To launch their first foray into New Energy Vehicles in South Africa, Renault unveils the all-new Arkana E-Tech Hybrid alongside the new E-Tech Hybrid Captur.
It’s no secret that South Africa lags behind the rest of the world on many fronts. Elsewhere, manufacturers are forced to produce and sell a certain number of New Energy Vehicles (NEV) in order to be able to sell their regular, Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) offerings. This is why we’ve even seen the likes of Ferrari and Porsche develop vehicles with some form of electrification in their powerplants.
Locally, this isn’t too much of an issue as we don’t have these laws in place. This leeway has allowed a good number of manufacturers in South Africa to only offer their petrol and diesel vehicles, not having to worry too much about legislation in that regard. Renault is one such company that hasn’t seen the need to overcommit to Electric Vehicles (EV) locally, an exercise that requires substantial investment into the training of technicians and infrastructure to deem it viable. What is the difference between electric and hybrid cars?
Hybrid solution
Renault SA has, however, identified that series-parallel (self-charging) hybrids are the solution in the interim. These types of vehicles are becoming increasingly popular, with many local manufacturers offering something for those looking for the familiarity of an ICE vehicle but still looking for some of the cost savings associated with NEV. What is the best small hybrid car?
While not immediately available and expected mid-2024, Renault SA looks to introduce two new NEVs, one of which is an entirely new model for the country. First is the hugely successful Captur, the compact crossover that is the natural stepping stone from the Clio. The all-new offering is the Arkana, a mid-size SUV with sporty, coupe-like styling. Both use the same, advanced hybrid powertrain to reduce fuel consumption, improve performance and reduce running costs.
Drawing on their experience in Formula 1, which enforced hybrid powertrain back in 2014, Renault has developed an effective hybrid powertrain that boasts no fewer than 150 patents for its design. Utilizing two electric motors, one for traction and another starter/generator, allows for full electric startup in their hybrid offerings.
Putting hybrids through their paces
With both the Captur and Arkana available to sample, Renault challenged us to an 8-hour endurance race around Zwartkops racetrack, with a twist. It wouldn’t be a question of who could do the most laps, instead, we’d have to balance both speed and economy to try and achieve the most amount of laps, while conserving fuel.
Ordinarily, an economy run will allow you to drive at a pace that is considerably lower than that of the speed limit, allowing you to save fuel along the way. By tasking us with the challenge of completing the most amount of laps in the 8hr period, the challenge enters a new dimension. Split into three teams of four motoring journalist per car, we would each have two, one-hour stints behind the wheel.
Zwartkops, with its elevation changes and mix of both fast and slow corners, would challenge us to make careful use of the E-Tech hybrid drive feature as well as monitor how we applied the throttle and brakes.
Our team was able to achieve the lowest fuel consumption over the course of the 8-hours, only falling two laps behind the lead car. The 6.9 l/100km average calculated at the end of the gruelling ordeal was balanced out by the two laps we were shy, but still saw us emerge victorious. The other teams approached things differently with slow initial starts and then a game of catch-up while the third team threw caution into the wind, posting fast laps but struggling to bring the fuel consumption down.
The exercise goes to show that while a hybrid drivetrain can be exceptionally efficient, one’s driving style is as much a factor in the final figures.
Renault Captur and Arkana E-Tech
Both the Arkana and Captur E-Tech Hybrids are powered by a 1.6-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine and supplemented by the aforementioned e-drive electric system. This system uses a rather small 1.2 kW/h battery but is able to automatically switch between full-EV model and Hybrid mode with no driver intervention required. There’s no external charging capabilities, all you have to do is ensure that there’s fuel in the tank and you’re good to go.
These models produce 67 kW and 148 Nm torque, sending power through an automatic dog-clutch gearbox. The power is sent to the front wheels and allows the Arkana to accelerate from a standstill to 100 km/h on only 10.8 seconds. The Captur will do it in 10.6 seconds.
No pricing is available for either model yet as we only expect to see them in the second quester of 2024 at soonest. Keep your eyes peeled for more on the Arkan here on AutoTrader.
Keyword: Renault unveils E-Tech initiative with a unique endurance race