Beijing show: Renault's Koleos gets full reveal

RENAULT has revealed more details of its all-important second-generation Koleos SUV at the Beijing motor show, ahead of its imminent arrival in Australian showrooms.

The French car-maker says it has moved the Koleos “upmarket”, taking its place as the flagship of Renault's SUV line-up, as well as pushing it up to the next segment, with the all-new model growing in size to straddle the upper end of the mid-size and smaller end of the large-SUV segment.

GoAuto understands that the Koleos will go on sale in Australia in the coming months and is likely arrive in dealerships ahead of the Megane small-car range, which is scheduled to lob in September or October in hatchback form.

Renault has not provided any information on the Koleos' powertrain or any other technical details, including its size, but it has confirmed that it will be available with an all-mode four-wheel drive system that can switch between two-wheel drive, 4WD Auto and 4WD Lock modes.

The company says the Koleos offers “impressive” ground clearance, without providing any measurements, but adds that the new SUV has a driving position that is 150mm higher than that of a traditional sedan.

A single image of the Koleos was officially released by Renault late last week after it was earlier leaked online, which highlighted the accuracy of GoAuto's computer-generated image that was published three weeks ago.

The full set of images show how the Koleos has moved on from the polarising styling of the previous model, taking on more traditional SUV proportions and what Renault describes as a “powerful stance, with muscular exterior lines”.

As previously reported, the Koleos – penned under the guidance of Renault chief designer Laurens van den Acker – takes design cues from its small Kadjar SUV sibling, as well as carrying styling elements found on both the Megane small-car range and the Talisman mid-sizer.

The Koleos is built on the same flexible Common Module Family (CMF) C/D platform as the Kadjar, Talisman and Espace as well as Nissan's X-Trail and Qashqai crossovers. The Australian-market version will be produced at the Renault-Samsung plant in South Korea where the current model is sourced from.

Dimensions are yet to be made public but Renault is claiming “class-leading” cabin space, with 289mm of knee room in the second row.

The five-seater – so far there is no sign of a seven-seat version – has a modern cabin with the R-Link 2 multimedia and control system housed in a portrait-style tablet in the centre stack, featuring driver assistance systems, Bose audio, infotainment, navigation and voice control.

Renault Australia managing director Justin Hocevar said the Koleos would become a core model for the brand and would help the brand's plans for further growth.

“The new Koleos will play a critical role in the continued expansion of Renault’s business in Australia,” he said.

“This vehicle is a core model and the new Koleos will give us and our network business partners a very appealing and well-equipped product with which to compete in this very important segment.”“It delivers exceptional performance, comfort and safety for our customers. We are delighted and excited to see its entrance in our part of the world and look forward to it arriving in Australia.”

The new Koleos will be pitched against the likes of the Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-5, Toyota RAV4 and the related Nissan X-Trail as well as smaller offerings from the large segment such as the Hyundai Santa Fe and Holden Captiva.

Mr Hocevar told GoAuto earlier this month that Renault would not push up the price of the new-gen model over the outgoing version which ranges in price from $29,500 to $43,500 plus on-road costs.

“We won’t be repositioning this car higher up in the market, in short. I think that it will become immediately apparent to customers that on size, specification and price, we have got a really attractive offering,” he said in early April.

Renault has passed on offering the smaller Kadjar in Australia as European sourcing would push the price into the territory of the larger Koleos, leaving the Captur crossover and Koleos as the car-maker's two SUV offerings.