Renault Captur 2022 review

Unlike some of its competitors, there’s no unnecessary ‘pinching’ in the Captur’s design. It seems well-proportioned and nicely rounded on its curves.

There’s a young and sporty vibe with the shapely LED lights, two-tone 18-inch alloy wheels and large windows with privacy glass at the rear.

You can also see this on the colour options, as it’s one of the few small SUVs that has some colours in the line-up other than grey.

You can further customise it by choosing the two-tone version like the one I drove, where it sports a black roof. This does cost an extra $650, depending on the combo.

The exterior makes you think the inside is going to be a bit more luxurious than it is but the Captur’s shape doesn’t look like it will date quickly.

The interior is nice but didn’t exactly thrill me. There are a lot of hard plastics but the synthetic leather seats are a nice touch and add some much-needed style.

I like how the car’s multimedia system hums and turns on when you get into the car; it feels like a nice welcome. The portrait multimedia screen and partial digital instrument panel look cohesive and well positioned, too.

The Captur Intens has a 1.3-litre, four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine. There’s plenty of pick up and when it wants to get into gear, it certainly goes.

The emphasis is ‘when it wants to’, though, because it can be slow to engage the correct gear and you’ll have to adjust your parking clearance distances accordingly.

I would put it into reverse and it would roll forward a little as if I was riding the clutch and vice-a-versa for shifting into Drive. I got used to it but I had to slow down my shifting to accommodate.

It also occasionally over-revved while going up hills on the initial acceleration but that didn’t last long.

While it has decent power, it doesn’t have the comfort. Unfortunately, this is a rougher ride and you will feel the road’s surface and hear it loudly, especially at higher speeds. Which is something to think about if you like long weekend trips.

It does earn some cred for being such a breeze to park, though. It’s easy fitting this baby into tight city spots. The wide windows give great visibility and the 360-degree camera view is handy, but the reversing camera isn’t as clear or crisp as some other SUVs in this class.

It’s a narrow car, and you feel that inside. I’m 168cm (5’6″) and with the front seat in my driving position, there isn’t a lot of legroom sitting behind it. I had my (6’2″) brother in the car and he had to recline the seat until he encroached on my five-year old’s leg space to be comfortable. Which might be something to consider if you have a tall family because it could make family trips feel longer!

The storage in the front is average for a small car; the glove box is big enough for your odds and ends and there are storage bins in both doors.

The centre console is tall and skinny but may be well-suited for a drink bottle. I like the tiered storage areas underneath the dash. Renault calls the space a ‘flying centre console’, and it added some personality to the cabin.

There are also two cupholders, as well as a bottle holder in each door. In the second row, there are map pockets and a bottle holder in each door and that’s about it.

The boot space is a good size and the cargo floor is adjustable but you get 422L (VDA) of space with all five seats up.  You can slide the back seat forward and bump that up to 536L (VDA).

With the back seat down, you get 1275L (VDA) of space, but having that space means you only have a space-saver spare tyre.

2022 Renault Captur I Boot

2022 Renault Captur I Boot

2022 Renault Captur I Boot

When it was just me, it was an easy car to potter around in and I enjoyed its size in small car parks. It started to feel a little close when the five-year old and husband were in the car but still handled all of our errands without too much fuss.

The media system is nice to use because it’s simple and customisable. I like the way the armrest is able to slide forward and the tiered storage of the flying centre console – both feel practical in the smaller space.

I don’t like the fact the front passenger’s seat isn’t height-adjustable, though. It lessened the comfort for my taller passengers and the difference in height between the passenger’s and driver’s seat feels odd.

The key is an unusual design as well. While it’s large, it’s also lightweight and all week I worried about losing it! I would prefer a hole for a keychain or a bright colour to help keep track of it.

The back seat is fairly well padded and is a 60/40 split-fold design. There are reading lights and directional air vents for comfort. I would have liked an armrest and cupholders in the rear, particularly for adult passengers but kids might not care as much.

The Captur Intens has a lot of the safety features you’d expect of an SUV at this price point, including, auto emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, forward collision warning and lane keep assist.

It also has traffic sign recognition and blind-spot monitoring. The parking aids are good, too, with rear cross-traffic alert, a reversing camera, 360-degree camera view and the parking sensors making you feel confident in a busy car park.

A cool feature that would come in handy during wet weather, is the gap gauge that pops up on the instrument panel. It tells you how many seconds the car is in front of you, so you can keep an appropriately safe distance.

The Captur has six airbags, including curtain airbags that cover the second row. Although, it doesn’t have a front centre airbag that is starting to appear on some newer cars. It has a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating based on testing conducted in 2019.

There are two ISOFIX mounts on the outboard seats plus three top tethers but you’ll realistically only fit two car seats across the second row. There’s still space for the front passenger when a 0-four-year old rearward facing child seat is installed, too, which is great.

All of the tech is up front, starting with the 9.3-inch touchscreen. It’s very easy to use and has wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and connecting my phone was almost effortless.

The built-in sat nav is good, too. There’s some customisation in the touchscreen that makes the car feel like your own, including being able to select driving mode (‘My Sense’, ‘Sport’ and ‘Eco’) and ambient lighting options.

The partial digital instrument panel looks good even if it’s a tad small, and underneath the dash there are 12-volt and auxiliary sockets, plus two USB ports. In the second row, there are another two USB ports, so backseat passengers can stay connected, too.

The Intens has an Arkamys ‘Auditorium Sound’ system with six speakers and the sound quality is great, on radio and phone calls alike.

The Captur Intens is the middle of the range variant and you can pick it up for $38,150, before-on-road costs, which isn’t the cheapest option but neither is it the most expensive for the market.

It comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty, which is standard for the class. As well as, five-years roadside assistance. It has five-years capped priced servicing at $399 per service, which is pretty competitive for the class.

Servicing intervals are every 12 months or a whopping 30,000km! Whichever comes first.

The official combined fuel efficiency figure is 6.6L/100km and according to the trip computer, I averaged 6.0L/100km on a mix of city and longer highway trips. Which is outstanding and a good thing, too, because the Captur only takes the more expensive premium petrol.

You don’t initially feel that efficiency with the fuel gauge, as it seems to go down quickly because the fuel tank size is only 48L.