Renault Koleos 2018 Review

Our pundits

Before we get to the nitty-gritty of the Renault Koleos, let's meet the trio who will talk the talk of positives and negatives. Nadine Armstrong is a 40-something city-dwelling mother of two who approaches life one shoe purchase at a time. She looks for a bit of character in her drive, choosing the performance variant of any car given the chance. Living an inner-suburbs lifestyle, the daily commute is short and sweet, while regular weekends away put any car to the full family-size test.

Motoring journalist duties aside, a typical week’s drive comes in at under 100km. Nadine is a fan of classic cars and manual gearboxes but for everyday life an Audi S3 fits the bill.

Andrea Matthews has a unique perspective on all things auto, having worked on each side of the motoring fence. She owns and runs a busy independent workshop with her husband. Andrea has a keen eye for car ownership considerations beyond Bluetooth and badge-envy – think service and warranty periods, tyre choice and maintenance costs.

Andrea is mum to two teenage sons and lives in regional Victoria, where she will typically drive around 500km per week. Growing up, her dream cars were the Ferrari Testarossa and Lamborghini Countach. But today she makes do with a convertible E46-series BMW 3 Series.

Jansu Salih got her driver’s licence days after turning 18 and brings a youthful enthusiast perspective to the mix. While Jansu’s primary school buddies opted for Barbie dolls, she chose Matchbox cars instead.

A full-time university student, Jansu somehow finds herself at the petrol station twice a week, at the mercy of her daily drive and Instagram hero, a Toyota 86 GTS. Content with the 86 for now, she does confess to dreams of Nissan GT-Rs, Toyota Supras and Mazda RX-7s.

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Why this car?

In Australia, SUVs currently outsell passenger cars by a large percentage, and nearly every manufacturers has at least one in their line-up; and the segment is still growing…

It’s true that the appeal of a high-riding, family-friendly vehicle is far reaching. But are they for everyone?

The 2018 Renault Koleos Life is the French manufacturer’s latest addition – a medium-sized SUV that’s big brother to the compact Captur.

The new Koleos Life is the entry-level offering completing a five-model line-up that features two and all-wheel-drive driveline configurations, as well as petrol and diesel engines across three model variants: Life, Zen and Intens. A continuously variable transmission (CVT) is featured as standard across the range.

The Koleos was recently updated with autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and smartphone mirroring functionality with no price increase.

The Koleos may be the French manufacturer’s best-selling model with local year to date sales of 1296. But sales in this competitive segment are heavily skewed towards stalwart brands such as the Mazda CX-5 (10,711), Toyota RAV4 (9,080) and Hyundai Tucson (8,280).

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Fit for purpose

A four-door, five-seater SUV lends itself to a myriad of buyers; and the Koleos convincingly ticks all of the basics, in particular space and comfort.

With room for five, the Koleos impresses with its second-row accommodation. With measuring tape in hand, the generous second row bench stretches around 1310mm in width and 470mm deep seat bases – tthat’s on par with a Ford Mondeo.

You’ll also find two directional air vents and a 12-volt charge outlet (which Jansu confirms will charge devices faster than most USB points).

In addition to size and amenity, it boasts comfort. Both Andrea and Nadine would happily seat their kids in there. Although with teenage boys to consider, Andrea took a tougher line.

“It’s not got a lot to inspire the back seat passengers, other than a good outward visibility. My teenagers think about brand and the Koleos doesn’t really offer anything for them,” she said.

It’s true. The Koleos doesn’t bring the French design quirk that is so often associated with this marque. Oddly positioned buttons and dials aside, its design aesthetic feels a little mainstream inside. Conversely, we all agree that Peugeot seems to be holding strong in this regard… better the Renault.

Jansu was complimentary of the space on offer, notwithstanding her sincere disinterest in family-friendly demands. However, the benefits of a ‘proper’ second row were not lost on the self-nominated designated driver of her flock.

“When I’m trying to transport people it would be just easier to have four doors and an extra seat; and to have space, for bags and stuff. It’s difficult because I always want to drive but I don’t have the space [to fit everyone and their gear] in the 86. I could fit all of my cousins in here!” she laughs.

The French badge is a popular choice in Jansu’s millennial cohort, many of her friends picking the little Clio as their everyday car.

“European styling is important,” admits Jansu. Boot capacity (458-1690 litres) is generous, as was load height and aperture. Four anchor points and 12-volt charge point were noted. The distinct lack of useful bag hooks was, too.

Nadine regularly sings the praises of the flexible 40:20:40 split-fold seating configuration and thought the Koleos’ 60:40 split rear seat fell short in this regard.

The heavy tailgate desperately needs to be electric, as found in the top-spec Intens. That aside, it’ll fit plenty of luggage, kids-sized bikes or Andrea’s Finnish Lapphund.

Entertainment is basic in the Koleos Life, a 7.0-inch (8.7-inch in other models) infotainment screen is front and centre and now features Apple CarPlay/Android Auto across the range and the eight-speaker sound system by Arkamys bangs out a good sound. There’s no in-built satellite navigation, but phone mirroring can remedy this.

Instrumentation looks modern and a large display makes it clearly visible to the driver.

Fit and finish is of a nice quality and the design flows nicely, but it lacks any real flair.

Andrea commenting that the Koleos doesn’t really stand for anything.

“It doesn’t do any one thing better than anything else,” she said.

The Koleos has a kerb weight of 1552kg, a claimed fuel consumption average of 8.1L/100km. It’ll tow up to 2000kg (braked).

