By Adam Towler
07 May 2008
Just how determined do you think Renault is for us to believe the Koleos is a serious all-terrain machine, and not just another city-domiciled faux off-roader that never climbs anything more taxing than a particularly high-set kerb? Well, at the moment when the windscreen started to creak with twist in its mountings, our koleos stood almost vertically on its nose, descending into a dry river bed in Morocco, was when I realised the answer was ‘very determined’ indeed. But the obvious question, however, is how many owners will care about genuine off-road ability, and we suspect that answer might be ‘not many at all’. Such is life with the crossover concept.
By its own admission, and like rival Ford with the Kuga, Renault has been very slow at providing a contender for this particular genre. Now, finally, it has a riposte, achieved by clothing the latest Nissan X-trail in Renault steelwork, and sent to market with what it hopes will be a winsome mix of genuine off-road ability, comfort and practicality.
On the outside
What a pity: another Renault that – like the recent new Twingo and Laguna before it – is determinedly conservative. No, there’s nothing actually unattractive about the pseudo off-road lines, but in a segment bursting with alternatives, and led by style and the perception of it by others, the Koleos is neat, tidy, but unremittingly ordinary. If you were to take away the Renault Diamond, it could be one of many vehicles in this class, and that may prove to be a hurdle on the high street. Where’s that French style gone Renault?