Renault says that the Koleos is the company’s first crossover vehicle, the latest sub-niche to emerge since the rugged sports utility vehicle fell out of fashion.
That’s not entirely accurate.
Before Renault came together with Nissan in what the company called the “Renault-Nissan Alliance”, the French carmaker had a crossover called the RX4, which was fashioned out of the Scenic MPV.
Cool as the idea was, the RX4’s execution was far from perfect. It was expensive to build and wasn’t of much use beyond paved roads.
Available exclusively with the manual gearbox, it was also hugely unpopular in markets that prefer the automatic, like ours.
Renault Koleos has no zany design details here, just good sense.
From the post Renault-Nissan Alliance era comes the Koleos (known internally as the H45).
It’s a different kind of car, one with globetrotting aspirations. In fact, the conception even involved Renault’s Asian outfit, Renault Samsung Motors in South Korea – so they are paying heed to Asian tastes.
Instead of reworking an existing model to create the crossover, the Koleos is built on the dedicated “Platform C 4×4”, the basic building block for the range of road-going all-wheel drives from the Alliance.
Up till the Koleos, it has been Nissan which has been exploiting the potential of the platform with the X-Trail (a “traditional” SUV) and Qashqai (a crossover vehicle).
Far from being an X-Trail with a Gallic body (even if the Koleos does share the Nissan’s petrol engine and 4×4 hardware), the Koleos shares no external body panels with the X-Trail.
The modular nature of the platform allows the engineers to tailor specific dimensions, and the resulting Koleos is shorter overall than the X-Trail (by 110mm) but has a 60mm longer wheelbase than the Nissan.
The long-legged proportions work wonders for the Koleos’ cabin packaging by offering a generous amount of room to furnish.
The driving position is higher than in the Qashqai and offers excellent vantage, but manages to be car-like enough to not feel like a truck.
Even though some switchgear appear more Japanese than French, the overall concept of the cabin is pure Renault.
Keeping with the French carmaker’s obsession for hiding knick-knacks – and no lifestyle vehicle can have enough of these – the Koleos features at least 13 cubbies.
CVT transmission is a peach to use.
Child-seat mounts are standard, as are the air-con vents for the rear passengers, which come with satellite fan-speed controls – a first in its class.
Going the extra mile to help parents, there’s a “baby minder” mirror in front to check on Junior in the back.
The Koleos also features an “Easy Estate” feature that allows the rear seat to be split-folded using latches mounted on the last pillar.
For really lengthy items, the front passenger seat’s back can be folded forward completely.
Loading is made easier with the thoughtful split-fold hatch and tailgate layout.
Ample and flexible boot space for every conceivable thing.
The tailgate doubles up as a bench that’s good for up to 200kg, great for outdoor adventures.
Fuelling the outdoorsman’s passions, the car features an efficient 4×4 system.
Conscious about the implications on fuel consumption, the system defaults as a front-wheel-drive car and apportions up to 50 per cent of torque to the rear axle.
A dash-mounted rocker switch allows the driver to disable the rear drive completely or keep the torque split at 50:50 under “4WD Lock” (it overrides beyond 40km/h).
The RX4 never boasted such clever wizardry. Also, unlike its forgotten predecessor, the Koleos is an automatic – a continuously variable transmission (CVT) with six preset ratios for sequential shifts.
Renault Koleos’ strong 2.5-litre engine comes from its Japanese counterpart, Nissan.
Essentially the same set-up found in the Qashqai and Nissan Teana, the box is a peach for daily driving, being both responsive and efficient.
On the road, the car holds on to corners gamely and resists body roll well.
In the rough, the CVT proves to be surprisingly capable at putting the power down, even if it needs a bit of time to build up some “slip” before letting the engine’s torque paw the car out of the rut.
Of course, that’s only on a good-to-know basis, since few Koleos buyers will ever venture beyond occasional kerb mounting at condominium show-flat sites.
In reality, Renault also offers the Koleos as a 2WD car for $5,000 less. The savings also means doing without some niceties like the minding mirror and Easy Estate feature.
On the outside, the difference between the 2WD and the 4×4 version are the missing roof rails. Normally, a pair of matt-silver bars on the roof isn’t a big deal.
Not so for the Koleos. Against Renault’s reputation for striking designs, the conservative lines on the crossover need all the accents it can get to mingle with the cool Gallic crowd.
Especially in the test car’s solid ebony hue, the Koleos just doesn’t stand out.
Maybe it’s part of the Alliance’s grand plan to reach out with a truly global product, but they can’t do much harm in making it look as distinctive as all Renaults have always been, right?
2008 Renault Koleos 2.5 (A)
DRIVETRAIN
Type Inline-4, 16-valves
Capacity 2488cc
Bore x stroke 89mm x 100mm
Compression ratio 9.6:1
Max power 170hp at 6000rpm
Max torque 226Nm at 4400rpm
Power to weight 102.7hp per tonne
Gearbox CVT
Driven wheels All
PERFORMANCE
0-100km/h 10.3 seconds
Top speed 188km/h
Consumption 9.5km/L (combined)
SUSPENSION
Front MacPherson struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar
Rear Multi-link, coil springs, anti-roll bar
BRAKES
Front / Rear Ventilated discs / Discs
TYRES
Type Hankook DynaPro HP
Size 225/60 R17
SAFETY
Airbags 6
Traction aids ABS
MEASUREMENTS
Length 4520mm
Width 1865mm
Height 1710mm
Wheelbase 2690mm
Kerb weight 1655kg
Turning circle 11.6m
BUYING IT
Price incl. COE $92,800
Warranty 3 years/100,000km
+ Useful cabin, refinement, well-sorted dynamics
– Not quirky-looking enough, 4×4 is a cost option, off-roading is irrelevant
