Renault Captur Review

The previous Captur never struggled with space, but over the years its alternatives got bigger and better. Well, it’s back taller, wider and longer, and has no trouble accommodating a couple of adults in the fronts seats. The driver also gets plenty of seat and wheel adjustment to ensure all sizes will find a decent driving position.

The real change is in the back, though, where the space between the Captur’s front and rear axles has grown allowing good kneeroom, coupled with good headroom, even for tall adults. The only slight complaint is that the rear passengers’ heads are positioned behind the rear window thanks to the sloping roofline, making it seem a little claustrophobic for the particularly tall. Kids won’t notice.

You’ll also struggle to fit three adults side-by-side across the rear bench, but then, that’s true of all small SUVs.

The Renault Captur has a very impressive list of places to store your odds and sods. The front door bins are capable of taking 1.5-litre water bottles, there’s a deep lidded cubby beneath the front central armrest, a couple of generous cupholders and a cubby at the base of the dashboard which doubles up as a wireless charging pad on some models.

It’s worth mentioning the glovebox, too, which has a pull out tray-like design rather than the usual hinged door type. It’s a great size but is a little difficult to open and access properly if somebody is sat in the front passenger seat.

In the back, there are two further door pockets, pockets on the backs of the front seats and a central armrest that flips down to reveal a couple more cupholders.

Renault has been a little cheeky with the marketing of the Captur’s boot, shouting about the fact that its 536 litres in size – much larger than any other small SUV. Its boot is this size, but only with its rear seats pushed all the way forward, meaning no rear passengers can come along for the ride.

In fact, it’s fairer to compare its boot to other small SUVs’ with its rear seat pushed all the way back. Just so, it is 422 litres in size, making it slightly bigger than both a T-Cross’ with its rear seats pushed back and a Kamiq’s with its fixed rear bench. That said, compare the Captur and T-Cross on rear-seats-forward space and the Captur is quite a bit bigger.

If you need even more space for a trip to the tip, the Captur’s rear seats split 60:40 and fold down completely flat. Its boot also has a handy divider, which eliminates any boot lip and means a completely flat surface from boot entrance to the front seatbacks.

There’s plenty of choice when it comes to the Captur’s engines, with three petrols and two diesels on the menu, plus a plug-in petrol-electric hybrid due to arrive soon.

The usual advice applies here: if you drive mainly in town, pick a petrol – Renault’s four-cylinder, 130hp 1.3-litre strikes the best balance between price, performance and fuel economy. It’ll crack 0-62mph in less than 9 seconds, yet return 44mpg, which is a nice set of numbers.

There’s also a 100hp three-cylinder 1.0-litre, but it’ll feel a little underpowered on faster-moving roads. The opposite is true of the 155hp version of the 1.3, but it pushes up the cost too far to be sensible, both in terms of the purchase price and running costs.

If you spend more time on the motorway, then the 1.5-litre 115hp diesel will make more financial sense, because at a cruise you should see just less than 60mpg. It also has more punch lower in its revs for keeping up with traffic. The 95hp version of the same engine is good too, but the 115hp version isn’t much more to buy and has similar fuel economy despite the power hike.

If you’re a company car driver or have reliable access to charging, don’t write off the hybrid, as it will prove to be extremely efficient in the right circumstances. It consists of a 1.6-litre petrol engine, 9.8kWh battery and electric motors, and fully charged it’ll go 28 miles on electricity alone up to speeds of 83mph. Used correctly, it’ll use the least fuel of any Captur.

A five-speed manual gearbox comes as standard on the 100hp petrol, the 130hp petrol gets a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic, while the 155hp petrol is auto only.

The Captur is a good companion in town, with light steering, a tight turning circle and decent visibility for the driver. Which is lucky, because parking sensors aren’t standard until mid-level Iconic trim, and a 360 camera isn’t standard until range-topping S Edition.

Comfort is a bit of an issue, too, because the Captur doesn’t stay as composed over potholes and manhole covers as a VW T-Cross in town, particularly on its optional 18-inch set.

It’s no thriller in the corners, either, although very few (if any) small SUVs are. More importantly you’re able to thread it along a country road confident in its precise steering, good grip and taut body control, which will be more than enough for most buyers. If you want a little more fun, a Seat Arona is about as good as it gets.

On the motorway, the Captur stays nicely planted, but you do notice a bit of road noise. Helping relax you, though, is a standard lane-keep asisst, which will steer to keep you in lane, along with automatic emergency braking and traffic sign recognition. For even more autonomy you can add adaptive cruise control to S Edition models, which will accelerate and brake for you in combination with a more advanced steering asisst.