Renault Koleos 2.5 - Dynamique 4x4 Man

Remember as A kid how, when you got a new bicycle, you’d be so excited you’d sleep with it propped up against your bed? I can’t even begin to describe the excitement that accompanied driving my first brand new car – a 2005 Renault Scenic 1.6 Expression – off the showroom floor. Well, it’s been my privileged duty to steward several freshly-pressed cars over the last six years and I’ll admit that lately it’s become easy to feel a bit blasé whenever a new one arrives. So it was surprising that along with the key card for the pearlescent white Renault Koleos pictured here came a sense of eager anticipation. But let me explain…

So it was surprising that along with the key card for the pearlescent white Renault Koleos pictured here came a sense of eager anticipation.

You see, I still own that Scenic, which means I’ve experienced both ends of the Renault ownership spectrum. While actual service costs have been reasonable, maintenance costs have been borderline extortive. Happily, living with the car has been a joy thanks to its huge space and genuine practicality. The upside is Renault now offers longer service plans and more cost-competitive parts pricing on its newer cars. Question is, just what are these newer Renaults like to live with daily and are they an attractive enough proposition to convince me to buy into the brand once more?

My first month with the Koleos has been about getting to know the car a bit better.

Not on appearance alone. in face lifting the Koleos, Renault has opted for more of a generic look – a strategic move driven, no doubt, by how well the rebadged Koleos does in its Korean home market where it’s called a Samsung QM5. But delve a little deeper and the Koleos starts to look very appealing indeed...

For less than $34,615 you get a high-riding C-segment crossover with selectable four-wheel drive and a punchy 2.5- liter petrol engine and six-speed manual gearbox. Not bad for starters, but it’s the standard specification levels that make this Koleos superb value for money. Selected items include leather seats (heated up front, with electric adjustment for the driver) with contrasting stitching, TomTom sat-navy, a six-speaker Arkamys Bluetooth sound system, parking sensors, dual-zone climate control, hill start assist, hill descent control, cruise control, auto dip-beam headlights, fog lamps, 17-inch alloys and a full-size spare.

For less than $34,615 you get a high-riding C-segment crossover with selectable four-wheel drive and a punchy 2.5- liter petrol engine and six-speed manual gearbox.

Being a Renault with a multi-purpose bent, the Koleos also has practicality features galore: more storage cubbies than you can remember, side rear window blinds, aircraft-style seatback trays, 12v power sockets front and rear, a quick release flat floor system, a split tailgate and the largest sun visors ever seen – seriously useful for blocking out . . . well, everything.

My first month with the Koleos has been about getting to know the car a bit better. I’ve taken it easy on the engine, which was delivered with just 62km on the odo. After more than 2200km, it’s spinning freely now, and the botchy gearbox is a little more willing to engage gears too. What feels like a heavy flywheel coupled with decent low range torque makes slow moving traffic far easier to handle as a relative lack of engine braking means less down-changes when crawling along.

So it’s a good start for the Koleos. There are a few issues to iron out, like how best to counter the overly firm seats and getting to grips with the crazy controls for the Arkamys audio system. it promises not to be a boring tenure.