Renault Koleos 2012 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $34,490 (4x2), $40,990 (4x4)
Options fitted (not included in above price): Metallic Paint $800
Crash rating: Five-star (Euro NCAP)
Fuel: 95 RON PULP (4x2), Diesel (4x4)
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 9.3 (4x2 petrol), 9.3 (4x2 petrol), 7.6 (4x4 diesel)
CO2 emissions (g/km): 223 (4x2 petrol), 223 (4x2 petrol), 200 (4x4 diesel)
Also consider: Kia Sportage, Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan X-TRAIL

What is one to make of the Renault Koleos? It wears the French brand's badges, but Le Regie has never had an SUV in court before. And especially not one like this: Japanese (Nissan) underpinnings with the whole kit and caboodle built by Samsung in Korea.

When it comes down to tin tacks, in fact, the Koleos is a vehicle redeemed by its Korean build and the Japanese mechanicals. Much like the Latitude, its mid-sized passenger car from the same stable, the Koleos is a car that only faces the odd bourgeois remark directed against it because people have certain (unrealistic) expectations of what a French car should be. That works for and against the brand.

The real challenge the Koleos was unable to overcome during its term with motoring.com.au, wasn't the paltry remarks from the peanut gallery, it was the string of three VW Tiguans driven by the same writer just a matter of weeks earlier. Prospective Koleos buyers in this segment will inevitably find it hard to look past the Volkswagen.

We started off evaluating the front-drive Koleos Dynamique 4x2, which is powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, driving through a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Compared with any variant of the Tiguan tested, the Koleos was more prone to understeer. Since the Koleos in this specification was the same price as the Tiguan 132TSI, it needs to be asked whether the extra roadholding is worth having for the same money. The answer to that would be 'yes'.

In corners the Koleos provided a generally slower response to steering input and lacked feedback through the wheel. It also lacked front-end grip up against other two-wheel drive vehicles tested recently — albeit none of them compact SUVs. Any shortcoming in the Renault's grip is due not so much to centre of gravity (it doesn't roll much in corners, as a matter of fact), but rather the suspension and tyres, both of which appear to have been tuned for ride comfort. In that regard, the Koleos works very well. It's a comfortable car, whether touring or traversing suburban potholes. In light of its cushy ride qualities the roadholding is not too bad. Renault and Nissan's suspension engineers have found a ride/handling mix that favours those who demand a practical machine for picking up kids and groceries around town. They don't necessarily care that the Koleos won't keep up with a Tiguan through the Black Spur.

Lack of front-end grip is also evident in the car's willingness to spin a wheel from a standing start when given a bootful of throttle. The manufacturer seems to have engineered out any sign of torque steer, which is a blessing. The suspension and tyres find the going harder when the engine is being used to its optimum level. The 2.5-litre four is a slightly gruff workhorse of a powerplant, but it is torquey and will run out to the redline without the driver taking hands off the wheel to block the ears.

Probably the best element of the Koleos in this specification is the way the engine works in conjunction with the transmission. The CVT will, for example, provide some degree of adaptive engine braking on hills, and will gently raise the revs of the engine on an ascent when the cruise control is operating. Nissan and Renault have nailed this. On a standard hill test the cruise control behaved itself and there were no 'steps' for the CVT to select when the engine needed to find more revs. It didn't kick down, rev to high heaven or even cancel the cruise control altogether, as happened memorably with one car tested recently. It's not much of a test for drivers per se, but it indicates the Koleos has been designed and engineered for effortless driving.

Under heavy braking the Koleos flashes the hazard warning lights. This is undeniably a good safety feature for drivers behind, but it's a distraction for the Koleos driver, who presumably knows he or she is already braking for an emergency.

Koleos returned a figure of 8.7L/100km over a set route that included freeway and some urban driving on arterial roads. In day-to-day commuting it did no better than 11.3L/100km. Both figures are bracketed by the car's official combined, urban and extra-urban figures.

As far as packaging was concerned, the front seats of the Koleos held the occupant in place well enough, but the cushions were flat and lacking shape. Rear seat accommodation seemed a little cramped after the Tiguan. Headrooom was decent enough for adults, as was kneeroom. But the front seats left little room for rear-seat occupants to stretch out, unless they were adjusted a long way forward.

We liked the split tailgate, much the same as the Mitsubishi Outlander's. The lower loading section will hold heavy stuff that can then be slid forward, but the upward-hinged window section won't crash into low ceilings in garages.

