Renault Captur Review 2024

Renault’s small SUV is like a bungalow with a loft conversion. Taking its Clio small car as a base, Renault has knocked a few walls down, raised the floor and extended the roof to give you more interior space than you get in a Clio, but without the pay-off of massive exterior dimensions and the inflated running costs that come with them. Read on for our Renault Captur review.

Sharing a platform with the new Clio and also the Nissan Juke, the Renault Captur has dimensions that sit at 4227mm long, 1797mm wide and 1576mm tall. That makes it an alternative to the Skoda Kamiq, the big-selling Ford Puma and another French challenger, the Peugeot 2008.

It takes a lot to stand out in this crowded small SUV segment, but the Captur offers cheerful looks and a feelgood interior that mean it’s one of the better options.

Practicality has been a focus for the Captur’s designers, and the current model is slightly longer, wider and taller than its predecessor, giving it more interior space.

Front-seat passengers won’t feel cramped at all, and in the rear a sliding bench allows you to prioritise boot or passenger space. It’s a handy feature that means you’ll have no issues getting tall adults in the back, but equally can slide the rear seats forward to increase boot capacity when needed.

Renault has also been generous with storage space, with a large bin between the front seats and decent-sized pockets in all four doors.

Interior quality is great, with soft-touch plastics up front and neat touches such as knurled stalk caps. Naturally, the further up the range you go, the nicer it gets – R. S. Line models feature Alcantara-look upholstery and splashes of aluminium trim. 

The infotainment is also pretty impressive. All models get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – so you can mirror your phone’s display and use its apps on the car’s big screen – while top-of-the-range cars swap the standard seven-inch display for a portrait-style 9.3-inch effort.

Admittedly, it looks like someone has erected a tombstone on your dashboard top, but it’s easy to use.

Link your phone to the infotainment screen, get on the move and you’ll find there’s very little to whinge about. The Renault’s upright driving position and light controls make it easy to drive, but the weighty steering means it doesn’t feel flighty at speed. It’s not as direct as a Ford Puma, but it’s more comfortable.

There’s an engine for all requirements, too. You can choose from petrol and plug-in hybrid petrol models, but the 140PS TCe petrol does everything you need – it’s plenty quick, has enough grunt for shifting the car when it’s loaded and will return more than 40mpg all day long.

We’d stick with the standard six-speed manual gearbox, which has a smooth action that makes the seven-speed dual-clutch seem surplus to requirements. 

The Captur scores highly in the value-for-money stakes. Even entry-level models get full LED headlights and cruise control, auto lights and wipers, climate control, keyless entry and wireless phone charging. Prices range from £22,000 for a 90PS TCe Evolution model to nearly £33,000 for an R S Line 160PS PHEV. 

Looking for a second opinion? Why not read heycar’s Renault Captur review.

The Captur is a practical small SUV with a useful sliding rear bench allowing you to prioritise boot or rear passenger space.

While the the 536-litre luggage capacity seems pretty big on paper, it’s worth noting that’s with the bench all the way forward. With it moved back, it drops to 455 litres – exactly the same as a Volkswagen T-Cross. 

The opening is wide, but high, although there’s no significant lip for hoisting heavy items over. There’s also a useful amount of storage underneath the boot floor, and a spare wheel tucked away under that (an optional extra, unfortunately).

The interior feels bright and interesting, helped by the Orange Signature Pack that was fitted to our test car with its bright orange dash, door and centre console inserts.

While you wouldn’t describe the cabin as premium, there are plenty of nice materials and well-thought-through features. We like the toggles on the dash to turn the lane assist tech off, for example.

There are some cheaper-feeling plastics, though, if you go looking for them. Tall occupants might bang their leg on the chunky, plastic centre console, for example, and the glovebox handle feels low-rent.

Everything is fairly well laid out, and there are physical controls for the climate control. The audio controls tacked on to a stalk behind the steering wheel feel something of an afterthought, but that’s unlikely to be a dealbreaker.

