Refreshed 2024 Renault Arkana hits Australia

The facelifted 2024 Renault Arkana small coupe-like SUV has arrived on Aussie soil with a new two-pronged hierarchy and a starting price of $41,000 plus on-road costs.

It’s taken 12 months for the new Arkana to reach Australia with its updated exterior design, enhanced safety and driver-assistance features, tweaked interior and carry-over turbo-petrol engine.

That new opening figure of $41,000 applies to the freshly-minted Techno trim and marks a $3500 price hike over the previous cheapest model, the Zen. However, Renault claims the Techno is a replacement for the mid-range Intens model-grade and not the base Zen.

An entry-level Arkana Evolution variant will come to market later.

This means the new Arkana hasn’t risen in price at all since the outbound Intens also opened from $41,000 and the fact the new flagship Espirit Alpine model-grade starts from the same $45,000 as the preceding R.S Line.

Standard equipment highlights on the entry-level Techno small SUV include 18-inch alloys, leather and suede upholstery, power-adjustable and heated front seats, three drive modes, eight-colour ambient lighting, a 9.3-inch infotainment system housing wireless smartphone mirroring, a 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control, a six-speaker Arkamys sound system and wireless charging pad.

The up-spec Arkana Esprit Alpine version rolls on bigger 19-inch rims and adds an eight-speaker Bose sound system, a heated steering wheel with perforated leather, powered sunroof, suede trim, blue stitching, frameless auto-dimming rearview mirror and black door mirrors.

In terms of headline safety kit, every new Arkana comes with active emergency braking system with pedestrian and cyclist detection, safe distance warning, lane keep assist with lane centring, traffic sign recognition, blind spot warning, parking sensors all-round and rear cross-traffic alert.

Metallic paint will cost buyers an extra $750, the range-wide colour palette comprising: Universal White, Zanzibar Blue, Metallic Black, Metallic Grey, Flame Red and Night Blue.

Solid White is the default colour (no-cost) for the Techno.

Hiding under the bonnet off both variants is the same 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine as the previous version, still outputting 115kW/262Nm and driving the front wheels via a seven-speed automatic transmission.

At this stage there’s no sign of the 108kW 1.6-litre turbo-petrol hybrid powertrain offered in Europe or the multi-mode clutch-less transmission it’s paired to.

Every local Arkana is covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre factory warranty.

How much does the 2024 Renault Arkana cost?
Techno – $41,000
Esprit Alpine – $45,000
* Prices exclude on-road costs

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