Renault Captur II

The Renault Captur is basically a Renault Clio with heightened ground clearance but like most wannabe SUVs, this crossover prefers to enjoy on the streets rather than on the great outdoors. For the second-generation model, the new Captur is basically a slightly rugged alternative to the fifth-generation Renault Clio. Question is, should they buy it rather than the Clio? Of course they do. It's a crossover! Everybody loves crossovers.

2020 Renault Captur

With the starting price of just 18,600 Euros plus on road costs, it's slightly more expensive than today's Renault Clio but it's still the cheapest crossover you can buy. Needless to say, because being the cheapest crossover in the Renault lineup, there are several reasons why first-timers got tempted to drive the new Captur but let's narrow it down to the basics.

2020 Renault Captur

Starting with the design, the new Captur is surprisingly better-looking than the previous Captur, judging by its radicalized front face, streamlined side view, and the rear design which the rear lamps look suspiciously similar to any Subaru concept car in the past. Anyway, while this is basically a jacked-up Renault Clio that behaves like a Clio, the new Captur is worth looking at the eyes of commoners.

2020 Renault Captur interior

Just like the new Clio, the new Captur's interior now boasts a tablet-sized touchscreen like every other Renault of the present era possesses and although not fit for speedo boys many, it's a yuppie treat and it works like an office desk on wheels, meaning it packs a lot of infotainment to toy around while getting accommodated by its more comfortable interior that is about as spacious as the previous model as well as its decent boot space big enough for just about everything. Now, where did I said that before but still, you get the point.

2020 Renault Captur

Like the Clio, the new Captur offers a choice of petrol and diesel engines but let's ignore the diesels because of you know why. The most powerful version is the one with the 155PS power output from its 1.3L TCi engine which is capable of hitting 0-100kph in 8.6 seconds and onwards to about 202kph thanks to its EDC gearbox. That's faster than any Japanese compact crossovers on its class. For those looking for efficiency but don't like diesels like every European do, you can expect a hybrid variant joining the range soon and it promises to be as efficient as any hybrids get but without the stereotypical scenario most hybrids face.

Using the same new platform as the new Clio, the new Captur is more livelier to drive in the bends and more comfortable to drive on the city. The only downside is that while this is basically offered as a front-wheel drive, there's no gadget similar to everyone's favorite front-wheel drive crossover, the Citroen C3 Aircross, meaning this is not made to be an elephant in the room. No Hannibal, no way. Sorry.

The new Captur still carries the same verdict as the new Clio even though it's not fit for the role of an elephant in  Hannibal's hands but it still works as any practical crossover should. Needless to say, there's one very good reason why most first-timers will get their hands on the Captur more than the Clio; it's a crossover! Period!

Photo: Renault

Renault Samsung QM5 Neo and QM3

The QM5 crossover has been around longer than the Brainiacs and this crossover remains a competitive one even though it's becoming less appreciative as time goes by. Made in Korea, sold globally as the Renault Koleos, and uses components from the Renault Nissan Alliance, the QM5 sure knows how to be a global competitor in the world of crossovers but there are only a little people having one of those because of the competition heating up.

2014 Renault Samsung QM5 Neo

For its last-ditch effort to set things right, the Korean division of the Renault Nissan Alliance prepped up a facelifted version of the QM5, a few months after the Renault Koleos got facelifted for the European market. It's called the QM5 Neo and yes, this crossover really want to fight 'till its last breath. So what's for this swan song?

2014 Renault Samsung QM5 Neo interior

For its brand new 2014 QM5 Neo, you can notice the new front face as shown from Renault's design language and this new look can be somewhat summarized as athletic and premium, what the carmaker states. They've also added new stuff like air vents in the central B-pillars so that air, hot or cold, can get through the rear seat passengers without the drama. A tire-pressure monitoring system is added and let's not talk about it because no one sure knows what it is.

On the engine side, here's a plot twist though because the former's 2.5L CVTC engine has been thrown away to the great junkyard in the sky and now the available engines offered were a smaller 2.0L petrol engine and a 2.0L diesel engine. That's it. The 2.0L petrol engine develops 143HP of power, 20.1kg-m of torque, and a power-to-weight ratio of about 10.98kg/hp because the front-wheel drive model with the 2.0L petrol engine weighs around 1570kg. Mated to a CVT gearbox, the fuel economy is just shy about 10.6km/L and CO2 emission of 166g/km.

The 2.0L diesel adds 200kg of weight but it delivers 173HP of power, 36.7kgm of torque, and 13.2km/L of fuel economy, again, thanks to the CVT gearbox. For front-wheel drive models, the power-to-weight ratio is about 9.86kg/hp. Exclusive to the diesel model is an available 4WD option for all-round capability, well as a theory.

