Renault Captur review

Things kick off at £22,195 for the most basic Captur – called Evolution – twinned with the piddly 1.0-litre petrol manual. Jumping up to the 1.6 hybrid auto sets the starting point at £24,995. There are no other combos of engine or gearbox available. Simples.

Evolution rides on 17in alloys and comes with automatic LED headlights, heated wing mirrors, rain-sensing wipers, plus the Full Fat 10.4in portrait touchscreen (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are present and correct), Arkamys audio system, cruise control, a bunch of active safety systems, rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera and automatic climate control. The key isn’t really a key, looking like a credit card that’s been stung by a wasp.

The mid-spec Captur is Techno, which introduces 18s, that 10.25in driver display and Google functionality. Means you can navigate with maps, even if you’ve not hooked up your phone. In come roof bars, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, extra-tinted rear windows, folding wing mirrors, and front and side parking sensors. £23,895 is the asking price, or £26,695 for the hybrid.

Last up is Esprit Alpine, a nod to Renault’s sporty brand that lends its name to the F1 team these days. It gets 19s, a heated leather steering wheel, adaptive cruise control and heated front seats. Oh and some visual tweaks too, like two-tone exterior paint. It can only be had with the hybrid powertrain, so it’s £28,395.

And the best one is?

There’s not much to tempt us up to the mid-spec trim, so we’d keep it as cheap as possible and stick to the base car with the little 1.0 litre. Yes it’s slow, but if this is primarily a car for pottering about, that’ll never catch you out. And unlike the hybrid, it won’t drive you completely loopy. Smallest possible wheels too, which will help the ride.

For our humble opinion red is the best of the six available colours. And it’s the only one that’s free, so stick with that.

Right now Renault can offer you 0 per cent APR on the base Captur if you stump up £6,659, after which it’s £158 per month over two years. Chuck a little less on the deposit – for argument’s sake, let’s say about 20 per cent of the entry car’s value – and that leaps to roughly £250 over four years with a slightly more generous mileage allowance and interest of 7.9 per cent APR.