Renault Captur preview

The Renault Captur is described as a sort of high-rise hatchback that has bits of an SUV and MPV thrown in. This all sounds very well and good but the big question is, can the Captur do everything it claims or is it just a jack of all trades?

Lot’s of people like to stand out from the crowd and that’s why cars like the Nissan Juke have become so popular. They offer something a little more distinctive than your run-of-the-mill supermini but without costing that much more to buy or run. The Renault Captur is aimed squarely at this rapidly expanding area of the car market. It’s based on the Clio and described as a compact cross-over which means it’s a sort of high-rise hatchback that also has bits of an SUV and MPV inside.



The Captur may be based on the Renault Clio but, visually at least, all the two cars have in common is the silver Renault badge on the nose. One thing you can say about the Captur is that it’s a really striking looking vehicle, successfully blending bits of SUV, MPV and regular hatchback elements in its design.

Thanks to the extra ground clearance the Captur is actually a fair bit taller than the Clio. However, Renault has done its best to hide that extra height by using clever tricks such as the deep painted door sills and the two-tone paint jobs. All this helps make the car appear sportier and lower.



The beauty of the Captur is that it can be seen as a blank canvass on which you are able to paint your personality. You start off by choosing one of the three colour selections and then by picking one of the wide combinations of wheel colour and paint finishes and then finally adding graphics to the roof, the bonnet and the tailgate - you can truly personalise your car.



There’s one word to sum up the interior and that’s playful. You get coloured trim around the center console and loud speakers. There are as many ways to personalise the interior as there are the exterior. It’s certainly not a case of style over substance but with use of plenty of clever little features. Not only do you get dynamic trim but the seat covers are removable and machine washable which is really handy if you’ve got mucky kids! Much like the Clio the Captur has a very uncluttered dashboard with a neat touch screen that controls most of the car’s functions. If you go for the media-nav package you effectively have a tablet computer with apps that are integrated into the car.



Although you sit relatively high up and quite upright there is enough adjustment in the wheel and the seat for almost anyone to get comfortable behind the wheel. A couple of adults will fit comfortably in the rear too. The bench seating slides backwards and forwards so you can maximise either passenger space or boot capacity. There’s another neat touch too, the boot has a reversible floor with plastic on one side and carpet on the other.



If you’re going to build a compact cross-over then the Clio is a really good place to start. Although the Captur sits a little higher off the ground it strikes a similarly good balance between a comfortable ride and an enjoyable drive with very little body roll. The extra height gives you a really good view forwards. The light steering makes it relatively easy to manoeuvre in town and there’s always the added insurance of the maximum five-star euro ncap score.



If you do most of your motoring in town then the 1.2 litre petrol engine will be more than good enough. However, if you regularly head further afield then it’s worth spending extra on the 1.5litre diesel. The 1.5 diesel engine is much stronger at low revs and it also doesn’t come with the automatic gearbox as standard which can be very slow to react. On top of that, although the petrol engines average more than 50 mpg the diesel engine averages more than 75 mpg and has Co2 emissions of less than100g per kilometre.

In conclusion, the Renault Capture is a striking piece of design which you can genuinely personalise but it’s much more than just a pretty face. Not only does its spacious cabin and big boot mean that it’s ideally suited to family life but it’s also good to drive. Thanks to its brilliant fuel economy it’s also cheap to run. We have no doubt that this is one of the very best suburban cross-overs.