The rear seats have got more than enough head- and legroom for four adults, and they also slide forward and backwards depending on whether you want to maximise space in the boot or cabin.īut it isn’t perfect. You pays your money…Īnd it is spacious in the back. The Juke drives with more vigour, but the interior isn’t anywhere near as spacious as the Captur’s. The French did look at the Juke’s 4wd underpinnings, but that ate into the vital cabin space too much. In the interests of space and cost – and to give maximum family friendliness – Renault also decided to base it on the FWD-only Clio IV platform. To be fair, children are where the Captur’s priorities lie – blame the little ones for this car not having the Juke’s zippier handling. You won’t have to raise your voice any more than normal to get the kids to behave. We’d go as far as to say it’s as quiet as any premium car: there’s barely any road noise, and the engine note is well suppressed too. TopGear would prefer something with a bit more fizz, but the Captur is comfortable and refined. If you’re after safe rather than fun, the Captur is perfect.īut, again, none of this matters to potential customers. Plus, the electric power steering gives absolutely zero feedback. You sit a lot higher than you do in the Clio (it’s 118mm taller), and you really feel the extra body roll through corners. Given all this, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to learn that it isn’t exactly exciting to drive. Tooling up for a brand-new car isn’t the work of a moment, but still… Especially as Renault’s partner, Nissan, had the Qashqai back in 2007, and the Juke from 2010, so the precedent was set a while back. The French firm has form with carving out successful family niches – you’ve only got to look at the Scenic or Espace for proof of that – so you’d have thought a family-friendly soft-roader was a given years ago. Renault’s attempt is called the Captur (pronounced ‘capture’), and the only strange thing about it is why it’s taken so long to arrive.
It’s a template taken from the Nissan Juke. Think of them as jacked-up superminis, and you’re about there – mostly two-wheel drive only, raised seating positions, very much aimed at the young family. European tastes are shifting: little SUVs are in, and the current fad is the baby crossover. The number of fresh saloons? Just three, and most of those were aimed at the Chinese. Already this year, a total of six all-new, small crossovers have been announced.
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