2016 Renault Captur Reviews

What a surprise. Today's Renault Captur has matured from a patchy curio to a sophisticated small SUV capable of taking on all rivals. From its smart design and packaging to the quality interior and engineering, the Captur II combines comfort and agility with class, to challenge premium alternatives like the Mercedes GLA. The flagship RS Line is expensive, but it's also one of this segment's best.

The Renault Captur is a stylish looking entry to Renault's smallest SUV range. It's a cute little package that could appeal to those who love the hatchback experience but need an SUV. Its size makes it well-suited to city living but has it compromised on some comforts to be this compact?

The second-generation Captur range opens with the sharply-priced Life, kicking off at $28,190 before on-roads.

The Zen is the second in the three tier range and is the best value of the three at $30,790.

The top-of-the-range Intens finishes the Captur range at $35,670, $5000 more than the Zen.

The 2021 Renault Captur aims to expunge the shortcomings of the car it replaces, with more space, better drivetrain and a whole heap of new tech.

The Captur is one of Europe's top selling SUVs, but will that translate well in Australia, where the market is so hotly contested and Renault is not such a mainstream brand?

Everyone loves a sale. It could be Target or Myer or even your health-food store luring you with the promise of special prices for a limited time. In the car world, companies also like to create their own "sale" events.Sometimes it's to give a short-term boost to their results — Toyota customarily targeted the end of the final year for its biggest push. In other cases it's part of an annual branding package or a means to counter their rivals, the way Holden is doing with its "100-hour sale" this weekend. In any case, it's good news for shoppers.Renault is currently running its Diamond Event — a name chosen to reflect the shape of the brand's badge — and it's throwing everything into the mix, from drive-away pricing to free fuel vouchers. "It's the first time we've tried it. We wanted to see how it would go," says Renault Australia managing director Justin Hocevar.He reckons it's not just a short-term splash to clear 2013 stock and says it's about building more support for the French brand."We wanted to develop an annual branded event as a sale period for Renault. We're hoping to see about a 15 per cent spike in sales," Hocevar says. "A lot of our competitors do it.Mazda does its M Days, Audi has Openhaus, others have different deals. "It's so hard to build visibility for some of our cars, like the Koleos, but we think this will work. There is drive-away pricing and, depending on the model, low interest rates. There are also $500 fuel cards across the board."The sale pricing starts from the baby Clio at $16,990 drive-away and runs up the range with a variety of packages. Hocevar is touting plenty of good news but it's not so good on the Captur.It was expected in the middle of the year but strong European demand means the local on-sale date has slipped by a couple of months. Price: from $16,990 drive-awayEngine: 900cc 3-cyl, 66kW/135NmTransmission: 5-speed manual, FWDThirst: 4.5L/100km  {C}The Clio was a serious contender for last year's Car of the Year award and the latest Diamond pricing also makes it good buying from $17,000 on the road.It's composed and comfy, safe even without rear airbags, and a real looker. As for the Clio RS ...it's a belter. Price: from $25,990Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 126kW/226Nm;Transmission: 6-speed manual, FWD/AWDThirst: 9.5L/100km  This is a hidden gem, with a Nissan X-Trail mechanical package draped in Renault bodywork and riding on cushy French suspension. It is well priced as a suburban SUV and can be surprisingly good in the bush if you go for the upscale mechanical package with four-wheel drive. Price: Low-$20,000 (est)Engine: 900cc 3-cyl, 66kW/135NmTransmission: 5-speed manual, FWDThirst: N/A  It's not here yet, which means no confirmation of price or base engine or fuel economy but the Captur will be worth the wait. It's one of the funkiest of the new breed of mini SUVs and is aimed straight at gen-Y buyers with great colour SECOND-HANDRenault Megane Sport DCI 175 turbodieselThe first Megane to reach Australia in the early 2000s was nothing special. It had questionable looks and quality and came from a brand that was getting a renewed kick in Australia thanks to the global tie-up with Nissan, which meant low start-up costs here.But things changed massively, and positively, with the arrival of the mid‒decade update and its headline models, the RS and Cabriolet. The latter Meganes are the right choice for second-hand shoppers, with solid quality, pretty good performance and a shape that was dubbed the "J-Lo butt" after Jennifer Lopez's hindquarters. It is a car that still runs pretty strongly and has good packaging. It is backed by new-style Renault management that gives good support to dealers and owners.This reporter is on Twitter: @PaulWardGover 

Renault’s admission that its tiny Captur is designed for life in the city, only, is refreshing. Owners are as likely to find themselves negotiating craters on the moon as they are some off-road track.

