Renault Captur Car Review

The Captur kick-started Renault’s range of popular SUVs and crossovers in 2013, and it has lived up to its name and gone on to capture a sizeable chunk of the market. It’s also Renault’s most popular car in the UK, outselling the Clio and the Megane. 

In 2016 it was the best-selling model in its segment in Europe, so you could forgive the French company for not wanting to throw the baby out with the bathwater with the mid-life refresh. The styling tweaks bring the Renault Captur into line with the rest of its SUV range, thanks to sharper-looking lights and more rugged bumpers with faux-metal skid plates front and rear.

Minor updates they may be, but finally, they give the Captur its own SUV-like personality, rather than looking like a taller, bloated Clio. Among the changes is a new front grille that wears some extra chrome to direct your gaze toward the oversize Renault badge at its centre. Complementing that, the lower corners of the front bumper get new C-shaped LED daytime running lights across the line-up, while higher-grade models also benefit from full-LED headlights.

Punters clearly like the level of personalisation available for the Captur, such as its two-tone colour scheme, so Renault has added more options. There are three new body colours, plus the option of a silver roof, bringing the total number of potential combinations to 36. Eat your heart out, Mini.

Dimensionally, the Captur is unchanged, and barely bigger than a Clio with its 4,122mm length and 1,778mm width, ensuring that it retains its manoeuvrable size with acceptable interior space for the segment. Inside, the main change to the cabin is a smattering of new materials, giving the Captur a more modern appearance. It’s still far from plush, though.

Buyers can choose from two petrol and two diesel engines, with either automatic or manual transmissions. All models in the Captur range are front-wheel drive, despite the more rugged looks.

The 0.9-litre TCe petrol engine, which is steadily becoming the most popular choice, makes for a sensible buy if you’re only doing the school run or driving around town. Despite its small size, this three-cylinder, 89bhp engine is smooth and feels faster than the 13.2-second 0-62mph time suggests it will.

If you disagree, or you carry a couple of people around regularly, you can upgrade to the 118bhp 1.2-litre petrol engine, which is available with either manual or automatic gearboxes. Officially, the transmission makes no difference to fuel economy, but the manual is just under a second faster to 62mph at 9.9 seconds. If you’d rather have a diesel, there is the familiar 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder option, offered in 89bhp and 108bhp guises.

While the Captur has stayed competitive up until its facelift, it’s about to fight a war on several fronts. New small crossovers from Hyundai, Seat, Citroen and Kia are all imminent in 2017. They all promise lots of spec and personalisation options, frugal engines and similar prices. The Captur’s good, but not exceptional, and may soon struggle to stand out against a European and Korean onslaught…

Despite increased competition, Renault was confident enough in the Captur’s abilities not to bother changing any of the mechanical underpinnings. Brave? Perhaps, but, first up, buyers in this sector don’t demand scalpel-sharp reflexes married to magic carpet ride comfort, and secondly, the Captur was already one of the best-judged.

Its extra height over a Renault Clio means longer springs and a little more cushioning. It’s quite a smooth car, especially over urban bumps, which it soaks up with ease. Even when you hit rougher surfaces, road noise is kept at bay well.

The more powerful diesel engine produces a useful 192lb ft of torque, which leaves you with plenty in reserve for overtaking or joining fast-moving motorway traffic off a slip road, but it does lose some of its appeal in slower-moving traffic. Constant gear changes aren’t helped by the new armrest design that can get in the way, particularly if you sit a little further back from the wheel. 

It’s in situations like this that the quieter, more refined petrol engine shines. The more powerful turbocharged four-cylinder 1.2-litre unit is one of the sweeter engines in the small crossover segment right now. With 151lb ft (produced at a usefully low 2,000rpm), it has just the right amount of torque to pull the Captur along without the need for many revs. 

No matter which engine you choose, it’s comfortable enough and the engines are above average, but the Captur lacks anything that might help it stand out in driving terms. It’s more sensible trousers than driving shoes.