The driving position and field of vison were really good and the Koleos was pretty easy to park as a consequence. Some of the minor instruments and controls took a little studying to work out, but the Tom Tom satnav was fast to recalculate and instructions were clear (although bordering on late sometimes). There was a quasi single-point controller setup in the centre console for the satnav. For anyone familiar with BMW's iDrive concept and mobile phone controls, the Koleos system was pretty simple to use. Even if the user isn't familiar with either of those, learning to adjust takes little time out of your day. Bluetooth connected quickly and easily too, to its credit.

Controls for the HVAC were busy, but did make perfect sense after a brief review of their functions. The air conditioning did blow cold air from the right-side eyeball vent, warm air from the left on more than one occasion. Not sure whether this was a design feature or a bug, but it became annoying fairly quickly.

A separate switch for rear-seat climate control switchgear seemed redundant. Passengers in the rear seats could operate the system themselves rather than rely on driver or front passenger to enable it separately for them. Perhaps the idea takes the mischief-making out of the hands of kids, or alternatively, the driver can disable the rear compartment climate control as a fuel-saving feature. On the subject of reducing the energy drain while keeping rear-seat passengers comfortable, the shade blinds for the rear side windows are useful and easy to deploy in the Koleos.

Build quality seemed generally solid, but the occasional rattle, knock, flutter and squeak could be heard at the threshold of hearing. That might be a concern for an owner planning to possess the vehicle longer than three or four years.

The turbodiesel 4x4 Koleos Dynamique was largely more of the same. Same packaging, same steering response, same looks. Ride quality was firmer though, and there was more drivetrain noise from the diesel engine, naturally. Add to that a bit of shunt from the transmission at lower speeds and from launch — all for the price of just under $40,000.

The transmission was a stepped epicyclic auto, rather than the CVT of the petrol front-driver. It was pretty workmanlike, although it was adaptive and shifted back at appropriate times. The engine was also noisier than some diesel competitors and there was significant laboring at the sort of low speeds and in high gears when it should be a little more svelte, if anything. Compared with the Tiguan's diesel it was chalk and cheese.

But then there are two things worth mentioning further to the diesel's demeanour. Even around town the average owner should see fuel use as low as 9.0L/100km. With a mix of driving (including a brief offroad session), the consumption fell as low as 8.2L/100km, which is quite commendable.

And for all its noise and vibration, the engine can certainly embarrass diesels in other compact SUVs when put to the test off the bitumen. This was where the Koleos 4x4 shone — in the mud and loam. On one grade we regularly use to test compact SUVs the Koleos motored up on a relatively light 'throttle', with barely a hint of wheelspin. It reached the top and turned off the grade onto a flat section of track with the inside rear wheel lifting a little, but wheel articulation is otherwise significantly better than average for its class. Clearly Nissan, with its offroad expertise, has had more than a little input in the design of the Koleos.

With everything locked and the sequential-shift transmission left in 1, the Koleos not only mustered traction that was better than expected, it was also reasonably safe and steady on the downhill run as well. With Hill Descent Control enabled it was still a bit of a handful on one track. Land Rover, with its Range Rover Evoque, has developed a system that smoothes the transition from foot on the brake pedal to pure HDC operation. The Koleos could do with such a refinement also. Speed downhill was a bit high and the Koleos's HDC struggled to keep the car from galloping away. According to an observer at least one of the rear wheels not only lost grip, but bucked off the ground. Yet for all that, the Koleos was pretty impressive offroad, by the standards of compact SUVs. There were no creaks or groans on tight and twisty turns offroad.

That brings us to a conclusion. While the Koleos — particularly the 4x4 in an offroad setting — is commendable, it's a car that left us cold, overall. There are three principal reasons why...

Styling is such a subjective issue, but the Koleos, as a facelift of a car that had already polarised opinion on its looks, looks bland around the front and oddly proportioned elsewhere.

Then there was the smell that assaults you as soon as you open a door to the Koleos. It's like a combination of burning rubber and stale beer. We have it on good authority that it's related to organic materials used to upholster the cabin, but does it have to smell like that to be environmentally friendly?

Lastly, for the price — and irrespective of any differences in kit — the Renault struggles to mount a viable case against the Volkswagen Tiguan. It does offer a little more boot space than the VW, but that is the Tiguan's one major shortcoming against all its rivals, not just the Koleos.

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