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Dollars and details

The entry-level Koleos Life two-wheel drive leads with a competitive $29,990 drive-away price (until end June 2018). The mid-spec Zen offers two and all-wheel drive for $33,990 and $36,490 respectively, while the top-spec Intens all-wheel drive will set you back $43,490 (all plus ORCs).

Renault offers a five year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and three years’ (or 90,000kms) capped-price servicing. Service intervals are set at 12 months or 30,000kms, whichever occurs first. A Hyundai Tucson, by comparison, suggests 12-month or 15,000km visits to the service department.

Renault’s 24/7 roadside assistance stands for the length of the warranty period.

Delving into the service manual, Andrea highlights that it does say ‘depending how it’s driven you may need to service your vehicle sooner.’ But Renault isn’t alone there.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” she adds. “For country drivers, more frequent service intervals are likely, and when it starts to get a bit long in the tooth – and outside of warranty – parts availability will be a little harder and more expensive. That’s the risk when the sales volume is not there.”

That’s where sticking with a larger volume seller makes sense.

“Take the Mazda CX-5, for example. You’ll get the parts easily. I think what you want to know is that if you have issues with your car that it’s not going to be off the road for long,” she suggests.

Where depreciation and resale value is concerned, a challenger brand (at least in Oz) such as Renault is likely to suffer. And based on the private sale of a three-year old comparable Koleos model, redbook.com.au suggests the Renault SUV will have depreciated by around 52 per cent. By comparison, a similar spec and age Hyundai Tucson is estimated to have dropped in value by just 31 per cent.

A $29,990 drive-away price tag however makes the Koleos Life an interesting proposition.
Safety features including forward-collision warning and autonomous emergency braking (now standard on the entire range) get full marks. Lane-departure warning and blind-spot monitoring can be found in mid and top-spec variants only.

Jansu admits that as important as safety technology is, many young drivers simply don’t give it much thought. When parents are involved in the decision-making process, however, safety features usually get the attention they deserve.

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Behind the wheel

From the get-go, consensus was that the Koleos is not a car that driving enthusiasts are going to seek out.

“The driving dynamics are not that exciting.” says Andrea, who believes it’s the Koleos’ value proposition that is more likely to appeal.

“It’s the ease of use that I think is quite a highlight for the Koleos, particularly for city-based duties” counters Nadine.

“It feels really soft and comfortable on the road,” commented sportscar-driving Jansu, who also praised the mid-sized Renault’s manoeuvrability and outward visibility. “It doesn’t feel too big on the road,” she said.

The CVT performed smoothly and without engine whine. While not a deal-breaker for Nadine and Andrea, both agreed there are better examples, as found in the likes of Honda’s CR-V, for example.

Jansu on the other hand felt the CVT was a compromise too far for her daily drive.

“I’m not going to be doing anything exciting in this car,” she laments.

The 2.5-litre petrol engine delivered a spritely drive with unexpected vigour from stand still. It was quiet, too. Even under throttle, the cabin remained well insulated from mechanical noise.

All three drivers managed to achieve a comfortable driving position through the manually-adjustable seat and tilt/reach steering column. All agreed it was a very easy car to quickly feel comfortable and familiar with.

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Highs and lows

It was the Koleos’ ease of use that all three drivers gave much praise. Furthermore, for Andrea, the sharp drive-away pricing was hard to ignore.

Jansu liked the Renault’s stylish and understated design, while Nadine found its space and comfort a major win for family-friendly motoring.

There were few lows, though. The lack of decent boot amenity was Nadine’s gripe, the lack of emotional engagement was Andrea’s, and Jansu simply doesn’t want a CVT, or need a car that large.

There was one car that all three drivers noted as top of mind in this segment – the Mazda CX-5, which offers greater variety under the bonnet, with a similar pricing point for its entry-level Maxx.

A known quantity with good resale value and a broad dealer network also contributes to the peace of mind we associate with the mid-sized Mazda.

Special mention went to the Hyundai Tucson for its value for money proposition. But right now (at least until 30 June), it’s the Koleos Life that wins the price war.

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The short story

“It represents a good option for customers who are looking for a combination of value and ease of use,” said Andrea.

“It is stylish on the outside yet functional on the interior so it will have appeal to older customers who like the idea of the flexibility of an SUV without the complexity of tricky controls.

“The powertrain won't enamour drivers who are looking for sprightly performance. But for those who want a daily run around, the Koleos will have lots of appeal,” she concluded.

“The more pragmatic A-to-B drivers will appreciate the Koleos’ price and practicality, while buyers with an eye for style may be drawn in by the Euro badge and romance of French motoring,” added Nadine.

“It’s your average SUV that encapsulates safety and practicality but with unique European styling,” Jansu countered.

“It also fulfils the basics such as space, size, device connectivity and appearance. The Koleos constitutes good value for money, especially being a Euro brand.”

“I love a car that delivers more engagement at the wheel, thrills if you will, but there’s a time and place for that,” Nadine continued.

“Supermarket runs and school drop-offs isn’t that time. So at the end of the day, the Koleos is a great fit for my inner-city family of four.”

“Absolutely,” agreed Andrea. “It’s the same for country drivers.

“But I’m not sure it has the x-factor that my teenagers would be looking for.”

The Koleos is a great car… it’s probably just a bit big for me,” admits Jansu.

“I don’t really need all the extra space.”

How much is the 2018 Renault Koleos Life?
Price: $29,990 (drive-away)
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 126kW/226Nm
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel: 8.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 188g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star EuroNCAP (2017)