As with the mildly tweaked exterior, you’ll have to take a second glance (and know the pre-facelift Captur pretty well) to spot the changes that Renault has made to the interior. A lack of mechanical revisions has, however, allowed Renault to spend most of the update budget on improving the feel and quality of the cabin, something it needed, in truth. Both the door cards and upper sections of the dashboard are now finished in a soft-touch plastic, while the new steering wheel, borrowed from the Clio, has a much nicer feel to it, even if it retains a familiar button layout. 

One area where the Captur has always scored well is storage. The boot has a 455-litre capacity, which is more than rivals like the Nissan Juke, Peugeot 2008 and Vauxhall Mokka X. It also has a useful double floor that lets you lower the load height or keep a separate storage area beneath the floor. Folding the rear seats down increases cargo volume to 1,255 litres.

A new storage compartment in the top of the dashboard is now easier to reach and it’s big enough to swallow up your phone, keys and wallet, or purse. 

The centre console remains a simple affair, and if you choose any model from Dynamique Nav grade upwards, you get a seven-inch colour touchscreen system with satellite navigation. It’s not a great system, with bizarrely small ‘buttons’ hidden in the corners of the screen and infuritating bings and bongs that can only be turned off by delving deep into sub-sub-sub menus. 

All of the climate controls are slightly cheap-feeling knobs and buttons, but at least it’s easy to adjust without taking your eyes off the road. 

Both Signature X Nav and Signature S Nav get a more advanced R-LINK media and nav system and Renault has added Android Auto to this as well, bringing smartphone mirroring to more people, but there’s still no sign of Apple CarPlay.

In the rear, there is a generous amount of legroom for the sector, and you get the ability to slide the rear seat bench forward or back depending on how much passenger or boot space you require. The Captur’s high roof means headroom isn’t an issue, even for taller passengers.

Article source: https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/renault/captur

Renault Clio Is Worth a Look

It might look a lot like its predecessor, but don't be fooled - under the skin, Renault's latest Clio is a big leap forward.

RENAULT wheeled out an all-new Clio towards the end of last year but you could be forgiven for not noticing.

That's because at first glance, this latest Clio - the fifth generation to bear the nameplate in 30 years, in which time it has become the best-selling French car ever - looks a lot like the one it replaced.

Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The Renault Clio has always been one of the nicer looking small cars and the last version still looked fresh when it went off-sale last year.

Renault may have been further persuaded to stick with the same-again styling because customers clearly loved the outgoing car, evidenced by the fact they bought them in droves.

As Volkswagen has shown through eight carefully curated generations of the Golf, gentle evolution can be an advantage in the mainstream family car market.

Strong initial sales for the new Clio would appear to have vindicated Renault's decision.

The Clio is Europe's reigning most popular small car, and in February it was the biggest seller of them all, dethroning the Golf from its traditional number one position.

There are caveats - there were fewer than 200 registrations in it, and the Golf was in between its Mk 7 and Mk 8 iterations at the time. Coronavirus was also beginning to take its first bites at supply chains.

It is perhaps too much to expect the Clio to remain at number one when - if - Europe's new car market regains some semblance of post-Covid-19 equilibrium.

In any case, the Golf isn't the Clio's real rival. For that, you have to look at cars like the Ford Fiesta - decisively the most popular small car in Northern Ireland - as well as the new Vauxhall Corsa, Volkswagen Polo, Mazda 2 and Seat Ibiza.

But the Clio's most natural opponent is the Peugeot 208. There's a new one of those too, and my original masterplan was to drive them back-to-back to get a feel for which French organisation's take on the small hatchback best suited our roads.

As with so many other plans, coronavirus got in the way of that. I had already enjoyed a week with the Clio when the 208 arrived on my driveway, its timing perfectly coinciding with lockdown. In the end, the Peugeot didn't turn a wheel for two weeks and I didn't even start the engine.

