Under the SUV radar – The Renault Koleos

By Stuart Johnston

The Renault Kadjar was introduced here in 2016, a mid-sized SUV with the accent more on highway cruising than rugged rock climbing. It succeeded Renault’s first-generation Koleos, but was sadly just as unsuccessful in the marketplace as its predecessor. Halfway through 2018, Renault dropped this model, before filling its market slot with an all-new Koleos in early 2019. In this review, we assess the 2.5 Dynamique 4WD model, and mourn the fact that it doesn’t have a manual or conventional automatic gearbox.

The Renault Koleos is one of those mid-sized SUVs that is not top of mind when discussing cars like the Toyota RAV4,  the Mazda CX5 or the Nissan X-Trail. But given Nissan’s global manufacturing alliance with Renault, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to realise that the latest Koleos, in essence, is based on the Nissan X-Trail. In fact the engine and drivetrain is pretty much pure X-Trail, as is the suspension system. As for the rest of the car, it has a somewhat generic appeal, given that there is some French (Renault) and Japanese (Nissan) influence. However it is built in South Korea. Renault Samsung Motors, based in Busan, is the third-biggest car producer in South Korea..

Styling

The mission statement at Renault Samsung is to be first in quality, and in fact the company has been rated tops in this department in South Korean surveys for a number of years. It is this focus on quality rather than drama that comes through with the Koleos. While the new car is stylistically very much ahead of the first car to bear the Koleos badge in South Africa, the detailing as far as headlights, grille and flanks is nevertheless understated rather than overt. 

A little retro

The straight-barred grille is a little retro, despite being flanked by modern light clusters. The rear end is more striking with LED taillights and highlighted exhaust pipe surrounds on the the top-of-the-range Dynamique 4WD model. But the flanks are a little too conservative to get the Koleos noticed in crowded supermarket parking lots.

Space and Comfort

Hopping aboard the Koleos, however, you’ll be pleased to find that the materials used in the cockpit are first-rate. TFT instrumentation is on offer in the compact binnacle ahead of the chunky steering wheel. Leather upholstery is a given in a top-of-the range SUV, as is dual zone climate control. Navigation is standard in a modern infotainment pod that is also compatible with  smartphones, and voice command is on offer.

The driver’s seat has electric adjustment for reach as well as height, while the steering wheel is adjustable for rake and reach, again a basic requirement for vehicles in this category. Automatic headlamp operation is standard, as is automatic windscreen wiping when the first few spots of rain hit the windscreen.

As for space, the rear seats have generous head and leg room. Boot space at 464 litres with the rear seat backs upright receives a “good” rating  without being exceptional.

The Drive

The Koleos uses the Nissan-Renault large-capacity four-cylinder engine which is also employed in  the X-Trail. It is a naturally-aspirated (non-turbo) 2,5-litre unit producing 126 kW and 233 Nm of torque.  It provides reasonable acceleration and torque for highway cruising. But it is a rather old-tech unit that is also not the smoothest engine when being revved hard.

This would perhaps be more palatable if it wasn’t mated to the CVT (Constant Velocity Transmission) gearbox that is standard on all Koleos models. Many Asian-orientated vehicles these days use CVT gearboxes (Honda is another example that springs to mind), probably because driving conditions in these countries don’t warrant fast cruising and overtaking.

While dawdling around town with a light accelerator foot is acceptable with a CVT, maintaining curing speeds uphill on highways and overtaking is where the CVT transmission becomes a negative factor.

The droning that issues forth from the engine as it remains at constant high-ish revs while speed varies becomes irritating to say the least. This is a result of a CVT gearbox being designed to keep the engine operating constantly at maximum torque while the speed rises or falls.

It is a pity Renault didn’t see fit to offer the Koleos with either a six-speed manual or a conventional automatic gearbox. Or better still, a double-clutch automatic gearbox, which gives you manual gearbox pulling power without the hassle of having to depress a clutch lever and shift gears in stop-start traffic.

Many CVT transmissions these days have compensation for their droning tendencies by being accompanied by paddle-shift selectors that can simulate stepped gear changes, and thus avoid the irritating drone factor. Unfortunately the Koleos comes without paddle-shifters for its CVT.

Ride and handling

If the engine and gearbox combo has to be “managed” so that CVT-related irritation factors are minimised, there is no such compensation needed in respect of the handling and ride. In fact the steering feel, bump absorption, and sense of stability are all excellent on the Koleos. The ride over bad roads is excellent, and the sharpness of steering when travelling at high speeds is equally impressive. So too is the feedback from the steering system., which is nice and weighty in the straight-ahead position and loads up discernibly when cornering.

The Koleos test model was the Dynamique 4WD top-of-the-range model, which means it has all-wheel-drive. In this model you can pre-set the transmission to operate in front-wheel-drive only (this saves fuel), in variable all-wheel-drive where torque is automatically shifted between the front and rear axles according to wheel-sensor information (for poor weather stability), or in lock mode, where the torque is fixed at  a 50 % split for front and rear drive.

This lock mode is meant for use in very slippery conditions, such as on wet dirt roads or on mild trails. The Koleos doesn’t make any pretensions to being a hard-core off-roader, and we suspect  most owners will rarely make use of the all-wheel-drive lock function. But it is nice to know that the Koleos does have a generous 210 mm of ground clearance if you do decide to venture off road.

Performance

Given its modest 126 kW output at 6 000 revs and 233 Nm of torque, performance of the Koleos is pretty good for a vehicle of this type. Key to this is that it has a reasonable un-laden weight of 1 565 kg. Top speed is a claimed 199 km/h. One of the advantages of the CVT is that overtaking acceleration is quite brisk, given that the engine is always operating at the optimum revs for power and torque delivery, when your foot is flat on the accelerator.

Fuel Consumption

Rated fuel  consumption is 8,3 litres/100 km on average.  In fact we found the Koleos to be quite reasonable on fuel consumption, coming in at just  under 10 ltres/100 km in real-life usage.

Safety

The Renault Koleos  has a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, which means it is very safe. It comes with six airbags, ISOFIX child seat mountings and a very solid body shell. Dynamically it has very good road-holding, and the AWD model adds to this basic safety by providing lots of stability in bad thunderstorms on highways (providing you remember to select the automatic AWD function on the console in poor weather).

 Verdict

Despite criticism of the engine’s refinement  and the CVT transmission’s short coming, I liked the Renault Koleos. It surprised me in terms of its classy cabin ambience, its excellent road manners, and its understated good looks, which grow on you.  And as best I could, I learned to drive around man of the CVT’s short-comings by careful use of the accelerator pedal.

Price

What hasn’t been mentioned until now in this report,  is that it is extremely well-priced. This fully-equipped all-wheel-drive model sells for R489 900, which is up to R100 000 less than its competitors. The price includes Renault’s  5-year/150 000 km warranty, 5-year/150 000 km service plan, and service intervals of 15 000 km.

For another review on the Renault Koleos from a female driver’s perspective,  click here.