RENAULT SYMBIOZ

"More rational, less emotional" new crossover plugs gap between Captur and Austral

-  MATT SAUNDERS

Renault boss Luca de Meo has a knack for populism R when it comes to new models.

He is clearly very happy for this once-alternative, innovative volume brand to simply keep on bringing the kind of cars that people are actually buying right now. I say this because Renault will have eight models on sale in the UK by the end of this year across the wellworn B (supermini), C (compact) and D (mid-size) segments, six of which could be described as SUVs.

The latest is the Symbioz, a hybrid-powered, smaller sibling of the Austral- and between the two, Renault hopes to overwhelm the likes of the Nissan Qashqai, Kia Sportage and Volkswagen Tiguan.

This is a 4.4-metre-long crossover, then, based on the CMF-B platform (like the Renault Captur and Nissan Juke). It's only moderately high-rise in its profile, its roof height having been kept to around 1.6 metres so as to ensure a sensible frontal area and good aerodynamic efficiency.

While it will be sold elsewhere with cheaper mild-hybrid petrol powertrains as well, in the UK it will exclusively offer Renault's 1.6-litre E-Tech Full Hybrid powertrain. But, no doubt thanks to that cost-saving platform, it will cost a few grand less than key full-hybrid rivals from Kia, Nissan and Peugeot.

There is quite a sharply drawn, 'technical' flavour to the styling of the Symbioz. It could almost be a new Volkswagen Golf Plus from some angles. That rather seems to typify Renault's philosophical move towards the middle ground of the volume market in recent years; the emphasis it has put on quality, rationality, digital technology and neat but conventional design.