Renault updates Captur, its B-segment SUV

Today, Renault presented an update on its popular B-Segment SUV, the Renault Captur. Renault calls the category urban SUVs and points out that this is a market accounting for half of all sales in the B-segment, which itself makes up 30% of the total market.

“Captur is the B-segment “voiture à vivre” (car for living). It is versatile and multi-talented, both compact on the outside (4,23m) and spacious on the inside, modular to adapt to the uses of customers, equally at home in the city or off the grid,” says the official press release.

“Customers appreciate its high driving position, which allows easy access to the vehicle and good visibility of the road. All these qualities explain the success of a car that has sold over two million units in 90 countries around the world since its launch ten years ago,” Renault adds.

New nose

New Captur, as the car is now called,  adopts the new design language initiated by Gilles Vidal, Renault’s Head of Design. “Playing on light and matter with taut lines and precise detailing, the new language creates a more
stylish and dynamic effect. With its new front end, New Captur gains a more premium look,” he explains.

“While retaining the strengths that have made it a success to date, New Captur asserts its personality with new, more athletic, and dynamic proportions. The completely transformed, horizontal front end is both graphic and technological, giving it a strong stylistic identity,” adds Paula Fabregat, Design Projects Director at Renault.

The new front end takes on a more elegant, more technological look, with the Nouvel’R one-piece logo built into the multi-faceted grille and a higher, more horizontal bonnet. All these details want to underline the stronger identity of the New Captur, Renault claims.

The new front lights feature full LED technology as standard on all trim levels. Like the New Clio, the LED daytime running lights take on a vertical half-diamond shape inspired by the brand logo. The rear light housing is now transparent, revealing the inside of the lamps. They’re combined with the new logo and a redesigned diffuser. The car is available in three execution levels, of which Esprit Alpine is the top version.

Revised interior

The more upmarket style of the outside is also visible on the inside. The OpenR Link multimedia system and new dashboard screens (up to 10.25 inches) give the cabin a more modern look. New upholstery on all trim levels gives the car a more premium look and feel.

Renault is also limiting its use of chrome and replacing leather with grained cover material. This confirms the brand’s aim of completely phasing out animal-derived materials by 2025. In New Captur, all the upholstery includes recycled fabrics selected for their small carbon footprint without compromising on perceived quality, feel, or comfort.

Passenger knee room at the rear is still among the best on the market in this class, thanks to a rear bench seat designed to slide back over 16 cm. In terms of boot capacity, New Captur also ranks among the best on the market, with a maximum volume of 616 liters  when the rear bench seat is pushed fully forward (a gain of
132 litres). In the E-Tech version, the battery takes away part of the loading space.

E-Tech full hybrid

Under the bonnet, 5 different drives are available: three petrol ICE engines with 90 (three cylinders),140 and 160 hp (four cylinders), a three-cylinder LPG unit (100 hp), and an E-Tech full hybrid four-cylinder of 145 hp.

The latter is a full hybrid powertrain with a ‘series-parallel’ architecture. Two electric motors (a 36 kW e-motor and an 18 kW HSG – High-Voltage Starter Generator) are combined with a 69 kW (94 hp) 1.6 4-cylinder petrol engine and a 1.2 kWh battery.

The smart multi-mode ‘dog clutch’ gearbox is actually clutchless. It has 4 gears for the petrol engine and 2 gears for the main electric motor. Energy efficiency is optimized by the 14 possible operating combinations of the combustion engine and the electric motor.

The vehicle always starts up in electric mode and can operate in all-electric mode for up to 80% of the time in the city. In an urban cycle, for example, it delivers fuel savings of up to 40% compared with a conventional petrol engine. This efficient powertrain cuts CO2 emissions compared with the previous generation to 105 g/km, placing the vehicle on par with the best-in-class. On average, it uses more than one liter less petrol than the 160 hp mild hybrid, according to WLTP measurements.

Extended Grip (optional) is only available with this drivetrain and includes two specific modes: Snow and All-terrain. This lets users optimize traction to suit driving conditions, primarily through the ESP settings. Although the E-Tech version is a high-level version, it’s very popular amongst Captur customers. In France, for example, 41% of all buers opt for the E-Tech variant.