CLASHING SYMBIOZ? (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Is there a place for the Symbioz in Renault's overcrowded range of mid-sized SUVs? Jonathan Crouch decides.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 40

The Symbioz Hybrid offers yet another Renault option for customers in search of a C-segment crossover. It's a more spacious, versatile and trendy take on a Captur. Which for the right kind of customer might make it very appealing indeed.

Backgroundword count: 204

You can never have too much of a good thing - or so Renault thinks when it comes to C-segment SUVs. If you want something a little larger than the brand's supermini-based B-segment Captur crossover, the company already offers the Arkana and then the fractionally larger Austral and Rafale models. Or, if you want an EV, the Scenic E-Tech Electric. Nevertheless, here's yet another alternative from the brand to consider, the Symbioz. Renault course thinks the Symbioz model's place in the range is quite distinct. The company needs to offer a direct alternative to the lower mid-sized crossover C-segment sales leader, Nissan's Qashqai. The Austral is a little too large and expensive to fully fill that role, the Arkana and the Rafale are Coupe-SUVs and the Scenic is electric and therefore too pricey. Renault loyalists might expect the Symbioz to be electric too, since this was a name first used back in 2017 for one of the brand's full-EV concept models. But that was a much bigger, more ambitious kind of design. This Symbioz (its name borrowed from the French word 'symboise' meaning 'living together') is basically just a super-sized version of the Captur. But that could be exactly what many young families want.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 295

Only one drivetrain is being offered to UK Symbioz customers. That's Renault's E-Tech full hybrid 145 set-up. Renault makes much of the way the design of this car's engine borrows from its F1 racing technology. Like the brand's racing powerplant, this one is extremely compact and features two electric motors, one with 36kW on the rear of the gearbox and one with 15kW on top of the transmission, along with a four-cylinder 1.6-litre normally aspirated petrol engine which contributes most to the 145hp total output. 62mph takes 10.6s en route to 106mph. The gearbox is an auto of course (but of the more unusual 'dog box' clutchless variety) and the motor is powered by 1.2 kWh lithium-ion battery pack located beneath the boot floor. The rest of the drivetrain has somehow been shoehorned beneath the bonnet. There's plenty of mid-range pulling power, so plenty of scope for enthusiastic progress here, particularly if you select the most dynamic of the three drive modes on offer - 'Sport'. But you're not going to want to use that too often for fear of decimating the frugal fuel returns which would have prompted you to choose this car in the first place. For the best readings, you'll most of the time want to stay in 'MySense', a hybrid setting which blends the petrol and electric motor output for maximum economy. In town, you might want to select the 'Pure' mode (or the 'EV' button on the centre console) which prioritises battery-electric drive up to about 38mph, providing there's sufficient charge. Renault claims that a Symbioz E-Tech Hybrid will be able to travel for 80 per cent of urban journeys on battery power alone. There's also a further 'Brake' setting on the gear lever, which increases throttle lift-off electrical regeneration.

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