Did you bother with the partial solar eclipse? I live in the North East and I’m sure it was all very fascinating and moody. The only snag in my neck of the woods is that it was cloudy. I can remember when we had an eclipse back in 1999…the weather up here was glorious…but we’ll all have to wait until September 23rd 2090 when we’ll get a full eclipse. Only 64 years to go.

I wonder what sort of cars we'll all be driving then?

It wouldn’t surprise me though if Renault was still churning out small family friendly SUV cars like the Renault Captur. They’ve always been good at it and, when something like the Captur is based on the massively popular Clio, you can understand why it does so well for the French manufacturer. It certainly holds its head above water in a sea that’s rammed with small, decent SUVs.

And it’s recently been given a thorough refresh.

Powertrain Options & Performance Figures

So, what’s on offer with the Renault Captur?

The one I had was the new entry model into the Captur range, the 1.2-litre 3-cylinder 113bhp Captur TCe 115. There used to be an 89bhp TCe 90 model, but that’s been dropped and replaced with this more powerful version.

A 0-60mph sprint takes 12.3 seconds, so it’s no flying machine and its top speed is only 111mph. If you go easily, Renault reckons you’ll be nudging 50mpg, which, to be fair to them, I got very close to, and that included some spirited driving and a hefty motorway schlep. A 6-speed manual gearbox sends power to the front wheels.

If you want to improve on all those figures and get an automatic gearbox, you’ll need to head to the only other model in the range, the Captur TCe 160, which gets a beefier 158bhp 4-cylinder 1.8-litre petrol engine mated to a hybrid system. Accelerating from 0-60mph now takes 8.9 seconds and your fuel economy climbs to 64.2mpg, although it comes at a price.

Price

The TCe 115 comes in at £22,495 (August ’26) in entry-level Evolution trim, while the 1.8-litre model means you need to fork out a further three grand. If you do a lot of miles, especially on the motorway, it’ll probably be a better option for you, but most folk who go for the Renault Captur will use it as a runabout and it’ll spend the majority of its life on urban and city roads, so I’d probably stick with the cheaper model.

Driving Experience

But back to the 113bhp Captur.

Even though the figures suggest that this little SUV will be sluggish, it works perfectly well in its urban environment. Okay, you need to row through the gears when you need a burst of acceleration when joining some quicker traffic, but it’s a willing performer and likes to be revved. The manual ‘box has a nice clean action to it.

Power delivery initially feels a bit odd, and it tends to arrive in surges, which is probably down to the way the turbo has been mapped. However, it’s one of those things that you can mitigate after a few days of life with the Captur. You start to know when the surge of power will arrive and can feather the throttle accordingly. The clutch has quite a long travel though and it’s often tricky to hit the sweet bite point.

Overall, the Renault Captur is a joy to drive. Surprisingly quiet too, but even when you’ve got to give it some boot, the sound isn’t coarse. The ride is nicely controlled and it’s nimble on a twisty road. You can tell it’s been set up for a life on city and urban roads because the suspension is fairly soft. Chuck the car into a corner and you’ll get a fair amount of body roll.

Trim Levels & Kit

In terms of trim, there are three levels on offer: Evolution, Techno and Esprit Alpine. Techno bumps up the price by exactly £2000 and it’s the same two grand jump up to Esprit Alpine. Evolution is by no means skimped when it comes to the essentials. You get full LED headlights, auto climate, auto headlights and wipers, rear privacy glass, heated wing mirrors, rear parking sensors, rear view camera, powered front windows, and a central 10.4-inch touchscreen which includes buttons for the climate control…hurrah.

Although this car is aimed fair and square at people wanting to get maximum value for money, I’d recommend Techno trim because the extra couple of grand seems like money well spent. The central touchscreen now gets Google software which includes sat nav, the alloy wheels are chunkier, roof bars, height adjustment now on the passenger seat as well as for the driver, 10.25-inch driver’s display, ambient lighting, adaptive cruise control, and you now get front and side parking sensors.

Esprit Alpine gives you stuff like heated front seats, heated steering wheel, upholstery which has a decent percentage of recycled material, powered driver’s seat, two-tone exterior paint and 19-inch alloys. I wouldn’t bother.

Interior

Inside, there’s decent space for four adults so children will be pretty happy. Loads of headroom too. Seats are comfy too with plenty of support. You sit quite high up in the Captur which is great for town roads. The 422-litre boot should cope with a family’s holiday paraphernalia and you can even slide the rear bench seat forward to gain extra boot space, although that eats into kneeroom. Children will be fine though.

Choices, choices…

So, which Renault Captur to go for?

It all depends on your driving circumstances. If you do a high-ish mileage and a lot of motorway work, you’ll find the additional power of the 1.8 litre hybrid model much more suited to your driving. The improved economy should help balance the fact that you’re paying more for the car. If you mix your motorway work with town driving, you’ll find that the hybrid battery and electric motor work well…you’ll do a lot of winding through streets on electric power only.

As I mentioned earlier, the Renault Captur appeals to folk with a keen eye on price. The cheaper TCe 115 is perfectly acceptable. No matter which engine you go for, I’d recommend Techno trim and it makes the car seem a bit more special.

It’ll become a family friend.

words: Graham Courtney
pictures: Renault

Renault Captur Review - A Family Friend