Renault Captur’s hearts with an attractive motor

COLOUR certainly plays a big part in the presentation of a new car. Recently I have noticed that almost all car companies use very bright colours when launching new models. Renault are no exception and their Captur came in orange with a white roof, which was very eye-catching.

Renault and Nissan are now partners and the Captur, Renault’s first-ever supermini crossover, looks a bit like Nissan’s Qashqai, which is nothing to be ashamed of as every car company seem to be building cars that look like Nissan’s best seller.

The Captur is based on the new Renault Clio, but with a slightly wider track. The orange version I drove with silver 17-inch alloys, certainly got plenty of compliments from fellow motorists and passers-by. Painting the roof a different colour to the rest of the car is certainly a clever marketing idea.

Renault describe their new car as a blend of MPV, SUV and family hatchback and say the Captur should appeal to a particularly broad spectrum of customer tastes. It should do well as more people are opting for smaller SUVs.

Externally the Captur looks very attractive and inside I liked the high driving position. There is a reasonable amount of room for five adults and rear passengers can get extra leg room by sliding the rear seat back if necessary. The controls on the dash are sensibly laid out and easy to use and you get a decent-sized screen to tune into various radio stations.

This was the first time I drove a car where you can unzip the seat covers if you feel they need to be washed, rather than buying a new air freshner.

You get a decent-sized boot and there is an adjustable floor shelf which is very useful if you want to store items out of view of any would-be thieves.

Renault cars automatically lock themselves as you walk away. But beware there are no

‘beeping’ sounds as you exit the car.

I ignored a

‘beep’ and when I returned to the car less than two hours later the doors wouldn’t open. I thought to myself here we go again, problems with the electrics in a Renault. But the man from the AA reassured me that he has not encountered any problems with the electrics in Renault cars in recent years.

It was my own fault; even though it was early evening I had left the lights switch on and foolishly ignored that

‘beeping’ warning sound as I rushed from the car; the battery was flat in less than 90 minutes.

The Captur is available in 0.9 turbo-charged petrol and 1.5 litre diesel. I drove the petrol version and while it was easy on fuel I felt it could have done with a bit more power.

It was fine for city driving, but it seemed to lack a bit of

‘poke’ on the motorway. The stop-start technology worked very well and overall I enjoyed my time in the Captur.

Prices start at

?¬19,390 for the new Captur.