Renault reveals new Symbioz mid-sized SUV – and it’ll cost less than £30k

Renault is coming for the Nissan Qashqai with its latest unveil: The new Symbioz. 

The mid-sized crossover becomes the eighth SUV from the French brand, bridging the gap between the smaller Captur and the larger Austral.

The hybrid five-seater family car is also being aimed at business buyers, and is estimated to cost less than £30,000. Order books will open in July.

Order books for the new Renault Symbioz will open in July, with the crossover expected to cost less than £30,000

It’ll be built on the same CMF-B platform as the Clio and Captur, but will be extended to offer more space and practicality

The Symbioz – a new name to the Renault family – will be built on an elongated version of the brand’s CMF-B platform, which is also used by the Clio supermini and Captur small SUV.

With the back seats in normal position you get a 492-litre boot. If you fold them (they split 60:40) to create a flush, flat floor, there’s 1,582 litres to use up.

Similar to the Captur, the rear seats slide back as a bench giving you a huge 625 litres of boot space. The Nissan Qashqai has 504 litres, the Hyundai Kona 466 litres, and even Renault’s own larger Austral has just 555 litres. 

The cabin offers just shy of 25 litres of storage space, and passenger space is enough for a tall family of five to fit with absolutely no problems. There’s headroom and legroom for six-footers to sit front or back.

It goes up against the Nissan Qashqai, but if you move the rear bench forward you get a bigger boot of 625 litres, compared to the Qashqai’s 504 litres

Passenger space is enough for a tall family of five to fit with – there’s headroom and legroom for six-footers to sit front or back and the sunroof makes the cabin feel larger and more airy

Aside from practicality, the biggest seller for this affordable car is how economical it will be for your wallet. Realistically, you’re not buying the Symbioz if you’re in the market for an Audi Q8.

Initially upon the launch the Symbioz will only be available with Renault’s E-Tech full hybrid 145 powertrain.

This combines a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with two electric motors and a 1.2kWh battery, producing 145bhp. Renault puts fuel economy at 61.4mpg (part in thanks to the Symbioz’s light weight of 1500kg), and claims you can run around the city 80 per cent of the time on electric.

A 0-62mph stat has yet to be released, but there’s not much point holding out for a sub-10s time considering the car’s powertrain. 

The Symbioz combines a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with two electric motors and a 1.2kWh battery, producing 145bhp

The design is very similar to the new Captur, but on a larger scale and few a few subtle tweaks and a different rear end

The design inspiration behind the new Symbioz originates with the Renault 16, first launched in 1965. 

The 16 was a family car, suited to ever-changing daily lifestyle needs that went on to inspire the Espace and the Scenic, and cement Renault’s brand position as a provider of ‘voitures à vivre’. 

The exterior is a mix between the new all-electric Scenic E-Tech and the facelifted Captur (designed at the same time as Symbioz.)

The Symbioz front is pretty much a copy and paste of the Captur – angular, chunky, ‘SUV’ – with details to reflect the Renault badge – apart from the grille pattern.

The rear is its own though, with a large overhang spoiler, and more sculpted, wider and stronger outline.

The interior again blends elements from other members of the Renault family, with nods to both the Captur and Clio. 

It’s Google-powered, with the same dash as the Captur, featuring a 10.4-inch touchscreen and a 10.3-inch digital driver’s display. 

The interior is again similar to the Captur and Scenic, with a Google-based set up 

Toggles and buttons accompany the screens, keeping drivers who like physical controls happy.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard for the latest version of Renault’s OpenR Link infotainment, as are Google Maps and Google Assistant. 

You can download 50 apps from the Google Play store, including Waze and Spotify.

There are almost thirty driver assists, including blind spot warning, 360-degree camera and adaptive cruise control and driver attention alert. 

There are almost thirty driver assists, including blind spot warning, 360-degree camera and adaptive cruise control and driver attention alert

Trims consist of: Techno, Techno Esprit Alpine and Iconic Esprit Alpine – all of which have the two screens as standard and in-built Google

The interior benefits from the ‘Solarbay’ glass sunroof with ‘AmpliSky’ technology that can switch between four different light effect and opacity settings. 

Controlled with voice command or by a switch, you can create the airy natural light ambience of your choice and alter inside temperature.

Rather than using a mechanical blind, the opacity of the glass itself can be changed from fully transparent to fully opaque, or even half-and-half, at the push of a button. 

Trims consist of: Techno, Techno Esprit Alpine and Iconic Esprit Alpine, and there are seven colour options, as well as new 18 -and 19-inch alloy wheels. 

Prices start from under £30,000 with order books opening in July.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk