what's that why don't you recognise it is the
Renault Duster! Hard to believe right but that's exactly what it is
underneath. Yes we know this is the new Renault Captur, no it's pronounced Captur(e)
and yes this is a delicious new SUV from Renault more premium than the Duster and
we're here to find out what makes it delicious, what makes it feel more
special and more rich. Do we like it or not? Okay, it isn’t a traditional and
square SUV, but it has its own identity.
Now, if you draw a line across the middle of the Captur and first look at the top
half, you’d think this was a really stylish large hatch. The crossover DNA bits,
like the downward swooping nose, the sharply angled A-pillar and the floating
roof are responsible for the sporty look. And then if you looked at the
bottom half you’d think that was an SUV.
To make it look tough there is the plastic cladding, there are large 17”
wheels and they look gorgeous. The Captur is about the same size as the
Duster as well. In fact, the wheelbase is identical and nose to tail, it is
actually a little bit longer and a little bit wider. But when it comes to
ground clearance the capture is on par with the Duster all-wheel drive which
means in an unladen stage it has a solid 210 millimetres of ground clearance
it looks like a lot. They said in the presentation last night that you could
probably do this quite easily they were right.
on the outside, the Captur has got it all which includes some French flair.
I love how Renault can make designs organic but at the same time make them look very
technical as well. Take a look at the headlamps and just for your information,
full LED headlamps, first in class. There are also LED DRLs, swipe style turn
indicators and cornering functionality for the fog lamps. The geometric design
for the grille makes a brilliant backdrop for the Renault logo - which sits there
like a jewel. And the Renault family genes are lurking all around. The rear, it is
distinctive but we are going to do some more slicing and dicing and try and show
you something. We’ll split it right down the middle here
and then just let us know if the top half or the bottom half remind you of any
other cars?
Renault will also offer customisation options, there are two standard packs
Urban Connect and Diamond Deck. There is also a chrome accessory pack on offer.
This is all in a bid to make every Captur look special. Okay this is no
three-row SUV and its boot space is 392-litres, which is about 100-litres less
than a Duster. But the deep bay should be able to pack in a fair amount of luggage.
And now, let’s hop inside. Now, I know we shouldn’t constantly be comparing the
Captur to the Duster, but we can’t help it because they do share a lot but at
the same time the Captur is very different. And one of the big reasons is
a design for the dashboard, a very simple design, it’s soft lines but a strong
design overall. A theme that I like a lot is the way this shoulder line from the
door pad runs into the dash and then goes across it. And the other reason why
this feels better than the Duster is because of the plastics. Are they soft-touch
variety? No, they are not. It still got that hard knock but the design, the texture for the plastics
looks really nice. It even actually, feels richer than what would expect for
something that sounds like this. So, overall the sense of richness is high. Of course,
yes, soft-touch plastics would have been nice. That aside, you do get
some elements in the design which are soft to the touch. Like for instance,
on the door pad here and here on the armrests as well. And interestingly for India, Renault
has created this Platine variant, which is like the top-of-the-line,
top-of-the-line variant of the Captur, which is right now being offered only in India.
The Platine variant uses white and gold colours inside the cabin. White, as you can
see, is used for the lower dash and for the beautifully quilted leather seats which
look good and feel snug as well. The gold elements are restricted to the
metallic looking plastic inserts around the circular air-con vents and the
infotainment screen at the centre. The really striking feature though is the
instrument cluster. The design, the layout and the displays just look super funky!
On the features front, this top-spec Captur gets a smart access card, an
engine start-stop button, automatic headlamps and wipers and auto air
conditioning. Which looks familiar, but it feels better to use and also gets a
light surround. And there is the 7” touchscreen infotainment system. Yes, it
looks familiar but it has been tweaked to offer better performance. As on other
Renaults, it offers in-built navigation, and this
also has reverse parking sensors. The infotainment system also includes a
decent alchemist tuned six-speaker setup here. But a big negative is that there
is no Android Auto or Apple Car Play on offer.
Now the Captur, the India spec one is also sold in Brazil and Russia, but it’s
only for the Indian market that you are getting an armrest at the rear and air-con vents.
This Cools the rear portion of the cabin quickly to get you comfy.