Renault Captur is a stylish city car that’s virtually a Renault Clio with a taller five-door hatch body. It joins a sudden rash of small crossover SUVs that are taking Australia by storm. In fact these vehicles are also a hit in global markets, particularly in Europe where parking in increasingly crowded cities is a huge problem.Note the word styling in our opening to this story, because that’s the number one reason people are giving us when we talk about their buying a Renault Captur. Interestingly, favourable responses are coming to us not only from youngsters who appreciate French style, but also from the over 60s who appreciate the ease of entry and exit from taller cars.While relatively small on the outside, Renault Captur has space for four adults in comfort. Mum and dad in the front and three pre-teen kids in the back is likely to be the typical Australian setup and works well in this tall hatch.Versatility is excellent as the rear seat slides back and forwards to let you choose between passenger and luggage space. Headroom is plentiful for all but the tallest of basketball players.Captur is sold in the usual Renault models of Expression and Dynamique, the recommended retail price begins at a pretty reasonable $22,990.Renault Captur was shaped by legendary car stylist Laurens van den Acker. He is from the Netherlands and can be regarded as a modern day Dutch Master working in three dimensions, following up on of the famed Dutch Master artists of the 17th century.Van den Acker has been in the car industry for many years, moving around from Bugatti to Audi, Ford and Mazda and now appears happily settled with Renault. He has given the Captur quirky interesting lines and designs inside and out, led by a strong front shaped around the Renault diamond badge.The kick up in the window line at the rear works well in the way it joins the roof-mounted rear spoiler. Also appealing are the deeply sculpted lines of the lower part of the doors.The style lines of Captur’s body are further enhanced by being offered in a large palette of bright colours, many of them to provide a two-tone paint scheme.You can choose from different colours in the cabin as well, both on the major surfaces and the detailed trim on the dash and doors.Even better, the seat covers can be zipped off and replaced by new ones in different colours, or simply removed for easy cleaning.Captur has a multimedia system controlled through a 7-inch tablet-type screen accessing satnav, radio, phone and networking apps. Audio sounds good without being outstanding. USB, Bluetooth and Aux make connectivity easy.Renault Captur is powered by either a 0.9-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine producing 62kW, or a 1.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol with 88kW. The power number translates into 90 and 120 horsepower, hence the Captur models being labelled TCe 90 and TCe 120.The Captur TCe 90 comes only with a five-speed manual gearbox. All TCe 120 models drive through a six-speed double-clutch automatic.Our test car on this occasion was a Captur TCe 120. It came in a latte coloured lower body and deep black roof. The interior disappoints in being finished in various shades of grey, though the white stitching on the dark-grey seats does lift it a little, and there are some chromed highlights.Renault was the first car maker ever to achieve a five-star safety rating and Captur obviously continues this important tradition. It only requires six airbags to achieve this, avoiding the extra knee bags some makers are forced to include.Child safety utilises ISOFIX child seat anchorage at the two outboard rear seats.Seat comfort and support are good in the traditional French manner – those who live in that country certainly like to pamper themselves.The luggage area is tall and voluminous. The floor of the boot is reversible to give you either conventional carpet or a wash-down surface for carrying wet items. The boot floor can be set to give maximum height or can be raised by about 150mm to provide a hidden area underneath it.A particularly useful feature is that the boot floor can be set at a forty-five degree angle that gives support to grocery bags which insist on falling over and spreading their contents far and wide.Around town the Captur is quiet, comfortable and pleasant to ride in. On motorways it shifts along in a relaxed easygoing manner. However, it doesn’t like Australian country roads that are badly in need of repairs and moves about more on its suspension than we like.Handling is safe and competent, but nothing to get excited about; that’s the job of Captur’s little brother Clio which comes in both standard and exciting sports models.Engine performance from the four-cylinder turbo-petrol unit is good and generally gets the car moving promptly. The six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission is mostly in the right gear for the conditions and works well with the characteristics of the turbo engine. It’s not as slow to react off the line as some other dual-clutch units, but can be mildly irritating at times.Low fuel consumption is impressive and more than compensates for the moderate performance. We typically used fuel in the low to mid fives in easy paced country and motorway running. In suburban driving we seldom saw more than seven litres per hundred kilometres.