Renault Captur

Boot space is 422L with the rear seats in place, 536L including under-floor storage and the rear bench slid forward, and 1275L with the rear seats folded flat.

The 2024 Captur features the following safety equipment as part of Renault Easy Drive:

• Autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection
• Safe distance warning
• Lane departure warning
• Lane-keep assist
• Traffic sign recognition
• Reversing camera
• Front and rear parking sensors

Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert are standard on the Zen, Intens and R.S Line trims and optional on the Life.

The Intens and R.S Line are now available with a lane centring function.

Claimed fuel economy for the Renault Captur is 6.6L/100km on the combined cycle.

All models have a 48L fuel tank and require 95 RON premium unleaded petrol.

The 2024 Renault Captur’s 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine produces 113kW of power and 270Nm of torque.

A compact SUV with a small displacement engine and a dual-clutch transmission doesn’t sound like a recipe for driving fun, but the Captur is seriously well sorted.

For starters, Renault has ignored the lower-powered engine fitted to the Juke and instead has brought only the more powerful option to Australia.

It’s mated with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, with drive sent to the front wheels only.

Sure, 113kW and 270Nm aren’t quite hot hatch numbers, but they’re more than enough to make this little Captur feel sprightlier than the average SUV.

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.

It can be a bit hesitant off the mark, but once you’re up and rolling it shifts quickly and has a good idea of which gear you’ll need, and when you’ll need it.

Beware though, it’s slow to jump from drive to reverse, and is combined with a slightly vague little gear selector that doesn’t clunk from drive, through neutral, and into reverse. Three-point turns require a second glance at the screen just to be sure you’re actually in the gear you thought.

Like the related Nissan Juke, the Captur feels surprisingly lively. The steering is light and quick, and there’s plenty of grip from the Continental tyres if you get enthusiastic.

Of course, quick and light steering is also ideal for darting through gaps in traffic and sneaking into tight parking spaces. All-round visibility is good, although there’s a bit of lag from the slightly grainy camera system when you flick into reverse.

Even the ride is well sorted. There’s the occasional thud from the 18-inch alloy wheels over really sharp bumps, but otherwise the Captur floats along better than a small SUV on big alloys really should.

The only real knock on refinement is the amount of noise generated by the tyres on anything other than perfect tarmac. It’s not alone in being noisy – plenty of small SUVs get a bit uncouth on coarse-chip roads – but it’s decidedly out of keeping with the polished way the car otherwise drives.

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

The 2024 Renault Captur is available in the following exterior paint colours:

• Smokey Blue
• Flame Red
• Highland Grey
• Iron Blue
• Oyster Grey
• Pearl White
• Diamond Black

Every colour except for Diamond Black is available in a two-tone finish with a black roof.

For entry-level Life models, Smokey Blue solid paint is free, single-tone metallic paint costs $650, two-tone Smokey Blue solid paint costs $450 and two-tone metallic paint costs $1000.

For the rest of the range, single-tone and two-tone Smokey Blue are free, with single-tone and two-tone metallic paint costing $650.

The last Captur was a real disappointment. This one more than makes up for it.

It ticks the boxes you’d expect a Renault to tick, with a unique look and stylish, luxurious interior relative to its strong set of rivals.

It also drives with some sophistication, thanks in no small part to the punchy engine under the bonnet.

Spec carefully, though. Adaptive cruise really should be standard on even the base model, and the digital instruments are worth having.

They undermine the value equation slightly, but they also improve what is already a classy little crossover.