After reorganizing its C-segment cars with Mégane Electric, Arkana, and Austral, Renault now takes on the D-segment. It just launched the new Espace, and it is now followed by an ultimate flagship, the Rafale.

When they hear the name Rafale, some will think of the French jetfighter with the same name, but Rafale is also a French word for a kind of wind and was also an aeronautical reference much earlier. Aviation has also played an important part in Renault’s history: the Caudron-Renault Rafale, which flew at a record-breaking 445 km/h in 1934, is only one example of this.

New visual language

The new Renault Rafale is the first production vehicle entirely designed according to the new visual language that Gilles Vidal has brought in as head of Design Renault, coming from competitor PSA. Renault calls it a ‘gratifying SUV Coupe’.

“The new visual language is ushering in a new era in Renault’s design: it is visionary, daring, perfectly in tune with its time and tailor-made for a period when everything is moving ever faster and only avant-garde models will stay attractive throughout their life cycle,” says the press release.

“The All-new Rafale is a powerful illustration of the Renault brand’s new design language,” explains Gilles Vidal. “It is in keeping with its DNA through generous curves, treated with great precision, and lines of tension and technical details that bring character and sophistication to the whole. With its unprecedented style, quality craftsmanship, and proportions, the All-new Renault Rafale asserts its power and personality on the road.”

Especially the side of the car draws attention: “The moldings go from negative to positive, and it was hard work for the metal spinners to get it right and done,” Vidal adds. The car will also have a large glass roof with a new technology developed by specialist Saint-Gobain. With a switch or by voice control, one can choose between completely opaque or transparent or half and half, in the front or in the rear.

Full hybrid, two powertrains

Being the flagship, the Renault Rafale also features up-to-the-minute connectivity and a 200 hp E-Tech full hybrid powertrain as the basic drive, recently launched in the new Renault Espace. Its WLTP figures are an average consumption of 4,7 l/100 km and 105g/km CO2 emissions.

With Rafale, Renault wants to take driving pleasure to ever-new heights. To reach that, the car will be enhanced with technological breakthroughs and a new E-Tech 4×4 300 hp powertrain. The front hybrid ICE engine then gets the company of an electric motor in the rear (74 kW/100hp), making the car also all-wheel-drive. The car will also have four-wheel-steering recently introduced on other models based on the CMF-CD platform.

The car sits on the CMF-CD platform it shares with Espace. But this ‘SUV Coupe’ is 30 mm lower and measures 4,71 m in length. With a wheelbase of 2,74 m, passengers in the back should have ample leg room. The boot volume is 530 liters minimum.

Optimal driving pleasure for all

Renault says it has crafted Rafale’s DNA around optimal driving pleasure but insists that it is not the ‘self-centered kind’: it’s pleasure that the driver enjoys alongside passengers in ‘a car for life and living’.

“Driving pleasure is a priority, but never at the expense of passengers, who have plenty of space and amenities to enjoy as well,” says the press release. “The Rafale looks as vibrant as it feels when you drive it, and it is an opportunity to share an intense driving experience with your friends or kids, however grown-up they may be.”

“The All-new Renault Rafale is central in the Renaulution, symbolizes our move upmarket, and shows that we belong in every customer segment,” concludes Renault CEO Fabrice Cambolive. “With its captivating coupe-SUV design crafted for intense experiences, it provides unprecedented driving pleasure with its hybrid powertrains and a standard-setting chassis brimming with passion and know-how from Renault engineers.”

We’ll talk about this further when we will have got more technical details and have experienced it behind the wheel.