That means a proper comparison will have to wait. What can be said, though, is that where the Clio's styling looks like it has been with us for a while, the 208 is a more modern design.

All is not lost for the Clio, though. For underneath the skin is a car that feels at least one generation ahead of its predecessor.

The sparkling interior alone would be a leap forward, but the Clio's sense of refinement - at least in the engine and transmission I tried - is also deeply impressive.

It's built on the same platform as the new Nissan Juke; the two companies operate an alliance, sharing engines and various other oily parts, and this also means the Clio can be had with all the latest safety kit and driver assistance aids.

Another advantage of using a bang up-to-date platform is space efficiency.

Despite appearances, the new Clio is actually a little smaller on the outside than its predecessor - the wheelbase is shorter and the roofline is 43mm lower, for example - but it is more spacious for passengers and their luggage (the boot's seats-up volume is a very generous 391 litres).

And model for model, it is around 50kg lighter, which always helps with efficiency.

The gadget count is assuredly 2020 as well - try Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, digital dashboard, 4G connectivity, LED headlamps and ambient lighting - and the safety aids include an optional 'EasyDrive' system which looks after steering, acceleration and braking in certain conditions.

Lane-keep assist, traffic sign recognition, cruise control and automatic emergency braking with cyclist and pedestrian detection are on board, and the Clio was one of the safest cars of any size tested by Euro NCAP last year.

If you want a Clio diesel, for now a 1.5-litre 'Blue dCi 85' engine with 84bhp and 162lb.ft is your only choice. Treat it right, and you should be able to get nearly 80mpg... A 'Blue dCi 115' with 113bhp and 192lb.ft is expected later.

The petrols use a five-speed manual gearbox apart from the 128bhp car, which comes only with a seven-speed double-clutch gearbox. If you must, you can also have the TCe 100 car with a CVT transmission. The diesel has a six-speed manual.

Unlike rivals such as the closely-related Peugeot 208 and Vauxhall Corsa, the Clio won't be offered with a battery-electric drivetrain.

Renault is content that the big-selling Zoe can cater for customers who want a small EV.

There will, however, be a hybrid Clio, badged E-Tech. It uses a 1.6-litre petrol engine, two electric motors and a 1.2kWh battery, all linked together with a clever 'multi-mode' gearbox.

Renault reckons that so equipped, the Clio can tootle around town in EV mode "for around 80 per cent of the time".

It won't be offered as a plug-in hybrid, though - that distinction is reserved for the Captur, the Clio's chunky mini-SUV sidekick.

The interior quality is in a different league to the previous Clio. A large infotainment screen, portrait-orientated as is Renault's style, catches the eye, but everything you touch and operate regularly feels slick and operates with precision.

These aren't things that one has always been able to say about a Renault. Its five-year/100,000-mile warranty is also noteworthy.

It looks great, too, and the overall ambience is that of a larger, plush car.

The driving experience is similarly mature, with comfort and refinement clearly prioritised. It's remarkably quiet on a motorway journey, for example, with wind and tyre noise well suppressed.

If you prefer your small hatchback to be more overtly fun to drive, then a Ford Fiesta or Mazda 2 will be a better bet.

But I reckon the majority of people will be just fine with the Clio's grown-up feel. It means the Clio is closer in character to the Volkswagen Polo than the Fiesta.

The Renault's upmarket interior also helps make Polo comparisons inevitable, though the Clio's cabin has far more flair. It's a more interesting car from the outside, too.

Taken together, the Clio manages to be both reassuringly familiar and decisively better.

The Clio has to be an essential fixture on the checklist of anyone in the market for a small hatchback, for it is right at the top of a class occupied by a bunch of talented contenders.

Article source: https://www.irishnews.com/lifestyle/motorsdrive/2020/06/17/news/renault-clio-worth-a-second-look-1936277/