Renault Arkana 2024 Review

The 2024 Renault Arkana is a small SUV that spans two variants, the Techno grade, which costs $41,000 plus on-road costs, and the top-spec Espirit Alpine (replacing the former RS Line) is $45,000, again before on-roads. As such, there’s essentially no price difference between pre and post-facelifted models.

The former base model Zen - which, at $37,500 before on-road costs, represented the previous cheapest Arkana model – has not yet been replaced. Renault expects a new base-model Arkana Evolution to join the range later.

Realistic rivals are crossover SUVs like the Mazda CX-30 (from $32,140 plus ORCs) and Volkswagen T-Roc (from $36,890 plus ORCs), but if it’s the ‘coupe’ SUV style you’re keen on, there’s also the Haval H6 GT (from $40,990).

Right here, right now, we’re testing the top-spec 2024 Renault Arkana Espirit Alpine and on the outside there are 19-inch wheels and a cool little rear lip spoiler, while inside you get heated front seats, heated steering wheel, a sunroof and a new eight-speaker Bose sound system with subwoofer.

The front seats are upholstered in synthetic materials that mimic suede and leather, while the steering wheel is perforated leather.

Other distinguishing Espirit Alpine features include black door mirrors and a frameless, auto-dimming rear-view mirror. The front seats are power adjustable which is always welcome but the air-conditioning, even in the top-spec model, is a simple single-zone setup – no fancy dual-zone climate control here.

Options include metallic paint ($750) and a black roof ($600) and there are plenty of accessories besides.

An industry-standard, five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty includes five years of roadside assistance, while a five-year servicing plan costs $2385. Service intervals are every 12 months or, impressively for anyone doing lots of kilometres every year, every 30,000km. This makes it one of the longest service intervals on a passenger vehicle we’ve seen.

Despite the mild makeover, the 2024 Renault Arkana retains its five-star Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) safety rating of the previous model, which was tested then awarded in 2019.

It’s become harder to score five stars in local ANCAP crash-testing since then and next year the Arkana’s five-star rating will expire.

On the passive safety front, there are driver and passenger front airbags and front and rear curtain airbags, but there is no front centre airbag.

Active safety equipment includes blind spot monitoring, forward autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection and lane departure warning. Low-speed safety assists include front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera, reverse cross-traffic alert and a 360-degree parking camera.

There’s a proper advanced driver assist system (ADAS) with active lane centring and stop-and-go adaptive cruise control, although we were not able to test it extensively on the vehicle’s launch. LED headlights come standard, as do automatic high beams, which will be handy those who drive a lot at night.

There’s a decent technology offering in the 2024 Renault Arkana including a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and 9.3-inch central portrait-aligned infotainment touch-screen – which is admittedly a bit small by new car standards.

There’s a wireless phone charger and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are part of the package and while you don’t get a head-up display, the new Bose-branded ‘premium’ sound system is paired with a digital radio tuner.

For anyone who does lots of country miles outside cell phone reception, there’s in-built GPS-based sat-nav, which is reassuring.

There’s a 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol inline four-cylinder engine under the bonnet of the 2024 Renault Arkana. Producing 115kW at 5500rpm and 262Nm at 2250rpm, it drives the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

The 2024 Renault Arkana is claimed to use 5.9L/100km on the combined city-highway driving cycle (or ADR81/02 fuel efficiency standard for those playing at home). Expect real-world fuel use to be somewhat higher. We saw fuel economy closer to 8.0L/100km during the launch drive. On the plus side, the Arkana is happy sipping the cheapest 91RON grade fuel from its 50-litre fuel tank.

It’s good in some ways but compromised in others. For starters, find yourself on a winding road in the 2024 Renault Arkana and you might be surprised at how much fun you’re having.

At 1349kg, it’s reasonably light by SUV standards, while the firm suspension has a performance focus and, along with the low-profile tyres, gifts the Arkana an unexpected cornering ability for the type of vehicle that it is. That’s especially impressive given it uses low-tech (read: cheaper) Torsion beam rear suspension, versus a fancier independent rear suspension set-up.

The steering is also decent in Sport mode and the transmission is a willing partner.

Using the steering wheel paddles, gearshifts are reasonably responsive with a crisp, clean blip of revs down the gears in exactly the way you’d want from a dual-clutch transmission.

That’s even if, with just 115kW, the 1.3-litre turbocharged unit is not going to win gold in any acceleration Olympics. Renault claims 0-100km/h acceleration takes the Arkana 9.1 seconds but power is average and any overtaking requires a bit of planning.

You also pay a refinement price for that responsive handling ability.

The suspension is on the firm side by passenger SUV standards, sometimes crashing over potholes harshly and although we’d love to blame the low-profile, 19-inch tyres and wheels, we’ve driven many cars with low profile tyres and even bigger wheels that ride perfectly comfortably.

In a city environment, we suspect the transmission might lose some marks for refinement as well, its dual-clutch configuration means engagement is sometimes jerky and sudden, compared to the smoothness of a more common torque converter auto.

The 2024 Renault Arkana has a ‘budget premium’ vibe inside. Touchpoints are upholstered with premium materials, but you don’t have to go looking very far for hard, scratchy plastics and it’s evident Renault worked hard to keep to pricing sharp.

We like the French tricolour design touches inside and the front seats are also nice and soft yet still supportive, while the driving position is the classic, high-sitting SUV style.

There’s decent space for adults in the back although headroom would start getting tight for anyone over 175cm – the price you pay for that svelte, swooping roofline.

There are two sets of ISOFIX points on the outboard rear seats, and three top-tether anchorages (the middle one is a little bit hard to spot) and the 485-litre boot is enormous by the standards of the segment. That’s even if it’s light-on for amenity with only 60/40 split-fold rear seats, a fixed second row, no ski-port, no 12-volt outlet or even bag hooks, and no electric tailgate on the top-spec model we drove – and it’s a heavy tailgate, at that. You do get a space-saver spare tyre though.

Build quality feels okay, although we did notice some minor interior trim and dashboard rattles coming from both the test cars we drove on the launch.

Renault knows the Arkana is an older car underneath (its fundamental CMF architecture dates to 2013) and it’s happy to sell it to you comparatively cheaply. In this day and age, $45,000 before on-road costs for a top-spec model isn’t too bad.

You can see where Renault has saved some money – there’s no dual-zone climate or electric tailgate, two features standard to most top-spec models in Australia. It’s also nowhere near as fast as it looks, while the servicing is a bit expensive.

But if you want something a bit different in the ‘coupe’ SUV body-style – and are the type of person who knows the date of Bastille Day off the top of their heads (July 14) – the Arkana could be for you.

2024 Renault Arkana at a glance:
Price: $45,000 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.3-litre 4-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 115kW/262Nm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 5.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 133g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: 5-star (ANCAP Year 2019)

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