Review by Sandra Masters
I had the opportunity to test drive the Renault Koleos over the weekend and see how it goes around town.
The Koleos is competing against the Kia Sportage, the Nissan X-Trail and Mazda CX-5.
We got the base model Zen which has a 2.5L engine that outputs 126kW of power and 226nM of torque. On a combined cycle, the fuel economy is 8.1L/100km, so theoretically you could go more than 700km on a single journey. Not bad for a petrol car.
The first thing I noticed was the ease with which I could adjust the seat – forward and up at the touch of a button, with the added bonus of extra lumbar support. Being a larger vehicle than what I’m used to, the comfort and extra space between the driver and passenger seats was great. There was also plenty of leg room in the back.
I had great visibility out the front window and the wing mirrors were a great size for overtaking and reversing. I did go for a quick drive along the motorway and was pleased with how quiet and smooth the ride was. I loved the digital speedometer in the front console, which was a real bonus. It certainly helped me keep my speed in check; looking at an actual number made me think twice.
Given the size of the vehicle, I found parking surprisingly easy, especially with the notoriously small parking spaces at my local shopping centre.
There are a few disappointing things though. I found the boot was too heavy to close with one hand (especially when you’re holding all those shopping bags!) even with the lower handle on the boot door. Perhaps I would need an upgrade to ensure I had an automatic close. I also found that the brake pedal was too high and I could not rest my heel on the ground when using the brake – which in bumper to bumper traffic would be quite annoying.
Overall I found the vehicle smooth and easy to manoeuvre and thought the windscreen visibility and speedometre probably made it a safer vehicle for me to be driving. It’s a good SUV for weekend getaways, with a 2 tonne braked towing capacity, which is quite good when you consider its size. It also comes with a 3 year warranty and 3 year roadside assistance.
