Renault Duster is still doing good numbers and the facelift has brought satisfying upgrades to the design and features. But truth be told, Renault has put a lot of pressure on Duster’s shoulders, which have been solely carrying the weight of SUV expectations of the brand. Renault wanted to ease the pressure and at the same time offer the customers a completely new experience. Renault Captur (pronounced ‘capture’) has been zeroed in to fulfil the objective. Renault Captur comes as a new kind of SUV that doesn’t look like any of the competition and promises all that we love in Duster and then some.
When we say that the Captur looks nothing like anything in its segment, you can see why it’s true. The Captur looks sleek and at the same time has SUV design cues. The Captur that Renault is bringing to India is built on the same platform as the Duster, unlike the European Captur that is based on Clio. This was made possible to keep the costs in check. And Renault has made that despite being based on the Duster, Captur doesn’t look like it. The Captur is more crossover than SUV in design with the top half looking car like and the bottom half reflecting SUV characteristics.
Exterior design of the Captur is worlds apart from the Duster thanks to the swooping lines and curves. Head-on, the Captur looks compact and disguises its size pretty good. A swoopy front grille that connects full LED headlamps look neat with floating side indicators. The front bumper houses good-looking DRLs and fog lamps with chrome highlights. Come to the side and the Captur reveals its size. The rising window line, deep waist creases, two-tone roof and 17-inch crystal cut alloy wheels define the side profile strongly. To the rear, the ripple tail lamps look good but the rear looks more like Kwid and that may or may not be bad. With a ground clearance of 210 mm, the Captur sits tall but the wide stance of the car balances the proportions well.
On the whole, the Captur looks great and if you want exclusiveness, there are two exclusive personalisation packs—Diamond Deck and Urban Connect. There is also a choice of interior finishes, 16 unique roof crowner designs and over 25 add-ons you can choose from.
Coming inside, the Captur has a neatly laid black-grey dual tone that attracts no big complaints but you don’t feel special. If you look at the components individually, they look good but as a package it lacks something. The three-spoke steering wheel gets a good size and houses the telephone and cruise controls and for the audio controls, you have to reach for the stalk behind the wheel. The instrument cluster (called by Renault as Infinity Instrument Cluster) certainly looks gorgeous with a digital speedo in the middle and an analogue tacho and fuel meters to the sides.
Centre console hosts the 7-inch touch screen infotainment system and AC controls. The infotainment system comes with Bluetooth, USB and Aux-in connectivity options but misses out on Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The driver seat comes with manual height adjustment but even in the lowest setting, the seat sits pretty high. The seats themselves offer good under thigh support and at the rear, you can squeeze three passengers in reasonable comfort and the seat recline has got good angle. Boot space is decent enough and the seats fold flat to expand the capacity.
Renault will offer the Captur with a 1.5-litre 106 PS petrol engine with a 5-speed manual transmission and a 1.5-litre 110 PS diesel engine with a 6-speed manual gearbox. Renault has not released any information about neither a 4x4 nor an automatic option. An automatic gearbox should have been offered considering that Renault is presenting Captur as a premium SUV. We drove the diesel engine and there are no surprises here as we all are pretty much familiar about the K9K diesel engine. The unit doesn’t do much till 1750 rpm and once the turbo kicks in, the engine gets going. There’s a strong mid-range power delivery till 4000 rpm. Getting the max out of the engine is easy despite the slightly heavy clutch. Gear ratios are short and the six-speed transmission puts in flawless work to slot the cogs well.
The Duster platform is known for its amazing ride quality and Captur carries forward the torch. You do get a firmer suspension for better body control but the ride quality is still as good. The steering may feel heavier than normal but the feedback is good. Put the Captur around corners and immediately you will note the under steer that makes its presence every time. The handing is neither shocking nor inspiring and Captur finds a good balance, keeping it neutral. The 210 mm ground clearance assures you won’t scrub your under body on our country’s unusually big speed breakers. Other features of the Captur include smart access card, start/stop engine button, auto AC, ABS with EBD, dual airbags, cruise control, rear AC vents, quilted leather seats and more.
Renault will launch the Captur in October to cash in on the festive period and is expected to slot the SUV between Hyundai Creta and Jeep Compass in terms of pricing (between Rs 12-15 lakh). The Captur certainly offers a fresh alternative in the segment and Renault will make sure it loads the Captur with a long list of equipment even in the base variant.