Suspension-wise, the QM5 Neo has a front MacPherson struts and rear multi-link suspension to make handling a bit European-ish, and again, as a theory because I suspect, it kinda behaves like an everyday European saloon car for a crossover made by the Koreans. He he he...

Well, I guess that's pretty much enough for the QM5 Neo but because it was priced from about 22,500,000 to 33,100,000 Korean Won, you might think that it's a bit too expensive but what if you want something cheaper than the QM5 but something a bit stylish and more convincing than the QM5 Neo? Well, it's this...

2014 Renault Samsung QM3

Yes, it's a brand new QM3. Unlike the QM5, it's available only in front-wheel drive, just like its Euro equivalent, the Renault Captur. And unlike the QM5, it's powered by a smaller 1.5L diesel engine mated to a 6-speed EDC gearbox.

2014 Renault Samsung QM3 interior

It looks more targeted squarely at today's computer geeks except in my eye, it's much more well behaved and well mannered than the QM5 Neo but for a quick drawback, remember what I told about the Renault Captur a couple of months ago? You don't? Well, never mind about that but no matter how hard I explained about this new model, it's still a proven hit among Koreans everywhere and the first 1000 units were all accounted for since its launch. Quite impressive for RSM, though, but what motivates it?

The price tag for the QM3 began in 22,500,000 Korean Won, similar to the QM5 Neo's starting price and because it's compact and as small as a supermarrow, it's not all that complicated to drive it around the streets of Gangnam. And because it has a fuel economy of 18.5km/L, it's worth being a cross-country companion and by scientific calculations; the 10,000km per year fuel cost, in today's climate, would be about more than a 1,082,000 Korean Won (10,000km ÷ 18.5kmpl x 2000KRW* per Litre). Anyway, forget about maths! Let's conclude it in a simplified manner because in the end, you have a choice between these two crossovers from Renault Samsung.

*estimated but fuel prices may vary.

If you want something more of an all-rounder if you're under the weather, your best bet would be the QM5 because the diesel model has an available 4WD model but if its the sense of the city you're after and if you're a bit of a techie, then you might be off with the QM3. The QM3 maybe less powerful than the QM5 but because it feels so light, you can have a lot more fun in it but not at all. After all, they're can be worth a brain burner if you do the math on both of these.

Photo: Renault Samsung Motors

Renault Captur

2014 Renault Captur

The Captur from Renault can easily be defined as the French take of the Nissan Juke. However, despite being France's answer to the Nissan Juke, this is just a fourth-generation Renault Clio with some outdoorsman credentials that doesn't make sense at all, probably because it's available only in front wheel drive. Thanks to the fact that it's a FWD hatchback-based crossovers, the Captur is not made for the outdoorsman. It's made for someone who thinks the Clio IV's not to big enough for them. Who cares about it?

2014 Renault Clio

Inside, the Captur really feels like the latest Clio, but because this is just a Clio, the Captur kinda feels like Miranda Hart and Catherine Tate switched places. It's like Miranda being Donna and Catherine's being Miranda. See? Wrong stuff told, just like the Clio-based Captur because it may look like an SUV but it isn't. It isn't really really that close. Renault claims that the new Captur combines the expressive styling and driving position of an SUV, cabin space and modular interior of an MPV, and the agility and driving enjoyment of a compact saloon car.

However, where does this point at? I'm sorry but this crossover feels like it's been headed south of the border. As for the riding, thanks to some flickering to the handling dynamics, the Captur is about as dreary as memorizing a song came from a kid's show. Just like me, I'm getting some sort of Last Song Syndrome, songs from the kids show a baby might watch, especially my sister's baby, gets stuck in my head. Ugh, there goes that "shake your peanut" song from Mickey Mouse stuck in my head.

The Captur shares some engine choices from the Clio such as this 0.9L Energy TCe engine, a 1.5L Energy dCi, or a 1.2L turbocharged engine. If you had chose the one with the 1.2L TCi engine, watch out for the double clutch transmission because like what we've expected on the Clio, the EDC maybe quicker to shift but lacks the feel. If you're going to reverse it, it's gonna take clicks on the left paddle and you'll be losing to the one with the manual transmission in a game of who's going to shift reverse first.

2014 Renault Captur

Pricing stats at 15,500 Euros, meaning that is almost two thousand more than the latest Renault Clio IV and almost a thousand euros more than the Clio Estate as well. However, this is cheaper to buy than the hideous Nissan Juke so it's a smart buy for those who didn't like the Nissan Juke but sometimes for a Frenchman, I would go for the Clio IV instead because the Captur is like a Clio with some outdoorsy credentials that doesn't deserve and with that change, I would rather use it for grocery purposes or donate it to charity without a doubt.

Photo: Renault