Does it have the potential to ‘Captur’ the market?

Renault launched the Duster at a time when there was quite literally no other choice in the compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) space; nothing within that price category too. The Duster literally broke out that segment and set up an atmosphere for growth even though latent demand was already at a high at the time of its launch. Queues snaked past many blocks at Renault’s dealerships when the Duster was first showcased.

Now, Renault is adding the next crossover/ SUV to its portfolio with the new Captur. Rid of some of the earlier badge-engineered models, Renault’s portfolio is now a simple line up of four models. Will the new Captur stir up the same level of passion and interest that the Duster managed to draw on? I travelled last week to Goa to test drive the new crossover and here are my first impressions.

The Captur is essentially built on the same M0 platform that the Duster is based on. But, the Captur has been designed to send out a slightly different vibe. Its design has a strong crossover flavour, though the extra tall stance (210 mm ground clearance) and the straight roofline are very SUV-like. The Captur’s front looks the most aggressive with its large LED-laden headlamps, the over-sized fender and its massive airdam, and the Renault signature grille with its lozenge-shaped logo at the centre, cutting into the bonnet slab. The faux underbody protector and the body side cladding leading off the fog lamp housing manage to further boost the Captur’s Crossover-SUV style.

Viewed from the side, the stalked mirrors, the contrast colour roof and the raised stance still carry that off-roader image. The chunky, attractive 17-inch rims and the 215/60 R17 tyres in the top-end Platine edition I was driving managed to fill out the wheel arches very well. Incidentally, Renault hasn’t announced its variant strategy yet, except for confirming that the top Platine edition is being debuted in India first. So some of the features in the Captur that you see in these pictures may not be available in the lower trim variants.

The Captur has the exact same wheelbase as the Duster, and is even a bit longer. But because of its squat appearance and lower height overall compared to the Duster, it seems smaller at first glance. It is also a bit like a hatch at the rear. Wraparound tail-lamps and the narrow rear glass add to that feel. But the large fender and the faux metal skid plate underneath manage to give the rear some crossover cues. Chrome highlight lines and garnishes in the Platine edition elevate the premiumness of the exterior design.

Step into the Captur’s cabin and there is a sense of freshness to the interior. In the Platine edition, there were a lot of pink gold finished trims like the rings around the aircon vents, the finisher surrounding the centre stack and the base of the gear stick. The dashboard features a dual-tone theme in dark grey and creamy white. It is also layered, with a top panel that forms the roof of the instrument binacle. The instrument cluster is uniquely shaped — Renault calls it the infinity cluster — with a neatly laid out analogue odometer and fuel gauge in the pods and a split digital display showing the speed and other information.

The Captur’s seats are unmissable and honestly the best part of the cabin. Featuring large squabs and a cross-stitch patterned quilt layer, the seats are really comfy. But these are fake leather seats, they are not perforated and they are predominantly creamy white in colour, so I wonder how they’ll be to sit on after the car has been parked in the sun. Also I wonder how they’ll wear over time given our dusty ambient conditions (on average). The cabin itself looks better finished than the Duster, with better quality materials, and improved fit and finish. But, with large swathes of the dash being flat plastic panels, the cabin also left me wanting more premium feel. Two features that I felt could have been improved are that the driver and front passenger seat heights could have been set lower; and the centre arm-rest should have been adjustable (instead of fixed). At its lowest setting, the seats were still too high; six-footers will find that the roof is barely a finger’s width above their heads.

There is a very usable boot offering over 390 litres of space. And generally, there seems to be adequate room in the cabin for both front and rear passengers. Renault officials say that the Captur’s cabin offers a bit more shoulder room than the Duster’s. There are a few small features that add up to improving the significance of the package like the cabin’s ambient lighting, cornering lamps and the dynamic turn indicators.

The Captur is being offered with the same two powertrains that are currently on the Duster. The petrol engine is the H4KL 1,498 cc unit offered in the same state of tune as in the Duster, generating an identical 106 PS of power at 5,600 rpm and a peak torque of 142 Nm at 4,000 rpm. Though this petrol mill is offered with a CVT gearbox in the Duster, in the Captur it is mated only to the five-speed manual. Renault didn’t offer this petrol version of the Captur for the test drive in Goa. The only model on offer was the diesel Captur’s Platine edition trim variant.

The Diesel engine is also the same K9K 1.5dCi engine that is popular in the Duster. In the Captur too this 1,461 cc engine delivers the same peak power of 110 PS at 4,000 rpm and peak torque of 240 Nm at 1,750 rpm. This engine is paired with a six-speed manual transmission. In the Duster, this engine is offered with a choice of two states of tune — a lower 85 PS version, and it also has the option of an automated manual transmission (AMT).

This engine is a workhorse and has been a favoured option from Renault. With this powertrain, the Captur feels very much like the Duster in terms of its power delivery and behaviour at cruising speeds. But, either because the Captur is a heavier vehicle or because of a variation in the gear ratios, the same engine feels a little underpowered here. In the Captur, turbolag seems a bit more pronounced than in the Duster. Though the rated peak torque is marked as being available from 1,750 rpm, you really feel the eager burst of torque only after the needle crosses the 2,000 rpm mark. There was a marked reduction in the initial sluggishness once I shifted to higher gears.

The Captur’s handling is neutral with no irksome niggles like pronounced body roll, despite the high ground clearance. The suspension is a decent balance between a firm and a pliant setting.

The Captur comes at a time when Renault is looking to expand its portfolio and reach beyond the Kwid. It is also timely considering the way car buyers are maturing and warming up to crossovers as a category. Renault has chosen to skip bringing in the CVT auto transmission that it offers in the Duster. That is a feature which Captur buyers will miss. The Captur will also not get the Duster’s four-wheel drive prowess. But what it does get are a whole bunch of personalisation options for the exterior and interior. But Renault hasn’t yet revealed all its cards and so the Captur’s mileage figures and variant strategy are due to be revealed only at the time of the official launch next week.

Given the current information, I believe an aggressive pricing strategy is inevitable for the Captur. Prices could range between ₹10 and 15 lakh.

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