Renault has been busily updating and expanding its range of crossovers, and its new Symbioz fills one of the few remaining gaps.
It’s unclear if the Symbioz will be making the journey Down Under with a spokesperson telling CarExpert the local arm will “consider all right-hand drive products for our market but nothing specific to confirm at this stage”.
Measuring 4413mm long, 1797mm wide, 1575mm tall and riding on a 2638mm wheelbase, the Symbioz slots in between the 4.23m Captur and the 4.51m Austral, as well as the 4.57m Arkana crossover coupe.
With the rear seat pushed all the way back, the Symbioz’s boot is said to accommodate 434L worth of stuff using the VDA standard. This can be increased to 548L with the rear seat slid forward, and 1582L when the rear seats are folded down.
Externally, the Symbioz features Renault’s latest design language with sharper lines and details.
Up front there’s a closed-off upper grille with an embossed pattern. There’s a pair of slim headlights, underscored by S-shaped driving lights.
The Symbioz rides on a stretched version of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance CMF-B architecture that underpins the Clio and Captur, as well as the Dacia Duster.
At launch in Europe, the only drivetrain available in the Symbioz is an E-Tech hybrid system comprising a 69kW 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, a 36kW traction motor, 18kW high-voltage starter generator, and a 1.2kWh battery pack.
These components work together through a “multi-mode clutchless dog box” with four gears for the petrol engine and two for the main electric motor, and the whole system has a total power output of 107kW. Fuel economy is said to be a miserly 4.6L/100km using the WLTP standard.
Standard on all models is a 10.4-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen running the OpenR infotainment setup. Based on the Android Automotive 12 operating system, the touchscreen has wired and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity.
Ahead of the driver is a 10.3-inch instrumentation display. Available features include an ambient lighting system with 48 user-selectable colours, a nine-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, and a glass roof that can be dimmed electronically.
A selection of 18-inch wheel designs are available, while the top-spec sporty-flavoured Esprit Alpine comes with 19-inch rims.
Safety kit includes front and rear autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, a surround-view camera, and traffic sign recognition.
Production of the Symbioz will take place at Renault’s factory in Valladolid, which is about 200km north-west of Madrid.
