Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Renault Koleos
Renault hasn’t done a ‘proper’ 4x4 before, save for the Megane Scenic RX4 a few years ago.
That was described as a crossover vehicle – a cross between an MPV and a four-wheel-drive. car rental uk national car rental
The new Koleos, however, is different – it’s a crossover vehicle that offers “MPV levels of comfort and genuine off-road ability”… Wait, hang on a minute. car rental uk national car rental
OK, so maybe Renault has done a crossover before, but as far as the French carmaker is concerned, the RX4 didn’t count.
It placed emphasis mostly on the MPV side of things, whereas the Koleos is far more geared to off-roadness. car rental uk
Sort of. guy salmon
The Koleos marks the start of a concerted effort by Renault to branch out into the world of 4x4s, and although it says it doesn’t want to just rebadge an existing off-roader, this new vehicle shares its underpinnings with technology swiped from its partner Nissan.car rental uk national car rental
The Koleos is, essentially, an X-Trail in a fancy French chapeau.
This is no bad thing, as the X-Trail has proven credentials over the rough stuff, and Renault is counting on these skills to establish its own credibility in the sector.car rental uk
The Koleos comes with either full four-wheel drive or front-wheel drive, aimed at those for whom the driveway of their house is as off-road as they will ever get.national car rental
And herein lies the problem.
The Koleos has some decent off-road capability, but Renault admits that very few customers will actually use the thing beyond the school-run and motorway journeys.car rental uk
This is a vehicle designed to show the world that Renault can do capable 4x4s, even if no-one will take advantage of its technology. guy salmon
Of course, one could level the same observation at the likes of Range Rover et al. car rental uk
That was described as a crossover vehicle – a cross between an MPV and a four-wheel-drive. car rental uk national car rental
The new Koleos, however, is different – it’s a crossover vehicle that offers “MPV levels of comfort and genuine off-road ability”… Wait, hang on a minute. car rental uk national car rental
OK, so maybe Renault has done a crossover before, but as far as the French carmaker is concerned, the RX4 didn’t count.
It placed emphasis mostly on the MPV side of things, whereas the Koleos is far more geared to off-roadness. car rental uk
Sort of. guy salmon
The Koleos marks the start of a concerted effort by Renault to branch out into the world of 4x4s, and although it says it doesn’t want to just rebadge an existing off-roader, this new vehicle shares its underpinnings with technology swiped from its partner Nissan.car rental uk national car rental
The Koleos is, essentially, an X-Trail in a fancy French chapeau.
This is no bad thing, as the X-Trail has proven credentials over the rough stuff, and Renault is counting on these skills to establish its own credibility in the sector.car rental uk
The Koleos comes with either full four-wheel drive or front-wheel drive, aimed at those for whom the driveway of their house is as off-road as they will ever get.national car rental
And herein lies the problem.
The Koleos has some decent off-road capability, but Renault admits that very few customers will actually use the thing beyond the school-run and motorway journeys.car rental uk
This is a vehicle designed to show the world that Renault can do capable 4x4s, even if no-one will take advantage of its technology. guy salmon
Of course, one could level the same observation at the likes of Range Rover et al. car rental uk
# posted by Liz Laurie @ 8:32 AM 