However, the under-thigh support could have been better. Other than that, the rear
seat is admirable. This is quite well set up, for instance, the seat cushioning, just
right. And if you look at the seats themselves, they are scooped out just
a right amount to give you some amount of support, not too aggressive.
That aside, plenty of knee room, great amount of headroom,
and you’d be surprised sitting three abreast here isn’t too tight. But you
do feel that space is tight and that’s more to do with the cabin design. You
have those steeply raked A-Pillars and then along with that, over here you can
see that the window line is quite high so that just makes it feel a bit cramped
but it’s actually quite usable. Also, the tall front seats heighten the sensation.
But there is a strange sensation here as well. Now you might think me being the
shorty that I am, I have pushed the seat height up so that I can see further but
nope, that’s not the case, the seat is set to its lowest position right now and I’m
still all the way up here, that’s because the seats generally are set quite high.
So, if you are a six-footer or taller, the headroom is going to get tight here.
The lack of a telescopic steering adjustment means that finding the right
seating position will be a little tricky. But now, let’s get going.
In terms of engine options, the Captur will be available with a 1.5-litre
petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel that we are driving right now. This is the
top of the line 110PS version that we have seen on other
Renaults like the Fluence, Lodgy and Duster. As before it is combined with the
six-speed gearbox but here it feels a bit different. What I absolutely love, are the
gearshifts, really short throw, feels nice and snappy, not particularly smooth but
yeah you can really rush it through still. So, you’d be happy to work the
gears. But there is that familiar downside.
The clutch it’s not particularly light, so if you are stuck in real stop-go
traffic, strong calf muscles on the left leg.
Renault claims that the engine has been re-calibrated for the Captur but it
doesn’t feel all that different. Now we are familiar with this engine, under 2000rpm
there is decent drivability, but past that mark, this thing really starts to
flow. And in fact, it’s only when you put it in eco mode this power seems to
taper off past 4000rpm. Otherwise, it will rush right along and makes it
really handy really handy out on an open road.
Use the Eco mode and the spike in power delivery in the mid-range gets blunted
and so does the performance as the rev counter heads past three and a half
thousand rpm This makes driving the Captur in stop-go traffic more smooth
and a bit dull. But it will surely help with fuel efficiency. Official kerb weight
figures or the fuel efficiency figures aren’t available as of now, but we would
expect the Captur to be more fuel efficient than the Duster. Any other
questions? Right Automatic transmissions are in the pipeline, but when they arrive
is not too clear for now
And if you are waiting for the all-wheel-drive Captur, don’t hold your
breath.
However, in keeping with the premium SUV theme we really wish that the Captur
had borrowed the independent rear suspension from the all-wheel drive
duster. Instead, it has the regular twist beam setup at the rear. However, it has
been tuned a bit differently. There is a bit more firmness to the setup and you
can feel the difference at low speeds
You do feel a bit of the thunk when you go over ridges like that which is
not something you’d get on the duster, but the upside to that, little added
firmness that the Captur has is that you get better body control as well. You can
hustle it through corners and it doesn’t feel too soft. Is it sporty? No, not quite.
If you choose to hustle it, you will find that the steering is reasonably quick, but not
too communicative, and if you chuck it into a corner the Captur understeers,
and the electronic stability control cuts power quickly to keep things safe.
While the Captur is predictable when driven fast, better tyres would have made
the experience just that little bit richer. Now, this the slightly funny
situation but to help things along what we 're gonna do is take the emotional
side of the Captur and put that aside. So, the design, the aesthetics we are gonna
put that aside and look at what it has to offer. From behind the wheel, it’s a
very familiar package, in the way it performs, the way it rides, the way it
handles. Yes, it is a bit different, it definitely feels more controlled in
terms of its ride, in terms of the way it goes through corners. But is it sporty? Not
really, is it extra fun? Not that either. You look at the cabin, definitely very
usable, but is it super spacious? Does it feel more premium? Yes, it does. Does it set
new benchmark? Not quite. But then when you bring in the aesthetics, the way it
looks from the outside, the greater sense of premiumness on the inside, the
features that it has to offer, again where it could have done a bit better
but you put it all together and you end up with a package that does
answer our original question quite well. Do we like the Renault Captur?
We do and if it priced between the Rs13 lakh and Rs 14.5 lakh range, I
think this new SUV from Renault is going to be the particularly sweet spot.