A major trend of 2013 in Europe was the rise of B-SUVs. The Opel/Vauxhall Mokka became the early sales leader, but is now assailed from multiple directions. Glenn Brooks tries out the Renault Captur, one of the best and newest challengers.
The fourth generation Clio has been the main reason for the return of the Renault brand as a major force in some of the larger European markets, but this year things should be even better. Why? That’s because 2014 will be the first full one for sales of the Captur, a model that has sold over 33,000 units for the year to the end of November 2013. This was also the fifth best seller in France that month (stats for December had not been issued at the time of writing), with momentum having been building since its launch in the summer.
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To add some perspective to the Captur’s performance in Renault’s home market, that sales number places it some 2,000 units ahead of the Golf and just 1,000 shy of the Polo. With the rival Peugeot 2008 clocking up 23,000 registrations as at the end of November, clearly Renault is the undisputed B-SUV champion in France (the Captur also outsold the Dacia Duster (22,878) and Nissan Juke (18,814).
Things might be looking up for Renault at home but there’s no hiding the fact that the market itself remains a long way from the kind of recovery we’ve seen in the UK over the last 21 months. The Captur is also one of the main factors behind a striking 30 percent YoY rise in sales for the brand during November. As at the end of the first eleven months, a total of 40,801 Renault passenger cars had been registered. That means market share of 2.96 percent and a healthy 3,774 unit improvement over November 2012. For the year to date, the brand’s improvement is an exact match for the 10 percent rise in the overall market.
After the importer’s product range cuts of 2012, it was good to have seen Renault UK adding new models during 2013. The Wind, Kangoo MPV, Laguna, Espace and Modus were all axed, but the last of these was in its final year of build anyway. The Captur took the place of the Modus at the Valladolid plant in Spain. This also meant that Renault withdrew from the B-MPV segment, just as Fiat was entering it with the 500L. Contrasting strategies? For the moment, yes, but the Italian OEM will launch a rival for the Captur later in 2014, with the 500X expected to appear at the Geneva show in March. So will there be a direct replacement for the Modus? It would seem not, Renault having invested heavily in expanding its range in other ways such as EVs, not to mention the ongoing advance of the Dacia brand.
The Captur is powered by the choice of three turbocharged engines. There’s the 0.9-litre TCe three-cylinder from the Clio, plus a 120hp version of the Group’s new 1.2-litre TCe petrol, as well as a 90hp 1.5 litre diesel. The EDC dual clutch automatic gearbox has just been made available in combination with the diesel, with the first cars in UK showrooms from December.
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By GlobalDataIn 2013, some 90 percent of Captur sales will have been in Europe, with other markets including Japan, Singapore, South Africa and certain countries in the Middle East making up the remainder. The model was launched in South Korea in December, and is sold there as the Samsung QM3, imported from Spain. Something unusual is the option of diesel power – Renault Samsung is seeking to differentiate its vehicles from other Korean brands in the home market and this is one part of the new strategy to dramatically lift brand sales. RSM says it already has 4,000 orders for the QM3 so that’s good news indeed for the production line workers at Valladolid.
Despite being so closely related to the Clio, to drive, the Captur is quite a different experience. You sit 100m higher, there is 200mm of ground clearance, and the wheels are either 16-inch or (optional) 17-inch. There’s loads of room inside, with 1,235 cubic litres available when the rear seats – which slide too – are folded flat. There’s even a hidden storage space beneath the boot floor.
At 4,122mm, the Captur is 60mm longer than the Clio five-door hatchback and its 2,606mm wheelbase is 17mm lengthier too. Despite this model using the same Alliance platform as the similarly sized Juke, the Renault is definitely a roomier vehicle. Much of that is logically due to the Nissan’s 2,530mm wheelbase, plus the fact you seem to sit more upright in the Captur. The handling set-ups are different too, with the Juke offering a sportier drive, with the Renault seemingly having been engineered more for comfort.
The Captur as tested costs GBP19,295 but that includes GBP2,100 worth of extras, which included things such as the R-Link multimedia system (GBP450), metallic paint (GBP495), washable seat covers (GBP100), rear parking camera (GBP350) and so on.
