Test drive by Renault Koleos since 2008 SUV

The second attempt

Renault Koleos. Price: from 870,000 rubles. On sale: from September 2008
The Renault Koleos crossover enters the European market with pomp, the first tests of which were held in North Africa. It is curious that ten years ago, the premiere of the all-wheel drive Scenic RX-4 took place in Morocco. But this model was not successful and quickly disappeared from the production program. Let's see what the new contender is capable of
Before us is the Renault Koleos crossover, designed to give a fight to such glamorous celebrities as Toyota Rav4 and Honda CR-V. In addition, do not discount Hyundai Santa Fe and VW Tiguan. The appearance of the debutant can be recognized as harmonious. Koleos profile, high clearance and advanced wheel arches unequivocally hints at off -road qualities. And the beveled rear window emphasizes the movement forward, says Patrick Le Keman, chief designer Renault. The front part is very reminiscent of Clio. At the same time, in the exterior of the crossover there are no avant -garde or controversial elements that were in the models of the previous generation.
Inside, the same simplicity that needs to be brought into the asset. The Spartan style emphasizes the off -road essence of the novelty. The creators of the car are sure that they managed to achieve the best among competitors of visibility: 31 forward vertically and 36.3 horizontally. The review back also deserves praise 27.5. This is not a record, but the result is very worthy. Another record is the height of the cabin, which is 946 mm. The rear passengers, which are tested in practice, do not experience the slightest difficulty. There are plenty of space over the head and at the level of the shoulders.
Once again, the off -road nature of Koleos, Renault marketers decided with the help of an unusual test site. The test drive was organized in North Africa, or rather in Morocco, not far from the old city of Fes. It is clear that these places do not differ in perfect roads and allow you to check the car in harsh conditions. Where there is still asphalt, drivers are in wait for local dashings on ancient quotes, tractors, trucks and even donkeys. Well, we will hold a donkey test.
It's time to start, but a overheated salon is preventing to sit down and go. We start a car, turn on the full two-zone climate control, having separate air ducts for the rear passengers. If you continue the topic of protection from the heat, then in the rear doors we note the presence of sunscreen curtains.
The salon can be chilled. When you drive around the city, Koleos is almost no different from the usual mini-wen. We note a good dynamics of a 2.5-liter gasoline engine disperses the car to hundreds of only 9.3 s. Note that at the start of Koleos requires increased revolutions. At the same time, the crossover has a rather strict clutch. Without habit, you stall all the time, but in an hour or two you get used to the features of this model. As for the maximum speed that was never achieved during the test, it is 185 km/h on the passport. We will take a word for a word.
Particular attention of the French-Japanese-Korean engineers paid noise insulation. Almost complete silence in the cabin is not violated either on tolerable asphalt or off -road. For this, it is worth saying thanks to the multilayer windshield, a special engine subframe and the use of effective soundproofing materials on a motor shield, under the interior floor, in wheel arches.
Soon the asphalt ended. We had a journey through low, but rather cool mountains, where roads to call paths to be more correctly, and sharp stones crunch under the wheels threatening. Then the time came to work with an all-wheel drive suspension, partially borrowed from the Nissan X-Trail. In overcoming obstacles, an unprepared driver can rely on numerous auxiliary systems like All Modei, Hill Start Assist and Hill Descent Control, which will help in the hill and go down. In addition, off-road ambitions confirms the 206-mm road clearance. Attention should be paid to the corners of the entrance and congress (27 and 31 degrees, respectively). The theory was confirmed by practice: the new crossover did without much effort with African off -road.
Cosmopolitan
The first crossover from Renault, which was called Koleos, can be called cosmopolitan without any stretch. Judge for yourself that under the French brand a car developed with the participation of the Japanese company Nissan and assembled at the South Korean Samsung plant is produced. Here it is globalization in action. The situation will be confused even more if the Renault management decides to produce a car in Moscow on an autoframos or in Togliatti at AvtoVAZ. But so far we will not focus on the product. Engineers from Nissan and Renault tried to cross the sedan, mini-van and SUV. The hybrid turned out to be quite successful. Unlike many competitors, the new crossover has a brutal appearance, which will appeal to many. The Spartan salon also adds a certain charm. In other words, the creators of Koleos managed to offer the market something unusual and original. This approach always deserves praise.
Driving
The car is well controlled on the asphalt and off -road, possessing good acceleration dynamics.
  
Salon
Created in the style of minimalism. But ergonomics at the same time on top.
   
Comfort
The convenience of passengers and sound comfort during movement deserve a maximum assessment.
   
Safety
9 models created by the Nissan-Renault alliance engineers received 5 stars at EURONCAP Crash tests. Koleos claims the same result.
   
Price
The simplest version of Expression will cost 870,000 rubles. Luxe Privilege will seriously exceed a million. Is it cheap or expensive? Fine.
Advantages and disadvantages
+ Good off -road qualities, good dynamics, excellent sound insulation.
- Specific clutch, requiring prolonged addiction.

Specifications
Mark and model - Renault Koleos
Dimensions - 4520x1855x1695 mm
Engine - gasoline, 2488 cm3, 170 hp/min -1
Transmission - mechanical, 6 -speed
Dynamics - max 185 km/h; 9.3 s to 100 km/h
Competitors - Toyota Rav4, Honda CR -V
Our opinion
Renault Koleos The second attempt by the French company to create an all -wheel drive car. The pioneer ten years ago was Scenic RX-4, who, due to low demand, sunk into oblivion. But if for the first time the engineers tried to modernize the CD, now we are talking about a new design. And this path is correct.

Author: Stanislav Pavlov
 
 

 

Source: Magazine 5 wheel [August 2008]