Renault Captur

The Captur is a sexy looking little crossover, about the same size as the Citeoën Cactus we tested earlier. You can really play with colour and colour combinations. I personally liked the warm cream colour of the test unit which Renault calls ivory white.

The Captur is fairly meek in ECO mode but mildly gnarly in standard mode in which the car comes alive and becomes fun and fairly sure footed thanks in part to the McPherson front suspension with rectangular lower arm and anti-roll bar.

Performance is very impressive for a 898cc engine. Of course the advanced management and turbocharging make this little petrol mill a little performer in overboost mode putting out 70kW and 150 Nm.

I got 6.7 Litre/100km of mixed driving, although Renault claim 4.9L/100km, which I believe is not possible in real world driving.

It has a double layer boot above the Marie biscuit spare, with a parcel shelf about 10cm above the spare. The boot itself will just pass the pram test. The car interior overall is smaller than it appears from outside.

There is a very interesting backseat mechanism. The rear bench does not flip over but rather folds down and shifts forward. It is a bit unusual, but it is effective.

Speaking of seats, as per all modern Renaults, the seats are comfortable and adjust enough to find a comfortable position. They are also a handy hip height making entry and egress a pleasure.

The Captur is a pleasure to drive but is not quite as sporty as she looks.

Prices are as follows:

Captur Expression 66kW Turbo              R219 900
Captur Dynamique 66kW Turbo             R239 900
Captur Dynamique 88kW EDC Turbo   R279 900

Also look at the Citeoën Cactus, Renault Duster and Stepway, Nissan Juke, Suzuki Vitara.

The warranty is 5 years or 150 00km.