Renault Rafale review

Renault’s bosses are busy at the moment, and the new Rafale is the latest in a deluge of new models hitting the market. Perhaps it isn’t the most important model coming to Irish roads – certainly in terms of expected sales volume – but the hybrid fastback-SUV is arguably one of the most ambitious. That’s because Renault is taking aim at the premium SUV market, claiming the Rafale is a rival to some big names from the usual German suspects. But can the newcomer really compete at that level?

Familiar style

If you took a glance at the pictures and mistook the Rafale for a Peugeot 408, you aren’t the only one. The two cars look remarkably similar, right down to the spoiler with its ‘cat ears’ design and the pert tail. Renault would argue that there are lots of details specific to the brand, but there’s no hiding the fact Renault’s design director was previously Peugeot’s design chief, and there’s plenty of crossover between the two cars.

Fortunately, both cars are pretty attractive vehicles, all things considered, and the Rafale in particular backs that up with a smart and spacious cabin. Again, it’s pretty familiar – most of the tech and features comes straight from the more conventionally shaped Renault Austral – but that doesn’t stop it feeling cool and modern.

Neat touches such as the slate-effect panels in the dashboard and the carpet-lined door bins sit alongside a sliding armrest that’s supposed to feel like an aeroplane’s throttle quadrant, and that all helps the interior to feel interesting. But the centrepiece is the touchscreen infotainment system, which uses Google tech to feel more like a smartphone than a conventional car’s touchscreen. With quick responses, smart graphics and apps such as Google Maps included, as well as the usual Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone connectivity software, it’s a really competent and appealing system.

But while the touchscreen can compete with those fitted to premium rivals, the fit and finish isn’t quite that good. It feels solid enough for the most part, but some cheap plastics let the side down, particularly on and around the steering wheel.

That said, the Rafale’s cabin feels solid for the most part, and some of the materials are really quite tactile.

Space race

The Rafale is a surprisingly big car, at more than 4.7 metres in length, so there’s an awful lot of space on offer, with a 535-litre luggage bay when all five seats are upright. And you can expand that by using the ski hatch in the 40:20:40 folding rear bench to load longer objects or by delving under the false floor to find about 100 litres of extra carrying capacity. Or, if you don’t need to put people in the back, you could fold down the back seats to free up more than 1,700 litres of space.

Admittedly, those figures aren’t so impressive alongside the BMW X4 and Audi Q5 Sportback with which the Rafale roughly shares dimensions, but they look far better when compared with the smaller, more similarly priced X2 and Q3 Sportback.

And the figures only tell part of the story, because the Rafale comes with a huge amount of rear passenger space, with ample leg- and headroom for even very tall adults. And there are useful features, such as the rear armrest that incorporates USB-C charging ports, cupholders and phone stands so you can watch Netflix hands-free.

Smooth and efficient

The Rafale gets the same 1.2-litre hybrid system as the Austral, so it produces 200hp and sends it to the front wheels via a complicated automatic gearbox. Despite the ample power, it isn’t fast, but it is refined and efficient, with a smooth transition from electric to petrol power and a charming engine note, as well as the ability to use the electric motors so often you burn less than five litres of unleaded every 100km. At least on the official economy test.

And things will get more efficient (and powerful) at the end of the year with the arrival of a 300hp plug-in hybrid version with all-wheel drive and an official all-electric range of 100km on a single charge. That car will also get cleverer suspension, and we suspect that might be worth waiting for.

The ride in the car we drove was quite firm, albeit not bone-shattering, and we could forgive that stiffness if the handling were exceptional, but it isn’t. The steering is lifeless, the body control is little better than adequate, and the four-wheel steering fitted to upmarket models gives the car a disconcertingly nervous and twitchy feel, even if you adjust it to its most stability-orientated setting.

Plenty of kit

As a result, it could be that the Rafales of choice are the basic Techno models and the range-topping plug-in hybrids, although we’ll wait to drive both before passing judgement. What we do know is that even the entry-level Rafale won’t be short of equipment. A reversing camera, parking sensors, wireless phone charging and massive alloys are all included in the €51,495 starting price. That makes it about the same price as the Q3 Sportback.