Renault Captur: All You Need To Know

Post the discontinuation of the Koleos from India last year, the Duster has been Renault’s flagship SUV in the country. Now, the French automaker has announced a new SUV/crossover, the Captur, which is a premium product compared to the Duster. Here’s what we know about the upcoming Renault Captur so far.   

A Quick Recap Of The Captur’s Origins 

The SUV/crossover made its world debut in Russia in April 2016. It is known as the ‘Kaptur’ with a ‘K’ there. It shares its design with the European Captur (Renault Clio-based) and is based on the Duster’s BO platform, and is meant for developing markets, including India. Perhaps since the Duster's platform has already been heavily localised in said markets.     

After Russia, this Duster-based SUV was revealed for the South American market at the 2016 São Paulo Motor Show in Brazil. It went on sale there in February this year and is known as the ‘Captur’ with a ‘C.’ And now, finally, it is coming to India in a couple of months!   

(In Picture: Euro-spec Renault Captur)

Dimensions*

*Dimensions are of the Brazil-spec model, India-spec model might vary slightly 

Design and Equipment  

If we have to speak about its overall silhouette in a go: The Duster-based Captur looks similar to the European Captur. In fact, the cabin is identical as well. 

(In Picture: Euro-spec Renault Captur)

(In Picture: Euro-spec Renault Captur)

The Euro Captur, which went on sale in 2013, received its facelift model at the 2017 Geneva Motor in March, with styling cues borrowed from the Kaptur/Captur. So it certainly previewed the aesthetic changes in the 2017 Euro-spec Captur almost a year before its debut. 

The highlight at the front is its big ‘C’-shaped daytime running LEDs. The tail lamps also feature ‘C’-shaped LED elements complementing the DRLs at the front.

The prominent feature of the Captur is its dual-tone paint scheme, which will also be offered here, as indicated by the teaser picture released by Renault India.

This also suggests that the India-spec Captur will have multiple dual-tone colour options like the Brazil- and Russia-spec model. 

The cabin is a straight lift from its European counterpart, and hence we are presented with the Captur’s digital+analog instrument cluster.

You easily spot its cabin's bits and pieces in the current Duster as well, such as the touchscreen unit and the auto climate control, among others.

The seats are identical to the Euro-spec model, which appear to be more comfortable and plusher than the Duster’s.     

Equipment List (Brazil-spec model)

These features are expected to be carried over to the India-spec model.

• Projector headlamps (most probably bi-xenon units), daytime running LEDs and fog lamps with cornering lamps

• The 2017 Euro-spec Renault Captur facelift gets full-LED Renault Pure Vision lights, which are not offered with the Captur in Brazil. Renault recently offered these Pure Vision LED lights with the Kaptur 'Extreme' in Russia and we wish it offers them in the India-spec model as well! 

• Tail lamps with LED graphics 

• 215/60 R17 tyres with diamond-cut alloy wheels 

• 7-inch Renault MediaNav 2 infotainment system (same as the Duster's) with built-in navigation and rear camera support. The Euro-spec model gets a more advanced 7-inch Renault R-Link unit, which supports Android Auto. Even a Grand i10 nowadays offers Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. We wish Renault India would offer the R-Link unit here

(In Picture: Euro-spec Renault Captur)

• Auto climate control 

• Cruise control

• Passive keyless entry (Card key) with push-button engine start-stop 

• Hill hold assist

• Comes with four airbags (dual front and front side), electronic stability programme (ESP) and ABS with EBD as standard. We expect the India-spec model to feature this safety suite at least in the range-topping versions

Engine and Transmission 

The India-spec Captur is expected to carry forward the engine options of the Renault Duster: the 1.5-litre diesel and the newly introduced 1.5-litre petrol. The diesel produces 110PS and 245Nm (being a premium product it is unlikely to see the 85PS version of the 1.5-litre diesel), while the petrol puts out 106PS and 142Nm in the Duster. These engines might be uprated for the Captur, especially the petrol.

Transmission options 

• Diesel: the Duster gets a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed AMT (automated manual transmission) with the 110PS diesel and the Captur is likely to carry forward the same. But being a relatively premium offering, we wish Renault would offer its 6-speed Efficient Dual Clutch (EDC) automatic transmission with the diesel, similar to the Euro-spec Duster and Captur
• Petrol: Expected to carry forward the Duster’s 5-speed manual and CVT auto

Prices, Rivals and Launch 

As mentioned above, the Captur will sit above the Duster and is likely to be priced in the range of Rs 10-15 lakh. In India, the Captur will have a lot of SUVs/crossovers in its crosshairs, such as the top-end versions of the Hyundai Creta and Maruti S Cross along with the Jeep Compass, Tata Hexa, and the Mahindra XUV5OO. Renault is expected to drive in the Captur in a couple of months. 

Source: cardekho.com