IMPERFECT HARMONY

Sean O’Grady finds himself in easy symbiosis with the latest SUV crossover from Renault the Symbioz E-Tech hybrid

- Sean O’Grady

Keen follower of automotive affairs as I fancy myself to be, I've found the recent torrent of amorphously mid-market, varyingly electrified and quite same-ish Renault SUV crossovers frankly bewildering. I would challenge even the most dedicated Renaultiste to tell an Austral from a Rafale from an Arkana from a Megane E-Tech from a Scenic E-Tech from a Symbioz - the last of which I had the pleasure of covering a few hundred miles in.

And when I say pleasure, I mean I actually liked it, much against my prejudices. It’s a Renault, a brand I’ve never warmed to; it’s yet another SUV crossover thing; and it’s a hybrid, and thus a rather futile compromise that in most circumstances gives you the worst of both a traditional fossil-fuelled motor and a proper electric car propelled purely by battery power.

Yet... I liked it. There was something about this unprepossessing, almost anonymous personal transport that just felt “right”; the sort of sensation that can make one less fussed about value for money, say, or the comparatively weak warranty.