More power and torque for Renault’s Captur

BY TUNG NGUYEN | 1st Feb 2019

RENAULT Australia has replaced the 88kW/190Nm 1.2-litre petrol engine in its automatic Captur small SUV line-up with a 110kW/250Nm 1.3-litre turbocharged unit, while also raising pricing by $1000 to reflect the powertrain upgrade.

Having first been made available in the limited-run Intens S-Edition introduced late last year, the 1.3-litre engine is now offered on the Zen and Intens variants for $25,990 before on-road costs and $29,990 respectively.

The new engine is paired to a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and sends drive to the front wheels.

However, the 66kW/135Nm turbocharged 1.0-litre three pot Zen five-speed manual still opens the range at $21,990.

Specification in the Zen grade is also revised with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility enabled through an update to the 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, which is on top of standard equipment including 16-inch wheels, cruise control, digital radio, satellite navigation, reversing camera, automatic headlights and push-button start.

Stepping up to the Intens variant nets buyers 17-inch wheels, blind spot monitoring, front foglights and partial leather interior.

Renault Australia managing director Andrew Moore said the new engine option is expected to renew interest in the French brand’s small SUV offering.

“An engine that makes driving Captur a real please, Renault Australia are pleased to be expanding its availability across the Captur automatic range,” he said.

“This punchy engine is worth getting behind the wheel and taking Captur for a spin.”

Last year, Renault sold 457 units of its Captur, a 21.2 per cent increase over 2017, placing it close to the bottom of the sub-$40,000 small SUV segment.

For comparison, the most popular vehicle is in the segment, the Mitsubishi ASX, recorded 19,034 sales, while the Mazda CX-3 (16,293), Subaru XV (12,937), Hyundai Kona (12,352) and Honda HR-V (12,148) also easily outsold the Captur.

2019 Renault Captur pricing*