SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you can get at home.

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* Please note that prices quoted are those in effect at the time the vehicle was tested

We attended the press launch of the 2009 Renault Koleos

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.


Product pics by Quickpic and adventure pic by the author

Four-by-four outside, Renault inside

 Posted: 17 October 2008

Only a year or so ago, a “crossover” was a street car with an extra 50 mm of ground clearance, that made it a bit easier to tackle the gravel road to Cousin Hennie’s farm.

In today’s Renault-speak, however, a “crossover” is a gentlemanly SUV fitted with all the mod-cons, yet underpinned by some fairly serious off-road equipment. Imagine khakis and combat boots with jacket and tie. The Koleos range announced recently, fits this description.

Styled and fitted by Renault, with platform and All Mode 4x4-i straight from the new X-Trail courtesy of alliance partners Nissan, the newcomer is built at the state of the art Renault Samsung factory in Busan, Korea.

With a refined exterior that fits in equally well at both country club and at aqua classes, (Renault privately admit that the previous Megane-based crossover did encounter some masculine resistance to its looks) the Koleos is a well appointed, roomy and practical people mover that should go down well with both Joseph and Joanne Public alike.

A key example is the split-opening, clamshell-design tailgate. The upper part can be opened separately when space is limited, while still allowing items of up to a metre long to be loaded. Full access to the cargo space is provided when the lower half is also folded down.

Other practical features include modular seating arrangements with its 60:40 split rear bench seat, which can be folded down from the boot. When folded, it provides a completely flat cargo floor, with a luggage capacity of 1 380 litres (450 litres with the seats in place).

A multipurpose retention net with various securing hooks, a front passenger seat that folds down to form a table or to allow extra-long items to be loaded and the ski trap in the rear bench seat, are further refinements.

Buyers have a choice of two power plants. The TR25 Euro 4-compliant petrol engine is a 2,5-litre four-cylinder DOHC unit delivering 126 kW at 6 000 r/min and 226 Nm at 4 4000 r/min.

The MR9 turbodiesel engine is a second-generation common-rail design of 1 995 cc capacity with four valves per cylinder. Maximum output is 127 kW at 4 000 r/min, while maximum torque of 360 Nm is achieved at 2 000 r/min. It is also Euro 4-compliant.

The Koleos is offered in both all-wheel drive and front-wheel drive versions. The 4x4 line-up consists of two petrol models –six-speed manual, or “five-speed” CVT and a six-speed manual diesel derivative. The Koleos 4x2 is only available with the petrol engine and six-speed manual gearbox.

Performance and fuel economy in equivalent manual and CVT versions is practically identical. Zero to 100 km/h comes up in the lower 9-second range, with maximum speeds in the mid-190s, while combined cycle fuel consumption is just under 10,0 l/100 km for both versions. The diesel engine’s combined cycle consumption is a claimed 7,9 l/100 km.

The 4x4 drive train automatically distributes torque between the front and rear axles via an electronic coupler, according to traction requirements.

In normal on-road conditions, drive is purely to the front wheels. The All-Mode 4x4 system determines the required torque split when traction loss starts occurring. It also integrates with Renault's active safety systems, adjusting torque split to counter under- or oversteer.

The Koleos can be locked in two-wheel drive mode if required, while a 4x4 lock mode provides optimum grip when traction is compromised, such as on loose gravel, sand or snow. Hill Descent Control and Hill Start Assist are standard on Dynamique Premium models.

Antilock brakes with EBD and Brake Assist are standard, as is ESP. Inside, there is a huge array of storage spaces, a choice of two sound systems, loads of leg- and head room and the usual Renault touches like the parental oversight mirror, to keep tabs on rambunctious youngsters.

On the road, the first sensation is that, unlike most other SUVs, there is no feeling of height- and clearance-induced wobbliness – rare indeed.  As for gravel roads, let us simply say that a certain British maker of luxury SUVs has just found a serious challenger in the comfort and stability stakes.

While obviously not the ultimate 4x4, the Koleos acquitted itself well on the De Wildt off-road course near Pretoria and would probably serve the adventure needs of ninety percent of weekend bushwhackers.

Prices
Koleos 2.5 4x2 Dynamique Manual                       R270 000
Koleos 2.5 4x4 Dynamique Manual                       R285 000
Koleos 2.5 4x4 Dynamique Premium CVT              R330 000
Koleos 2.0 dCi 4x4 Dynamique Premium Manual    R345 000

All Renault Koleos models are supplied with a standard three-year/100 000 km warranty and a five-year/60 000 km service plan. Also included is a 24-hour roadside assistance and security plan.
Renault's commitment to customer peace of mind embraces fixed price menus, prompt and efficient customer care, and competitive spare parts pricing.

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to in order to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and visit to kick back and relax. 

So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

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