Renault Captur 2013 Review - International

Yep, definitely, there are signs of life at Renault. Maybe even a resurgence.

Late last year the Clio 4 mini-hatch drew strong reviews from Aussie media who drove it in Europe. It launches in Australia in August.

And now there’s Captur, the mini-SUV that shares basic technology and drivetrains with the Clio while raising the ride height and hip point, extending the wheelbase and draping a pseudo-off-roader look over a very much on-road front-wheel drive chassis.

It launches in Australia in the first half of 2014 – blame fiddly work to meet Australia’s unique design rules (think baby seat top-tether strap, among other things) for the long wait.

You can read all about the product offering here, but with a low-$20,000 starting price, a funky and modern exterior style, a flexible interior and a place to park in a boom SUV segment, no wonder Renault Australia is confident Captur can capture new buyers for the brand.

And after driving Captur we are confident it can too. One BIG proviso though. The lack of availability of head-protecting curtain airbags does not impress us one bit and if you’ve immediately lost interest in this car because of it, then we don’t blame you.

We’re not suggesting the Captur is fundamentally unsafe -- it will probably gain the maximum five Euro NCAP stars. But engineering a car aimed at families without curtain airbags these days seems just plain wrong to us.
Australasian NCAP agrees. No car without rear airbags will qualify for five-star status come 2014. We’ve covered the issue here.

Anyway, rant over, let’s get rolling. There are two Captur drivetrains coming to Australia, but we only drove the more powerful 85kW/190Nm 1.2-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder mated to six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

The entry-level 66kW/135Nm 0.9-litre petrol five-speed manual wasn’t present at the Biarritz international launch drive. Maybe the hills scared it away…

But the TCe 120 EDC (as the 1.2 is dubbed, the 120 being its power in horses) ‘auto’ will be by far the bigger seller in Australia anyway.

A new engine developed with the aid of a bunch of engineers seconded from Renault’s Formula one program, the 120 is a little ripper, aided by a very impressive Getrag gearbox.

On initial throttle tip-in there’s some softness – in fuel-saving ECO mode there is a lot of softness so save that for freeway cruising – but get a few revs onboard and it’s away, spinning freely, quietly and smoothly.

The Captur happily dashed up mountains and then cruised along the autoroute at 130km/h (it’s legal in France and, note Aussie pollies, no-one gets sucked into another dimension – or their wallets sucked dry).

The gearbox is smart and fast enough to keep the engine fizzing along, and you can switch to manual mode when you need that extra bit of sudden urge. The change is quite fast, but hardly mechanical, and it will swap gears for you on redline.

Mini engines and dual-clutch gearboxes don’t always get along. Wheel-spinning and lurching Volkswagen Polos come to mind. But the Captur drivetrain is better than that.

At ultra-low-speed it feels a bit sticky and grabby, certainly not of the standard of a traditional torque-converter auto. But even at moderate speed increases this minor grumbliness smooths right out. It isn’t an issue that would deter anyone from living with it in city and suburban traffic snarls.

The Captur’s chassis does a decent job of keeping up with this bubbling and enthusiastic drivetrain. Handling is reliably secure once you acclimatise to a noticeable degree of bodyroll (sorta French really). Front-end grip is better than you might expect from a high-riding wagon and the electric-assist steering is viceless rather than pointless.

At low speeds and when manoeuvring in tight spaces it lightens right off and makes wheel-twirling u-turns easy. The turning circle is a carpark-friendly 10.42 metres.

Where the Captur struggles is ride quality. It is simply too brittle and intrusive on rough surfaces, while lateral sharp edges such as freeway joins and speed humps generate a sharp crack into the cabin. It is mediocre and the weakest point of the car’s driving make-up.

Travelling in the Captur is a spacious experience considering the small footprint. That especially applies in the back, courtesy of the sliding bench seat that provides a maximum 215mm of kneeroom and allows six-footers and even taller types to fit comfortably. But don’t try and fit three across the back unless you have to.

Even with the seat at its most rearward position there is still enough luggage space in the boot to accommodate enough shopping to keep the rug rats fed for a few days. Inside the cabin, storage space is plentiful with pockets in every door and elasticised straps on the back of the front seats. They look good, although how effective they are…

Sitting up high, passengers get a good view out of big windows. Kids should love it.

The driver gets a reach- and rake-adjustable steering wheel, a small and quite flat seat and an instrument panel obviously taken from Clio, which means a horizontal digital speedo dominates the centre section and the tacho on the left is almost impossible to read. Another silly Renault IP then, in the tradition of the Megane…

The centre stack is logical and quite stylish, and the R-Link tablet looks suitably modern. There were several reports of the sat-nav system in several cars having a freak out. It didn’t happen to us, but it was a complaint heard too often to ignore. The system may still have its bugs.

It was also noticeable that while colourful and well designed the interior presentation was dominated by hard plastics with no real evidence of soft surfaces. It’s not just a cost-cutting exercise but part of Renault’s attempt to hack every possible gram from the Captur’s weight. It pays off in fuel economy and performance gains. We can live with it.

But could we live with the Captur full-time for a few years? There’s much here to like, much evidence of clever and creative thinking and decent engineering. The airbag thing though is hard to fathom.

There are another few issues as well. They’re called the Nissan Juke, Ford EcoSport, Holden Trax, Opel Mokka and Peugeot 2008; all mini-SUVs headed our way before the Captur lobs.

For all its strengths the Renault has to be darn good to be the best of this lot.

But you know what? It could be. It’s been a long while since we’ve thought – let alone written – that about any mainstream Renault.

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site…