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Quick overview
- Strong cabin quality
- Front passenger space
- Pricing
- Well equipped
- Mediocre to drive
- Rear seat less roomy than some rivals
- So-so engine line-up
- Boot space in hybrids
Renault’s second-generation Captur is based on the Clio supermini yet offers more head and leg room thanks to its taller body, and a raised driving position that so many drivers choose an SUV for. It also looks good – not as cutting edge as some, such as the Nissan Juke the Captur shares its platform with, but simply stylish and fresh. It means the Captur is one of the key contenders in this class alongside the likes of the Skoda Kamiq, Ford Puma, and Peugeot 2008.
That’s some tough competition to be mixing with, but the Renault does it with a good deal of charm and panache. A lot of this comes down to the much improved quality of the Captur’s cabin compared to the previous generation model. It now feels high grade and solidly built, which in turn makes you happy about the car you’ve chosen and that it will last the course.
There’s plenty of space in the front and lots of adjustment for any driver to get comfy in the Captur. The rear seat also slides to vary load and passenger room, though the rear quarters are not as roomy as a Skoda Kamiq’s. However, there’s more than enough storage dotted around the Captur’s interior to keep all of your clutter from spilling on to the seats.
There are four engines to pick from, and three of them come with hybrid technology. The 1.0-litre TCe 90 petrol motor offers a low-cost route into the Captur, while the 1.3-litre Mild Hybrid 140 is a perkier choice for those covering longer distances. Go for the E-Tech Hybrid 145 and you get economy much like you would expect from a diesel-powered SUV, while the plug-in model offers an electric driving range of up to 31 miles along with low carbon dioxide emissions.
Prices
The Renault Captur range gets out of the blocks with the Evolution trim and starts at £22,195 with the 1.0-litre TCe 90 engine. You can upgrade to the TCe 140 engine for £1500, or the E-Tech Mild Hybrid 140 for a further £1100. Techno is the next trim and costs from £23,795 and is available with all four engine choices. Rive Gauche trim is next in line and starts at £24,995, while the r.s line model is only offered with the Mild Hybrid 140 engine and costs £26,895. Top of the pile is the E-Tech engineered versions that begin at £28,395. Savings of around £2300 are perfectly feasible on a brand new Renault Captur, or you could choose a nearly model with less than 5000 miles on the clock from around £18,500. A three-year old Captur with average miles to its name will cost from £15,000.
Infotainment, comfort and practicality
Take a seat in the Renault Captur and you will notice right away that it comes with a higher-set driving position than many other small SUVs. This gives a good view of the road ahead and the sides, but vision over the driver’s left shoulder is restricted by the broad rear pillars. When parking, this is mitigated by the rear parking sensors that are standard on all Captur models, and higher spec cars also come with reversing camera to make life even simpler. The driver’s seat has height adjustment in all versions, but there’s no adjustable lumbar support. Still, the Renault’s seating position is good and the steering wheel, which moves for height and reach, is directly in line with chair and pedals.
In the Evolution and Techno trims, you get straightforward analogue dials in the main instrument binnacle, unless you choose the plug-in hybrid model that swaps this for a 10-inch colour display. This monitor is also used in the higher trim levels of Captur and can be configured in a variety of ways to suit your tastes and the information you want to see. With either type of display, it’s easy to read. Renault also fits physical buttons for the heating and ventilation in the centre console, which are a doddle to use on the move.
Above the heater controls sits the Captur’s infotainment screen. In the two lower trims, this is a 7.0-inch screen that is easy to see and use, though its responses can take a beat longer than feels ideal when you press your finger on an icon. It comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to pair with your phone, and there’s a handy tray below to store your phone and charge it using the USB ports there. In the upper three trims levels, Renault upgrades to a 9.3-inch infotainment screen that sits more upright in the middle of the dash. It’s better to use, but still not the best in the class.
Head into the back seats of the Captur and you find there’s decent space for adults, though not as much as in a Skoda Kamiq. A couple of fully grown passengers will be fine here, but anyone over six feet tall will begin to struggle for head room and knee space may also become a bit tight if there are taller from occupants. Kids won’t have any complaints, however, and the floor is flat to allow for lots of room for feet. Renault supplies three triple-point seat belts and Isofix child seat mounts on the two outer rear chairs. In the doors, there are generous bins plus map pockets in the backs of the front seats.
The rear bench of the Captur can slide back and forth to vary passenger and load spaces. With it set to the rear-most position, there are 422-litres of carrying capacity, which is much the same as most of the Renault’s main rivals. Fold the 60-40 split and tumble seat down and you free up a maximum of 1275-litres of cargo room. However, the E-Tech hybrid models’ boots are made smaller by the batteries and tech, so the hybrid has minimum and maximum boot capacities of 326- and 1149-litres. The plug-in hybrid model offers between 265- and 1118-litres of space.
Which 2020 Renault Captur model should you buy?
Every Renault Captur comes with six airbags, automatic emergency braking, eCall, lane keep assist and lane departure warning. There’s also cruise control with speed limiter, traffic sign recognition, and rear parking sensors. The Evolution trim has 17-inch alloy wheels, grey cloth upholstery, air conditioning, keyless entry, electric windows all-round, and automatic headlights and wipers. You also get a 7-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Move up to the Techno model and you get front parking sensors and a reversing camera, 18-inch wheels, two-tone paint, and a black and grey cloth interior. This trim also has a variable height load floor, Multi-Sense driving models, and the E-Tech Hybrid-powered model has the 10-inch digital main dash display included. That screen is standard on the r.s line model, which also has a unique front bumper, faux leather interior, and the 9.3-inch Easy Link infotainment monitor. The Rive Gauche model has its own wheel design, gloss black exterior trim, and unique black cloth and synthetic leather upholstery. Lastly, the E-Tech engineered Captur comes with a one-off wheel design, front bumper and side skirts with gold-coloured highlights, leather and suede upholstery, and gold-painted trim details inside.
Value for money: how much does a 2020 Renault Captur cost to buy and run?
The 1.0-litre TCe 90 and Mild Hybrid 140 1.3-litre engine share the same 48.7mpg average fuel economy and 131g/km carbon dioxide emissions. Choose the E-Tech hybrid 145 and it offers between 58.9mpg and 60.1mpg combined economy depending on which trim you pick, while all Capturs with this engine emit 107g/km. Best of the bunch is the E-Tech Plug-in Hybrid that provides fuel economy of 217.3mpg and 30g/km of CO2 output, and it’s capable of up to 31 miles on electric power alone. This helps the plug-in models to a company car-friendly Benefit-in-Kind figure of 12%, which is well below the 26% of the E-Tech Mild Hybrid. Also, the plug-in model qualifies for free first-year road tax where the E-Tech Mild Hybrid pays £160 and the rest of the Captur range comes in at £230. However, the PHEV version sits in groups 21-22 for insurance depending on trim, whereas the rest of the line-up lies in groups 12-20.
Verdict: Should I buy a 2020 Renault Captur?
The Renault Captur is a car that succeeds by almost all things well, but never excelling in any one area. It’s well priced, and should you choose the plug-in hybrid model, you’ll enjoy a reasonable EV driving range and low running costs. It’s also well equipped in every trim level and comes with all of the latest safety kit you expect of a car in this class.
The engines perform a decent service, but they don’t quite deliver the fun of a Ford Puma or zip of a Volkswagen T-Cross. It’s a similar story with the way the Captur drives, which is perfectly acceptable but just not anything much to get excited about. For many, that will be just fine, and the Captur does offer a more raised driving position than many of its rivals to give that all-important SUV feel.