Renault India is ready to launch yet another product in the form of the Captur in India. The french brand has very high hopes from the new vehicle that will go against the likes of Mahindra XUV 500 in India. Is the Captur capable enough to recreate the success of Duster and Kwid again? Let’s find out.
Looks
The Captur looks very premium and has European design traits. The car gets raked A and D Pillar. The Captur also gets very deep creases on the body that gives it a very bold look. The Captur gets a very attractive face. It gets sleek LED headlamps with a big Renault moniker sitting between them.
The Captur is just 14mm longer than the Duster. However, the car looks much more imposing on the road than the Duster. The rear of the Captur is not very interesting. It gets LED tail lamps, but that is about it. There is nothing extremely special about the Captur at the rear. The Captur gets 16-inch dual tone alloy wheels and dynamic headlamps, which is similar to the premium Audi vehicles.
Interiors
The Captur gets a clean dashboard with neatly mounted accessories. The car gets a 7.0-inch touchscreen that is exactly analogous to the Duster but gets minor software tweaks that makes it faster. There is no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connectivity though.
The base version of the Captur will get dual airbags, ABS, infotainment system, alloy wheels, and auto climate control. Renault also offers a more premium – ‘Platine’ edition in India that comes with gold and white theme interiors, diamond stitched leather seats and more.
Engine and drive
The Captur is powered by the same 1.5-litre K9K diesel and 1.5-litre H4K petrol engine as the Duster. The car gets 5-speed with petrol and 6-speed with the diesel engine option. There is no AWD option.
We only drove the diesel-powered Captur that generates a maximum 110 Bhp. The car feels a bit sluggish with the same engine. The Captur will need constant gear shifts while going on the uphills and the mountains.
The ride quality of the Captur is very comfortable. The suspension is well tuned, and it takes on the bad surface pretty easily. The steering wheel also gains weight at high speed. But the problem of heavy clutch remains, same as the Duster. The Captur offers 210 mm of ground clearance, which makes it very comfortable to drive on the rough roads.
Should you buy it?
The Captur really feels like a dressed up Duster than an all-new car. The engines are the same, the chassis is the same, and the interiors also feel the same. If Renault prices the car aggressively, it will stand a good chance of creating a buzz in the market.
There are a few downsides like bad space management. The car comes with small door pockets, a tint glovebox and weirdly placed cup holders. The Captur is not a perfect car that will recreate the success of the Kwid and the Duster in the market. At most, the Captur will sell in decent numbers only of the brand puts a decent sticker price on it.
