Renault Arkana

Claimed boot space is 353L with the rear seats in place and the boot floor in its highest position, 485L with the floor lowered, and 1268L with the rear seats folded.

The Arkana has a five-star ANCAP safety rating, based on testing carried out by Euro NCAP in 2019.

It scored 96 per cent for adult occupant protection, 83 per cent for child occupant protection, 75 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 72 per cent for safety assist.

Standard safety equipment in Australia includes:

• Autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian/cyclist detection
• Lane departure warning
• Lane-keep assist
• Traffic sign recognition
• Safe distance warning

Moving to the Intens adds rear cross-traffic alert.

Claimed fuel economy for the Arkana is 6.0L/100km on the combined cycle. It has a 50L fuel tank.

All Renault Arkana’s need servicing every 12 Months months or 30,000km km, whichever comes first.

The Arkana drives like a slightly bigger Captur, which is mostly a good thing.

Unlike the related Nissan Juke, the Arkana has the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s more powerful 1.3-litre engine.

With 115kW of power and 262Nm of torque, it’s not a firecracker. But the Arkana packs a decent punch, with enough get-up-and-go to give you a nice little shove in the back.

Noise and vibrations are well suppressed in the cabin, although the engine has a gruff bark when you floor the accelerator.

It’s hooked up to a dual-clutch transmission that, although not quite as smooth as an old-fashioned torque converter, is relatively smooth around town.

If you’re gentle on the accelerator off the mark it hooks up nicely, but it can be a bit jerky if you aren’t. Ramps and driveways are dealt with smoothly, and the transmission is nice and snappy on the move.

Sticking with a conventional gear shifter instead of the funky joystick in the Captur was a good move, too. In the Captur you’re never quite sure if you’re in drive or reverse, in the Arkana there’s never any doubt.

Although it’s bigger than the Captur, the Arkana handles with the same agile feeling as its little brother.

The steering is light, and the Kumho tyres have plenty of grip if you’re in the mood to get racy. They’re a bit noisy on the highway, unfortunately, but that’s often the trade-off you need to make for quality rubber.

With a tall driving position and light steering, the Arkana is a breeze to drive in the city.

Its biggest issue is visibility, given it combines a sloping C-pillar with a slim rear window, but the parking sensors and (decent, not standout) reversing camera mean there’s no excuse for dinged bumpers or kerbed wheels.

Even the ride is good, which isn’t always the case when it comes to small-ish SUVs on big wheels. Occasionally a sharp-edged bump will make its presence felt, but for the most part it’s very refined.

Unlike the Captur, the Arkana comes standard with adaptive cruise control. It’s a smooth system, and generally does a good job staying at your set speed on hills.

Renault’s lane-keeping system is also (generally) very good, only intervening if you’re actually drifting across a white line.

It’s less heavy-handed than some rival systems, but comes in when you need it.

You can find more details on all the options and inclusions across the Renault Arkana variants on the official website, and within the official Renault Arkana specifications page.

Solid White is standard on all bar the R.S. Line, with the following finishes a $750 option:

• Universal White
• Zanzibar Blue
• Metallic Black
• Metallic Grey
• Flame Red
• Valencia Orange (R.S. Line only)

What is the warranty on a Renault Arkana?

The Renault Arkana offers a 5 year unlimited kilometre warranty. This is separate to the warranty on offer under Australian Consumer Law which can be greater for certain parts based on what is deemed as a reasonable period of time.

Like the Captur, the Renault Arkana offers a compelling alternative to its better-known SUV rivals.

The price is right, and its handsome exterior is backed by a stylish cabin withjustenough practicality.

Renault has also corrected some of the mistakes it made with the Captur on the spec sheet, which shows the brand’s new Australian distributor means business.

It’s not going to suit everyone, but the Arkana confidently carves a niche for itself in one of the hottest segments of Australia’s new car market.