What will replace this Toyota RAV4 family SUV rival? 2023 Renault Koleos "could go forever and a day" but there's a sleek Espace-shaped replacement waiting in the wings

Since its launch in 2016 the second-generation version of Renault’s mid-size Koleos SUV has been a critical model for the brand in Australia. 

The sleek five-seater sold over 2500 units in 2022, nearly 20 per cent up on the prior year, and representing more than a quarter of the French maker’s local volume.

But entering its eighth year in market, predictions of the Koleos’ demise have been rife for some time.

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Late last year Renault Australia General Manager, Glen Sealey told CarsGuide the Koleos will not continue beyond the end of the current car’s life cycle.

“Koleos will run its life - it will run through, at this stage, until probably 2024, and that will be it,” Mr Sealey said.

But speaking to CarsGuide more recently at a local preview of the upcoming Megane E-Tech EV, Mr Sealey said, “Koleos could go forever and a day. Production (of the current car) will go through this year, and next year. After that we don’t know.”

“The one thing we have learnt is that older (Renault Group) platforms have life,” he added. 

Currently offered in front- and all-wheel drive across three model grades, the Koleos is powered by a 2.4-litre (126kW/226Nm) four-cylinder petrol engine, with prices ranging from $37,500 to $45,800, before on-road costs.

Mr Sealey says, “Medium SUV for us is a big segment” and confirmed when the current-gen Koleos is eventually retired its replacement is unlikely to be a twin under the skin of the Nissan X-Trail, as per the current car.

The Koleos is a product of a Renault-Nissan-Samsung Alliance, and shares its underpinnings with the Nissan X-Trail. It’s built in South Korea and branded as a Renault-Samsung QM6 in its home market.

The sixth-generation Renault Espace could replace the Koleos.

A mildly updated version of the QM6 featuring a revised grille, LED headlights and daytime running lights as well as LED tail-lights with dynamic indicators has just been released for domestic consumption.

A strong candidate as a Koleos successor or alternative is the sixth-generation Renault Espace, due for release early in the European spring (that is, any minute). 

Through earlier iterations (it debuted in 1983) the Espace has taken the form of a ‘one box’ people mover (Espace is French for space). 

But Renault has confirmed the upcoming version as a swoopy five- and seven-seat SUV measuring a relatively compact 4.72m nose to tail, with an interior length of 2.48 metres.

It will sit on the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance ‘Common Module Family’ (CMF-CD) platform currently underpinning the Koleos and a host of other Renault and Nissan models, including the X-Trail.

The Espace nameplate first debuted in 1983.

Although specification detail is thin on the ground you can expect Renault’s ‘openR’ dash combining a 12.0-inch multimedia display, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 9.3-inch head-up display.

Powertrain options will also likely include mild-hybrid as well as E-Tech full-hybrid and pure electric drive options, plus the ‘4CONTROL Advanced’ four-wheel steering system as found in the recently released C-segment Austral SUV.

Launched globally in early 2022, and a replacement for the Nissan Qashqai-twinned Kadjar, the Austral is also a candidate for local sale.

But when it comes to the Espace, Glen Sealey says although Renault Australia isn’t at the business case development stage, he is definitely interested in the car pending right-hand drive availability.