Renault Kangoo 2020 review: SWB Compact GVM test

Our test vehicle is the L1 SWB (short wheelbase) Compact Van with 1.2 litre turbocharged petrol engine and six-speed EDC (Efficient Dual Clutch) automatic transmission for a list price of $26,990. Although that’s $2500 more than the six-speed manual version, it still undercuts its Caddy equivalent (TSI 220 SWB with 7-speed DSG) by $4300, which represents a substantial 14 per cent saving on purchase price alone.

The Compact is a no-frills work-focused van, as evidenced by its 15-inch steel wheels and 195/65R15 Michelin tyres (who'd have guessed) with full-size spare, hard-wearing black plastic front/rear bumpers and side body mouldings, rubberised cargo floor mat and twin-tubular steel cargo protection bars behind the driver’s seat.

The Kangoo Compact wears 15-inch steel wheels.

There’s minimal standard equipment as you’d expect in such a workhorse, but it does include useful on-the-job features like rear parking sensors, height-adjustable steering column, non-radar cruise control and speed limiter, rear window demister/wiper, manual height-adjustable headlights (handy when load carrying), USB, 3.5mm auxiliary jack and 12-volt accessory plugs along with a basic multimedia system including AM/FM radio, CD player (remember those?) and Bluetooth with steering column controls.

Our test vehicle was fitted with Renault’s optional overhead cabin storage shelf and twin rear barn-doors. There are numerous other factory options like sat nav, cabin bulkhead, reversing camera etc along with Business Plus Pack and Trade Pack special option packages.

The cargo bay in our test vehicle is accessed through non-glazed sliding doors on each side and the optional twin barn-doors at the rear.

This Euro 6-compliant 1.2-litre petrol engine is a variant of that shared by numerous Renault passenger cars, but with more power and torque tapped at lower rpm that’s better suited to this load-carrying workhorse role. In other words, it’s not peaky and has good flexibility, but does require 95-98 RON premium petrol.

The direct-injection turbocharged four-cylinder produces 84kW at 4500rpm. Its 190Nm of torque peaks at 2000rpm yet remains close to full strength all the way to 4000rpm, which is admirable for such a small engine and highlights the benefits of modern variable vane turbocharger technology.

The 1.2-litre turbo petrol engine makes 84kW/190Nm.

It also offers a manually-switched ECO economy mode and Renault’s ESM (Energy Smart Management), which allows kinetic energy produced under deceleration/braking to be recovered by the engine’s alternator and stored in the battery. Given the amount of stops and starts in a typical working van’s life, Renault claims most of this recovered energy assists in engine starting.

The six-speed EDC dual-clutch automatic transmission provides brisk acceleration from standing starts and snappy near-seamless shifting, in either auto mode or when using the sequential manual shift function.

The engine’s zippy performance combined with the Kangoo’s agility, particularly in city delivery work, makes it an energetic daily driver. There’s a decent-sized left footrest and enough adjustment in the seat and steering column for drivers of most sizes to find a comfortable position, even though the base cushions are a tad short to provide adequate upper-thigh support over longer distances.

The ride quality when empty or lightly loaded is surprisingly supple for such a small vehicle that can carry half a tonne. Steering feel and braking response are good and there’s excellent vision through the large windscreen and front door windows, which provide clear eyelines to the door mirrors.

However, the offset join in the rear barn-doors still blocks a fair slice of the rear-view mirror’s vision and the unglazed left-side sliding door creates a big blind-spot, which can be hazardous when changing lanes and unnerving when reversing, particularly onto a busy road. The door mirrors could do with a size increase, or at least a wider-angle lens on the passenger side to assist in this area.

The gear ratios and shift protocols are well suited to the engine’s characteristics in city and suburban driving, keeping it mostly within its optimum 2000-4500rpm range where maximum torque and power seamlessly intersect.

Gearing is also tailored for economical highway travel. At 100km/h it’s bang-on maximum torque at 2000rpm which rises to 2250rpm at 110km/h. The cruise control holds its pre-set speed with discipline, although the system’s on-off switch is located low on the right-hand side of the dash where you can’t see it while driving and have to find by finger search.

Noise in the cargo bay (emanating largely from the wheel housings) at these higher speeds is around 90 on our dB meter, which can become quite enervating the longer you spend behind the wheel. So if doing lots of highway driving, we’d recommend fitting the optional steel bulkhead which is not only an effective cargo barrier but also greatly reduces cabin noise levels.

Its four-star ANCAP rating was achieved a decade ago (2011) and is overdue for an upgrade. There’s no AEB and a reversing camera is optional, but you can only get that with the optional rear barn-doors and R-Link sat-nav multimedia system.

At the very least, the option of glazed cargo bay side doors should be available. Even so, there’s driver and passenger front and side airbags, rear parking sensors and an active safety menu including hill-start assist, Grip Xtend (intelligent traction control) and more.