Renault Rafale review

Yet another Renault SUV. The company’s UK range includes six of the blighters (Captur, Scenic, Symbioz, Arkana, Austral), but none are as big or as grand as this, the Rafale.

It’s described as Renault’s latest flagship, filling the shoes of cars like the Safrane, Avantime and Vel Satis – just three of the grandiose badges that’ve previously tried to inject a bit of luxury into the French firm. There was even a Laguna Coupe little over a decade ago, resembling a middle-of-Lidl Aston DB9.

It doesn’t take an ardent automotive historian to identify they each missed their respective marks, however much of a cult modern classic the Avantime has slowly morphed into. It’s therefore little surprise the Rafale doesn’t attempt to niche-bust or mould-break in the least, instead tapping into the ever-lucrative SUV coupe market.

Where its underperforming forebears majored on insouciant V6 power, the Rafale makes do with merely half the cylinders in full or plug-in hybrid guise. Both get a 1.2-litre 3cyl turbo mated to, in the case of the former, a pair of electric motors and a teeny-tiny self-charging battery, and in the case of the latter, three electric motors and a larger battery that you do have to plug in.

What’s the difference between powertrains?

The full hybrid powertrain is familiar from other Renaults, including the rather likeable Austral SUV. So you get a 197bhp total output and claims of 60mpg. It drives only the front wheels but the 1.6-tonne kerbweight is kept in check by 4Control – aka four-wheel steering.

Renault has been obsessed with it for years – it was premiered on that svelte Laguna, in fact – and here it’s got a sharper tune than the Austral and Espace with which the Rafale shares its platform. The suspension is uniquely tuned here, too, and there are wider tracks and tyres; this is the Renault SUV that’s more serious about driving.

The plug-in hybrid powertrain gets a combined 296bhp, plus up to 65 miles of e-range courtesy of the 22kWh battery. Renault reckons on a combined consumption of 565mpg (as ever that’s bobbins), and with the battery discharged, fuel consumption of 48mpg. It too gets four-wheel steering, plus four-wheel drive and a fancy self-adjusting suspension system on top models.

So it's comfortable, then?

That it is. It shares the wheelbase of the Espace (which we no longer get in the UK and is effectively a seventh Renault SUV sold in Europe) but without trying to seat seven, meaning the rear passengers here have abundant space despite the swooping coupe roofline. Partially this has been achieved by a swish sunroof that has four levels of opacity at the touch of a button – electronic trickery replacing the need for a bulky blind. The boot floor is high, as per most hybrids, but luggage space is still fairly flexible, the seat backs split 40/20/40.

The trick here is to offer BMW X4 space for a mite under X2 money. And arguably nicer styling than both, even if the Rafale’s rear three-quarter angle is as curiously gawky and metalwork heavy as most SUV coupes and the front looks oddly reminiscent of the latest Peugeot 3008. No oddness at all, in fact – this is Renault’s first model fully designed by Gilles Vidal. His last job? Design boss at Peugeot, where he finished off the 3008 before hopping across Paris to work on this.

Both are handsome cars from the front, though, and there’s welcome intrigue here from a lavish grille that was designed with the assistance of artificial intelligence. Things are yet more lavish inside, with more than 24 inches of display and touchscreen and plush materials scattered generously around. And that sunroof really is something to behold.

So what does it cost?

Prices start at £38,195 for the full hybrid, £45,695 for the PHEV, which doesn’t get the base techno trim option of the former. Either way standard equipment is strong – 20in wheels, in-built Google, a host of driver aids (and an easy button press to extinguish them) – with the more lavish trims climbing to just shy of £50k in PHEV guise but bringing plenty with them to justify the outlay.

Perhaps more pertinently, Renault has pulled off the same trick it managed with the less-luxe Arkana and carved out some tempting lease deals. Two-year terms and a big deposit could see you in a Rafale for under £220 a month.

More palatable deposits and a longer lease will take you towards £500 monthlies, but that’s still – as they always used to say – a lot of car for the money. Indeed, this is a Mercedes GLC Coupe or Audi Q5 Sportback rival in size with the price tag of a GLA or Q3. Renault is adamant that this time it has a credible rival for the Germans – that the Rafale doesn’t wish to step in the Safrane’s shoes, but walk in entirely different ones.

There’s lots to like about the Rafale. Smart looks (from some angles), plush materials, an intuitive mix of buttons and screens, some novel interior highlights – and all with some genuinely competitive lease deals to soften any fears of the depreciation that stung its forebears.

It’s just crying out for a slightly clearer personality. It doesn’t drive as keenly as Renault would like us to believe, nor does it potter along with the plushness big Frenchies always used to. Perhaps, given their success (or lack thereof), it’s intentional.

All told, it’s a decent enough SUV coupe at an appealing price, but it feels like it occupies a different universe to the cars that truly excite us about Renault – the award-winning 5 and delightful Twingo (and there’s hope yet that we’ll get it on these shores) urban EVs.