SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a prepared course chosen to make the product look good. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get an actual test unit for trial. Thank you for your patience.


First drive: The captivating 2015 Renault Captur

Small utility with added practicality

Pics by Renault SA
Posted: 9 May 2015

The cheat sheet

Prices:
Expression 900T: R219 900
Dynamique 900T: R239 900
Dynamique 1200T EDC: R279 900
Engines:
1) 898 cc DOHC, three-cylinder, turbopetrol
Power: 66 kW at 5250 rpm
Torque: 135 Nm at 2500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 12.9 seconds
Maximum: 171 km/h
Average fuel consumption (claimed): 4.9 l/100 km
2) 1197 cc DOHC, four-cylinder, turbopetrol
Power: 88 kW at 4900 rpm
Torque: 190 Nm at 2000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 10.9 seconds
Maximum: 192 km/h
Average fuel consumption (claimed): 5.4 l/100 km
Tank: 45 litres
Luggage space: 377-455-1235 litres
Warranty: 5 years/150 000 km
Service plan: 3 years/45 000 km; at 15 000 km intervals

SUV-cross-Hatch is passé; it’s been done a hundred times before. But add a dash of MPV to make it more useful and you will be noticed. Builld it like a bull, make it nimble like a toreador, give it a name that captivates and you have Renault’s latest small car offering. It’s made in Spain at Valladolid (Vaia-doh-leet), a city slightly smaller than Pietermaritzburg, in the autonomous region of Castile and León, to be exact.

The reason it looks sort of familiar is because it shares DNA with Clio lV and Juke; the sister it outsold by some 65 percent in Europe last year. Its styling begs comparison with Opel’s new Mokka, but while Captur is 156 millimetres shorter it brags with more luggage space and greater ground clearance (170 mm vs. 131 mm) than the German. But there are no pretensions at off-roading - Captur comes only in 4x2 and the higher stance is simply nicer for game viewing, stepping out of potholes and clearing steep driveways.

Then because it’s practical like a Spanish housewife you get a back bench that adjusts fore and aft through 16 centimetres, a bi-level boot and the expected split-and-fold seatbacks; giving 377 to 455 to 1235 litres of loading volume. You could fit, if not a small bull, then at least a side of beef in there, José.

Being a Renault, it’s built to be safe and is loaded with useful kit. Even the fundamental Expression version offers ABS brakes with EBD and EBA, EuroNCAP five-star safety rating, four airbags, three ISOFix baby chair mountings, ESC with understeer control, and proper three-point belts and height-adjustable head restraints for everyone; including the middle rear passenger.

Useful stuff includes alloy wheels, spacesaver spare, front fog lights, LED daytime running lamps, two-tone fabric upholstery, rear parking alarm, eco driving mode with automatic stop-start and braking energy regeneration, hill start assist, and keyless starting. There are the usual powered windows and mirrors with indicator repeaters; cruise control; automatic locking; four-speaker radio and CD player with Bluetooth, plugs and repeater buttons on the steering wheel; and driver’s chair with height adjustment. What you might not expect is a 7-inch touch screen, automatic climate control and built-in satnav.

As we said, that’s only the base model. Upper-crust Dynamique level adds automatic headlights and rain-sensitive wipers, bigger alloys in black diamond-cut finish rather than plain silver, bi-tone exterior paintwork, cornering fog lights, zip-off (washable) seat covers, a glossy interior pack, leather gear knob and steering wheel, tinted rear windows and tyre pressure sensors.  The top model with 1200 cc turbopetrol engine adds the option of leather upholstery.

Choice-wise, there are three models sharing two engines and a pair of gearboxes. Expression and mid-range Dynamique use Renault’s popular 900 cc turbo triple and share a five-speed manual transmission. Up top is a further Dynamique version available only with 1200 cc turbo engine and six-speed, electronically controlled (EDC) twin-clutch automatic. The two engines are essentially identical. The only difference is that the 1200 has a fourth cylinder added.

Suspension consists of McPherson struts with anti-roll bar in front and programmed-deflection flexible beam with coils at the rear. Brakes are ventilated discs at the sharp end and 9-inch drums behind; although the 1200 cc car gets bigger (280- vs. 258 mm) brakes in front.

To show that Captur is more than just a pretty face, we were set loose in 1200 cc automatics and aimed at two stretches of public dirt road - albeit with plenty of blacktop and a game park in between. The first rough bit comprised washboard corrugations that were best negotiated at skim-over-the-top speeds rather than gently, while a much longer section consisted of normal country road with stretches of loose topsoil. This was where the wisdom of letting us out in automatics made sense, because city folk tend to be overly aggressive with the power in loose conditions.

Aimed at city moms, free-spirited empty nesters and adventurous young families, the versatile Captur - a crossover small utility vehicle with added practicality – deserves to capture hearts, minds and a big chunk of the “B” segment SUV market.

Information gathered at a manufacturer-sponsored press event

Our review of the 1.2 EDC automatic is here



What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

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