There’s nothing that picturesque Verna in South Goa can’t cure. Renault unveiled its so-called Crossover SUV, Captur (pronounced Capture) for the Indian market, with specific modifications required for the road conditions here.
The price will be announced later in October, but after driving the Captur for a couple of hours (weather was a blessing too), here’s what we feel this premium C-segment SUV can offer, especially in a market that’s already got the Hyundai Creta, Jeep Compass, Mahindra XUV500 and Tata Hexa among others.
Specifications:
- Type: C-Segment SUV
- Engine: 1.5-litre diesel/petrol
- Transmission: 5-speed (P), 6-speed (D)
- Wheels: 17-inch alloys
- Features: 7-inch infotainment, ABS, EBD, Dual Airbags, Cruise Control, Hill Assist
- Ground Clearance: 210-mm
- Boot Space: 395 litre
- Price: TBA
Design
Renault is calling the Captur a premium version of the Duster. You’ll notice the design changes from the ground up, which results in a stylish crossover SUV (as Renault calls it), with some adjustments made to ensure the car can be driven in Indian conditions.
What are those? The Captur in India gets 210-mm ground clearance, which is the highest among all the Capturs selling in the world. Other than that, you get a car with 17-inch alloy wheels (even with the entry variant), automatic DRL headlamps and floating indicators that jazz up the appeal of the car from the front. Oh yes, you get different forms of front grille, depending on which model you go for.
The signature Renault badge marks the presence of the car from the front, and the panoramic windshield ensures the driver can see everything while he/she is on the road.
The back didn’t excite us much, as Renault seems to have focused on making the Captur a practical unit, which explains the provision of 395-litre boot space which gets further expanded by folding down the seats completely (no 60:40 ratio, sadly).
On the inside, Renault has packed in good bits and some not-so-good bits. The car offers plush dual-tone leather seats that are ergonomically designed, and look the part. There is ample headroom and legroom for people sitting at the back, and we even managed to make a 6’2-inch person sit there comfortably.
Having said that, the starting height of the seat on the driver side could work in favour of shorter people, but taller ones might find headroom to be an issue.
Also, a special mention of the amount of plastic that was visible on the dashboard of the Captur. The Captur is supposed to be a premium offering from Renault, but with this much hard plastic on display, it doesn’t feel premium enough.
Power & Drive
Captur will be available in petrol and diesel variants. Both will come with a 1.5-litre engine, paired with 5-speed (petrol) and 6-speed (diesel) manual transmissions.
The company isn’t bringing the automatic variants of the Captur to India right now.
The H4K petrol engine’s got 106 PS of power and 142 Nm of torque. While the K9K dCI diesel engine offers 110 PS of power and 240 Nm of torque on the Captur.
After driving for a couple of hours, across different road conditions, the Captur did surprise us with its linear power delivery, but we would have loved to see a lighter clutch on the car, especially when the diesel variant (the one we drove) comes with a 6-speed transmission.
The diesel variant definitely has more punch, compared to the petrol (which is obvious with higher torque on offer), but the car doesn’t have the kick to give you that adrenaline rush, something that’s got to be a given for a C-segment SUV.
The car is easily able to hold its poise over potholes and speed breakers are a cakewalk for this car, all thanks to its high ground-clearance and large wheels.
Features
Renault highlighted a plethora of features that’ll be available on the Captur. You get a 7-inch infotainment system, which doesn’t support Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. However, there’s a voice-recognition feature (only for iOS) and a push-to-talk function along with navigation does get added.
Rear view camera and sensor are part of all models, while you get 4 Arkamys tuned speakers along with 2 tweeters for better audio output.
The car can be operated via a smart access card, which can be used as a remote key for lock/unlock, walk-away lock and keyless entry. For safety, you get dual airbags (should have been more), ABS, EBD, and ISOFIX child.
Captur does miss out on roof rails, sunroof and some more features that other cars in the segment offer.
Initial Verdict
Renault might be missing a trick by not offering an automatic variant from the launch. All in all, anybody looking to buy the Duster (a rugged SUV) might not consider the Captur, and the so-called crossover SUV needs to find a right balance to appeal to buyers, with the Creta, Hexa and Compass in its sights.
So, what chances does the Captur have in the current market? Well, it all depends how Renault prices the car, and hopefully, the company ensures that the Renault Duster’s chances aren’t hit by the Captur.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)