THE small and medium SUV segments are currently the most hotly contested in the business and no manufacturer can afford to be out of it, even with multiple closely-related offerings. That’s where the new Renault Symbioz comes in.
BY BRIAN BYRNE
It arrived here quickly and rather quietly in the late part of last year after a global reveal only in May.
Based on the current Captur small SUV, it shares width and height but the extra length pushes it into the seriously busy compact-crossover arena where Toyota’s C-HR and Kia’s Niro, among others, are players.
It also offers an option a bit smaller in all dimensions than the compact-medium SUV from Renault, the Austral. Crucially, the Symbioz doesn’t get a longer wheelbase than the Captur, but does gain a significantly extended cargo area.
The extra length gives Symbioz a stronger presence on the road, and there are minor retakes on the front end styling and more significant ones on the rear from the Captur, but the relationship is clear.
That’s even more so with the interior. They didn’t change the dashboard and instruments layout from the shorter car which was refreshed earlier last year.
It’s ergonomically good, as are all Renaults at the moment.
The vertical-aspect centre screen and the driver instrument cluster both have bright and colourful graphics, with information presented in large format that makes a glance enough to take in whatever is needed.
The brand’s current mix of always-on virtual buttons and piano-style switches for climate and comfort management are, as I have noted before, excellent.
My review car was in the Esprit Alpine grade, which adds some visual tweaks to an already high-quality finish.
These included some blue stitching on the leather-style trim and seating and some appropriate badging.
There’s an interesting glass roof option that provides four different levels of opacity, by voice command or switch.
Room in the rear is similar to Captur, which could be cosy enough if the front passengers are both long-legged.
It seats two comfortably, three for shorter journeys.
The only powertrain available is a petrol-hybrid marketed under Renault’s E-Tech moniker for electrified cars.
It’s the familiar 1.6 petrol inline four with a 145ps output and 6-speed automatic transmission system.
It does operate in EV mode, and there’s a facility to fully top up the battery while on the run to provide a longer electric performance for a time while in town driving.
It is all proven and works smoothly, though I had a feeling that the petrol engine was revving a little high in some slower driving (there’s no rev-counter in most hybrids these days so it’s hard to tell).
The full set of mandatory driver assist technology is provided. Over-limits warning sounds are not overly-intrusive, so I didn’t bother switching them off as is my habit with some other brands.
In my time with the car it felt nicely balanced under a variety of conditions.
I had to do six-hours of long-distance driving on one day in a mix of country, main road and motorway, and arrived home quite fresh – proving Renault’s traditional reputation for comfort.
