The Renault Koleos

I was lucky enough to be at the Renault stand when the new Koleos was unveiled.  Lucky, I say, because it’s not every day you see a new car revealed.  Okay, so it’s not a Ferrari.  Nonetheless, this new 4×4 should garner plenty of press due to the new features it has, along with the usual story of ample space and usefulness about town.

So just what is this front-sloping beast?  Well, it’s Renault’s version of the Nissan X-Trail – the 4×4 offering from their sister company.  Let’s get it out of the way; it looks modern in a sort of Nissan Quashqai kind of way.  I’m being kind when I say that, I suppose.  I’m being even kinder when I say that the Quashqai is ‘unique’ looking.  So this is too I guess.

It’s not just a coincidence that it looks like the Quashqai – it’s meant to look like a crossover vehicle.  The Koleos, however, is made to be one.  That means it has user-friendly handling (so no notorious back-breaking ride here) of a family car but with the off-road capabilities of… well… an off road vehicle!  Naturally, it also has to have enough space to fit not only your dog but your skis (yes it even has custom holders for these thrown in).

The driving, unsurprisingly from the company that brought you the actually-quite-good RenaultSport Clio, is decent.  Even though you’re higher up, in ‘normal’ mode the car will sense levels of grip and vary the power from the front to the rear wheels as necessary.  Not quite the active-super-doodads of the Mitsubishi Evo X, but certainly at least on par with the competition such as the BMW X3 or the Nissan X-Trail.

Rather than a gearlever that you’d find in an old Land Rover, the Koleos comes equipped with a button for simplicity of choosing between a 4×4 or 2×4 drive mode.  Nice.  As you’d expect with an MPV (multi purpose vehicle) or crossover, you get tonnes of storage space.  There’s drawer upon drawer in the boot, foldable seats, a nice large, airy cabin and a large, chilled glove box.  Perfect for taking the missus up a mountain (well, a very shallowly inclined hill) and sipping some champers.  There’s literally class leading space for front passengers and not exactly a shortage of room in the back either.  Small though it ain’t.

If you’re a petrol man then you might want to look elsewhere – though god knows why you’d want something this big running on the guzzling stuff.  Instead, two diesels are the order of the day, a 150 or a 175 (both Euro IV emission compliant and with less than 200 g/km in 2×4 mode).  Personally I’d go for the latter if you’re going to be a load lugger – the former if it’s simply a lifestyle choice (as most drivers will no doubt be getting this car for).

Naturally there’s an options list that’s rather long, but the sat nav system is quite nice so I’d recommend that.  You get all the information you need including the incline/decline of your car and whether you’re doing anything stupid with it.  Of course, all the usual extras are built in such as telephone and so forth.

Overall, the Koleos is suitable for purpose. The purpose however is not clearly defined, as you’d expect with a crossover vehicle.  The ground clearance of 188mm (it can go up to 206mm) isn’t bad, but it’s not going to be dragging you around the highlands.  The amount of space you get and relative luxury is perhaps more of an indicator – the yummy mummies out there might well be interested in it.  Will the looks put them off though? Well, not if the Quashqai’s success is anything to go buy.

Would I buy one?  Well, not at the moment no.  What if I had a nice little chalet over in France somewhere though that had a dirt track and a few nearby hills along with reasonable outdoor facilities?  Well then you might be talking.  Not a bad car by any means, but not a very focussed one either.