Who’s your daddy?

The love child of Renault and Nissan, the Renault Koleos appears to be yet another soft-roader. Pass the peanuts. Hang on — could this one actually offer something intéresser?

It’s parentage — now that’s certainly interesting. Not only is it a Franco-Japanese union but — somewhat predictably with the French — there’s been a little ménage a trios action and Koreans have been in on the act as well. The Koleos, you see, is based on Nissan X-Trail underpinnings and built at the Renault Samsung Motors plant in Korea.

So, designed in France, with Japanese underpinnings, and made in Korea — sounds like trouble.

Actually, no. And here are three reasons why:

• 1. It has X-Trail genes. That means it’s a pukka 4×4. If you’ve driven Nissan’s very impressive second-gen X-Trail, you’ll know it can handle pretty testy terrain. A ride height of just more than 20cm, decent approach and departure angles, and Nissan’s on-demand 4×4 system allow the Koleos to handle all but terra firma’s most extreme bits and, even then, it’s the road tyres letting the show down rather than the chassis’s ability.

  But that’s by-the-by. You, I and Renault (and Nissan and Samsung) know that the chances of a Koleos being asked to get down ‘n dirty are slim. Far more valuable a contribution is the X-Trail’s reputation for bulletproof reliability and solid on-road performance — which is exactly why the Nissan has been so popular around the world. Whether it’s the daily grind of the school/office run, or a little off-road jaunt, the Koleos doesn’t bat an eyelid. Those X-Trail genetics, by the way, also mean Renault offer a 4×2 version of the Koleos for 20k less than the 4×4 version.

• 2. It has French flair. Ja, sure, right now many of you are doing the finger circles to the temple thing and mouthing “he means the French are crazy”, but hear me out. I agree, Renault has had some “brave” notions on automotive design (with hindsight, the Avantime’s coupe/MPV crossover was just plain silly), but some of its maverick ideas have been brilliant. Remember it was the Renault Espace that introduced the world to the MPV.

  And it’s those Espace genes that the French have injected into the X-Trail platform. The Koleos definitely feels a lot more MPV-ish than the X-Trail. There’s a big, deep front windscreen and an expansive dash that comes right out of a people carrier. Inside the well-appointed and refreshingly quirky cabin there’s plenty of space — rear legroom to spare and 450-litres of luggage space. This converts to 1 380-litres when you yank a lever in the boot, and the split rear seats fold completely flat all on their own. This is less than the X-Trail’s luggage-swallowing capacity, but that’s because cosseting passengers is the Koleos’s raison d’etre rather than lugging a load. It also has that very useful split-tailgate thing that makes access to the boot way easier. Add to that a plethora of little storage compartments and you have a car the feels a lot more accommodating than its Japanese cousin.

• 3. It has bit of Samsung in it too. I have no automotive basis on which to hang number three, suffice to say that I’m increasingly impressed by anything that comes with a Samsung stamp on it. This Korean brand is becoming the benchmark for no-nonsense reliability. Put it this way— if something is made in a Samsung factory, I reckon it’s got dependability hardwired into its genes. You can actually buy the Samsung version of this car in Korea. Called the Renault-Samsung QM5, it’s been re-snouted with a different grill, but otherwise it’s our friend, Le Koleos.

Right, that’s all well and good, but …

What’s it like to drive?
Well, I’ve had a go in both engine derivatives, and the 2,5-litre petrol and 2,0-litre turbo-diesel each have more than enough grunt. In fact, there’s very little to choose between them (126kW vs 127kW), though the torqueyer diesel has a little more lowdown punch. You do sacrifice some refinement for this privilege, not to mention forking out an extra 16k.

Refinement is the key characteristic of the Koleos’s road manners. The suspension set-up is fairly soft to absorb the bumps (though it can get a little wobbly when the car’s fully loaded) and there’s very little wind or tyre noise. I didn’t have my wind ‘n tyre noise measurer with me when I drove the car (I really must remember it), but I doubt whether anything else comes close in its class.

And that French design —
Looks wise, it sits on the contemporary/quirky side of the fence. The front has huge headlights that — as is the style these days — stretch half way up the bonnet (soon somebody is going to design a car with no actual metal on the bonnet — it’ll be one big headlight, mark my words), and the back has equally sizey wrap-around taillights. Equally trendy, it has the undertray peeping out and over the front and rear bumper … A bit like the young men who insist on showing the world their underpants by wearing their jeans low on the butt. In both cases it’s a wasted exercise in form over function.

The overall profile of the car, though, is a pleasant one, with a severe slope on the rear hatch to match the front windscreen. The Koleos, therefore, manages to look both chunky and aerodynamic at the same time, which is no mean achievement.

All in all I must admit I liked this car a lot. Rather than being a compromise, its smorgasbord genealogy has given the Koleos quite an interesting niche among a host of soft-roaders in this segment. While its offroad abilities are genuinely impressive, it is the Koleos’s MPV-like ability to transport its passengers in comfort and refinement on the tarmac that stands out.

The Gallic design might give an impression of being wild and wacky, but the actually the Koleos is pretty focused. It’s a car that knows its job — and does it well.

Renault Koleos range
Koleos 2,5 4×2 Dynamique: R292 000
Koleos 2,5 4×4 Dynamique: R313 000
Koleos 2,5 4×4 CVT Dynamique Premium: R362 000
Koleos 2,0dCi 4×4 Dynamique Premium: R378 000

Engines
2,5-litre, 4 cyl, 126kW, 226Nm
2,0-litre turbo-diesel, 127kW, 360Nm

Performance (claimed)
2,5-litre: top speed 194km/h; 0-100km/h in 9,3 sec
2,0-litre dCi: top speed 191km/h; 0-100km/h in 9,9 sec

0-100kph 7.58 sec

Fuel consumption (claimed combined cycle)
2,5-litre: 9,9 litre/100km
2,0-litre dCi: 7,9 litre/100km

Transmission
six-speed manual, or CVT auto

Safety