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THE increasingly-popular urban crossover segment has a new challenger in town, and with a focus on style, the new Renault Captur may well win over many hearts.
A cross between an SUV and a family hatchback, the Captur retains the sleek, curvy look of the latter, but packs the spacious and feature-filled interior of the former.
Taking the 2015 model for a spin around the labyrinth of twisty turns that is Manama and the path to the GulfWeekly office, the advantages of combining these two styles came to the fore. Easy to drive and (more importantly in this part of the world) easy to park, the Captur can be summed up in one word: smooth.
It’s clear that the designers have gone for a modern look, and one to appeal to the younger crowd. Available in a range of bright colours and boasting a funky two-tone paint scheme (on the mid-range and high-range versions), with the upper half in a markedly contrasting hue to give it that French flair, the exterior is one that wants to be noticed.
Furthermore, the lower areas of the doors are deliberately created in a different shape to the upper areas to add further design quirks, while beneath the doors, the side-step is smartly dimpled to give off a true outdoor effect. At the high range, the 17-inch alloy wheels are also painted white to give the vehicle an even more colourful look.
However, it’s the interior where this model really shines. One sentence I never thought I’d write when typing up a test drive would be ‘this car has the best glove-box I’ve ever seen’ … but it has exactly that.
Opening up like a drawer rather than the usual ‘pull the handle and pray everything doesn’t spill out onto the floor’ affair, the spacious compartment was wide and deep enough to fit my laptop and photographer Ryan’s chunky camera together, with a little space left for other bits and bobs. Much more secure than dumping it on the seat and hoping it doesn’t crash to the floor when you slam on the brakes after someone pulls a crazy lane-changing manoeuvre!
Another nifty feature is the removable seat covers. Has your youngster spilt his milkshake all over the back seat? Worry not, just unzip it, put it through the wash and zip it back on again. With a variety of covers available, there will be a design for every occasion be it plain and heat-repellent in the day or wild and funky at night.
The SUV-esque spaciousness is apparent, with there being plenty of legroom for both front and back seats, while the boot has two level to offer you the conventional carpet on top and a wash-down surface underneath if you need to carry wet or dirty items around.
The steering wheel was particularly comfortable too, being rather chunkier than one would expect in the modern age. The Captur drives well around the streets with its light and quick steering, but on the highway its lightness means it does get buffeted around a fair bit in the wind.
Under the bonnet there is nothing special, with a 1.2L engine turbocharged to produce 120BHP. Putting your foot down has little-to-no reaction, but with the new traffic laws in Bahrain, that might be a blessing in disguise! The car does what it needs to, and does it very well, but setting a new land-speed record is not one of its ulterior motives.
Pleasingly, the car ticks all the infotainment boxes, with AM/FM Radio, USB, Bluetooth, AUX and CD support complementing the navigation system and reverse camera (although sadly not in the base version), with a decent-sized touch screen that is easy to use on the go.
The Captur is pleasing on the eye from the outside and packs a spacious and quirky interior. If smoothness and comfort takes precedence over power and size, this car is definitely worth looking at a highly-competitive price.
The Renault Captur is available from BD5,995 from the Renault Showroom in Sitra. Call 17705705 for more details.
