Renault Captur Review

The market is awash with small SUVs, but the Renault Captur stands out with a stylish design and the option of several hybrid engines. This is the second-generation Captur, which is bigger and more grown-up feeling than its predecessor.

As before, the Captur is based on the Renault Clio supermini. While the last-shape Captur felt like a pumped up Clio, the new one adds some unique touches to make it feel like a different car. We’re talking a sliding rear bench – rare in the small SUV class – and the option of a two-tone roof above its C-shaped LED headlights.

Sitting higher off the ground than the Clio, the Captur insulates its occupants from big potholes and imperfect tarmac really well. It’s clearly set up for comfort rather than sportiness, which is ideal for a small family car like this – unless you tend to drive like a racing driver around the ring road.

The cherry on the icing on the cake is that the Captur is one of the cheapest small SUVs on the used market. It’ll cost you a similar price to a Ford Ecosport and Vauxhall Crossland X, yet is more stylish and talented than those cars. And better warrantied – the Captur’s five-year/100,00-mile warranty should give you total peace of mind.

Inside, the latest Captur has had a real makeover compared to its predecessor. Now, there’s a modern-looking seven-inch touchscreen sprouting from the dashboard, or a nine-inch portrait screen on high-spec versions. With good graphics, decent response times and an intuitive menu layout, it’s easy to use on the move, and it includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so you can use your phone’s apps on the car’s screen.

Material quality has really improved, and so has the fit and finish. Whereas the old Captur feels a little bit flimsy in places, the new Captur feels solid and sophisticated. It’s a bit more thoughtfully laid out as well – the cruise control is now fully contained on the steering wheel, and everything’s within easy reach.

Following a growth spurt, the Renault Captur is one of the most practical small SUVs you can buy. Its trick feature is a sliding rear seat bench, allowing you to boost legroom or boot space with the pull of a lever. With the rear seats fully back, there’s a competitive 422-litre boot and generous rear seat space – almost on a par with the class-leading Skoda Kamiq – or you can slide the seats forward to free up a whopping 536 litres of boot space. Just make sure your rear-seat passengers don’t mind being a little bit squished.

One of the most impressive things about the Captur is that it offers both hybrid and plug-in hybrid engines, alongside more conventional petrol and diesel engines. These electrified powertrains make the Captur a little more expensive to buy, but offer the lowest fuel costs – especially around town.

We tested the 100hp 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine and found it nippy enough around town but a little underpowered at higher speeds. If you want cheap insurance costs or want to keep the price down, this engine is ideal, but otherwise we’d recommend picking the 1.3-litre TCe because it’s more powerful and gets the Captur up to speed more easily.

The Renault Captur drives as well as it needs to. This is a car that’ll be used to get from A to B without any fuss, and the focus is more towards comfort than sportiness. The Captur is good over urban bumps and potholes, with composed body control and big jolts softened nicely. Like a lot of its rivals, sustained smaller imperfections get through to the cabin.