transmission are on the passenger side, so you have to guess which gear you’re in – potentially a dangerous design oversight. So not quite right, really.

I’d suggest the DS 7 as well as the Range Rover and Volvo options as an interesting alternative to the Renault, and an even rarer sight on the road. Otherwise the Nissan Qashqai or Kia Sportage will probably suit best.

Again the exterior is a case of “nearly there”. There’s real accomplishment, for sure. The mix of curves and creases and he bold “face” do attract the eye, there’s the right nods to Range Rover styling in the “scallop” bonnet and the overall proportions – always tricky to get right on an SUV/crossover – are well judged. Renault have used the length available to make the Koleos a roomy five rather than optional seven seater, and so it is more versatile suited to a smaller family than say a Kia Sorento or other full sized SUV. It sits between the medium and large SUVs, which may or may not help consumers understand its “pitch”. I hope they do, though.

From most angles the Koleos looks attractive, even cool, though the back is a bit SUV-generic. For looks it is about on a par with the Jaguar F-Pace or Bentley Bentayga, say, and nicer than its corporate cousins the Nissan Qashqai or X-Trail. (The Renault-Nissan “alliance” means ac crossover of some componentry too).

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I don’t blame Renault for only offering the Koleos in diesel. That’s where the demand, until very recently, was and how such big heavy fuel thirsty hulks make economic sense to run. The diesel backlash, a result of confusion in official circles and a mild panic among the buying public, will obviously not help the Koleos. Sister firm Nissan offer petrol options on their SUVs and it would be easy to install one of those in the Renault to at least give buyers a choice. For now Koleos owners have the benefit of being able to switch between front and four wheel drive and use stop-start technology to help with economy. Even though it is often irrelevant for its urban clientele, it’s worth mentioning that the Koleos is actually capable of a bit of off-roading.

The Koleos also has a remarkably good CVT (constant velocity transmission) gearbox, the kind where there are real “steps” to the gears. Usually this means that you put your foot down and nothing happens, by t the Koleos is – usually – pretty responsive, and is a surprisingly refined complement to the smooth quiet(ish) diesels.

No one, I feel, should expect to get excited by a Koleos. There is no “shock of the new” to it as with some of its illustrious predecessors. It’s a good car, and almost very good indeed, and that is why some of us are a tad disappointed by it. Close, but no Gaulois.