What's the news?
The Renault Koleos is back. Well, actually, it hasn't gone away in some markets, but now we're getting a flashy, new SUV version of it to sit above the Kadjar and Captur crossovers. It'll debut in Beijing and hit European markets in early 2017.
Exterior
We're certainly not saying we dislike the look of the Koleos, indeed far from it, but as a piece of design it's incredibly busy. Note, if you will, the large diamond-shaped badge in a dominant grille, the six separate creases on the bonnet, that horizontal slash running back from the front lights to the doors, the C-shaped daytime running lights (like the Megane's) in the nose, the strange twin-step line atop the front wings that delineates the edge of the bonnet, the vent in the front door, the lower sill treatment designed to take weight out of the flanks, the bulging rear door ahead of the flared wheel arch, the near full-width rear light clusters, the trapezoidal exhausts... yup, it's fair to say this is no drab design that'll fade into the background.
Penned to fit in with the current Renault Espace (which we don't get over here) and the Talisman (which we don't get over here) at the top of Renault's tree, the Koleos is a premium bit of kit and it's a big car at 4,670mm long, with 2,710mm of that made up by the wheelbase, plus a width of 1,840mm (excluding mirrors). All models get aluminium roof bars, large alloy wheels of up to 19 inches in diameter and a ground clearance of 213mm that ensures the all-wheel drive Koleos should be capable off-road - approach and departure angles of 19 and 26 degrees respectively also help on that score.
Interior
The interior's centre console is dominated by a large touchscreen, which is either a seven-inch item in landscape format or - rather like in the Tesla Model S and Volvo XC90 - an 8.7-inch portrait affair. R-Link 2 infotainment software is drafted in for the Koleos and it allows for 'pinch and swipe' control, as on a decent smartphone. Behind the steering wheel is another seven-inch colour digital screen, this one displaying driving data (and it's customisable in terms of what you want it to show).
Sitting 150mm higher than you would in a normal saloon (according to Renault), the Koleos's cabin is supposed to be the epitome of luxury so leather trim, heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats and a premium 12-speaker Bose sound system will all be included in the technologies offered on the SUV. Renault is promising 289mm of knee room in the rear, while at the back is a 624-litre boot that is 'modular' and fronted by 60:40 split rear seats. A panoramic glass roof should provide a light and airy cabin, while the doors open really wide - 70 degrees up front, 77 degrees at the rear.
Mechanicals
Renault is going to build the Koleos in China and South Korea (for all markets except China) and it is based on the Renault-Nissan Alliance's CMF-C/D architecture that is shared by several vehicles, including the Espace, Talisman and Kadjar, along with Nissan's X-Trail and Qashqai. Therefore, the All-Mode 4x4-i technology should be familiar to anyone clued in about Nissan products, or the higher models of Kadjar; it allows for 2WD (front-drive) and 4WD Auto modes. Slow-speed driving can be carried out in 4WD Lock. In some markets, 2WD-only variants of the Koleos will be offered, and the powertrains are again Alliance units, with two petrol and two diesel engines giving out power outputs between 130- and 175hp. Transmissions will be a six-speed manual or a six-speed X-Tronic CVT automatic, while a full range of driver assist safety systems will be bundled into the big SUV.
Anything else?
Following its Beijing debut, the Renault Koleos will go on sale in Q3 of 2016 in Australia, Turkey, the UAE and Latin America, followed by China at the end of the year, and then Europe and Russia in early 2017. Hence no word on Irish pricing or specifications at this early stage.