The seven-inch infotainment screen is clear and easy to use, if a little laggy in operation.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard across the range, allowing you to access features on your phone’s screen such as third-party navigation or music streaming apps. The car’s in-built navigation is a fairly clear Google Maps-based system, plus all models get wireless phone charging.

Techno models offer a larger TFT display in the instrument binnacle – up from 4.2 to seven inches – and add the haloed glow of ambient interior lighting.

R.S. Line models get the tombstone-like, portrait-style 9.3-inch infotainment screen, which is pretty vast for a car like this.

The Renault Captur is priced from £22,195 for an Evolution model with a 90PS petrol engine. In comparison, the basic Volkswagen T-Cross is £30 cheaper and has a more powerful 95PS petrol engine. 

Plug-in hybrid versions of the Captur look pricey by comparison. You’ll pay up to £32,895 for one of those in 160PS R.S. Line trim, which is about the same as a PHEV variant of the Kia Niro.  There’s the potential to make significant savings on fuel if you do lots of short trips and can charge the car at home.  

You’re not going to be stung by high running costs, no matter which Renault Captur you buy.

The 90PS petrol claims an official return of up to 47.9mpg, but the more powerful 140PS version is a tad more economical, and will manage up to 48.7mpg. Trumping both, however, is the 145PS E-Tech Hybrid that will reach 56.5mpg. 

The 160PS E-Tech plug-in hybrid posts characteristically optimistic fuel economy figures of up to 217.3mpg – numbers that are skewed by the car’s ability to run for up to 30 miles on battery power alone.

Having said that, if you do lots of short journeys interspersed by the occasional long-haul trip and can charge the car at home – on a cheap electricity plan – there are large savings to be made.

The Captur’s soft set-up means it’s neither as fun to drive as a Ford Puma, nor as comfortable on broken roads as a Citroen C3 Aircross. It rides well enough if you specify small wheels, but it does crash over potholes more than you would expect.

Fortunately, its light steering and high driving position mean it’s easy to thread through congested city streets, and parking is easy – especially in models with a reversing camera as standard.

The three-cylinder 1.0-litre TCe 90 engine will be sufficient for the majority of buyers. It’s got plenty of power to keep up with traffic on open roads, and is fairly refined.

While there’s no noticeable vibration through the pedals – a trademark of older three-cylinder cars – we did notice a slight vibration through the front seats at a standstill.

It’s not as noticeable on the move and, apart from a slight three-cylinder thrum during heavy acceleration, it’s fairly refined – even at motorway speeds when a lack of a sixth gear means it’s running close to 3000rpm.

This isn’t great for fuel economy, though. Officially the 100 returns 54.3mpg, but we suspect it would be considerably lower than that in the real world if you regularly drive on the motorway.

If you do want a car that's happier out of town, you'll probably be better opting for the bigger 130 engine or one of the diesel offerings.

The 130 engine is a four-cylinder 1.3-litre petrol which we've sampled with the automatic gearbox. The seven-speed dual-clutch automatic is quite sluggish, particularly hampering performance when pulling away - making smooth getaways from roundabouts tricky, for example.

The Renault Captur was awarded five stars for safety by Euro NCAP in 2019, so it is one of the safest cars of its type. All models come with automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist, lane-departure warning, cruise control and rear parking sensors. 

Hybrid versions of the Renault Captur can tow a maximum of 750kg, while the conventional petrol model can both tow a braked trailer weighing up to 1200kg. 

The entry-level Renault Captur Evolution features kit such as 17-inch alloy wheels, full LED exterior lights and tinted rear windows.

Inside, you get kit a seven-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charging, four electric windows and climate control, plus rear parking sensors. 

Renault Captur Techno models get 18-inch wheels and exterior chrome, while their kit list features extras such as front parking sensors and a rear-view camera. Inside, there’s a fake leather interior, ambient lighting and a boot with adjustable floor. 

Renault Captur R.S. Line models are the sportiest of the lot. They get diamond-cut 18-inch alloy wheels and a body kit that makes them look more aggressive. The cabin includes Alcantara-like upholstery, with fake carbon fibre trim and an upgraded 9.3-inch portrait-style infotainment screen.