Renault Koleos

FACED with a 350-mile round-trip, Lee Stern, content editor for our sister title evo, needed something more practical than his Toyota GT86 to transport four friends down to the Devon coast, so he borrowed the Auto Express Koleos.

With its commanding driving position and automatic gearbox, it breezed through London rush-hour traffic. The vast boot swallowed everyone’s luggage without issue.

And the sleepy state of his friends when they arrived in Exmouth was testament to the Koleos’s compliant ride. But from behind the wheel Lee wasn’t as convinced. On twisty roads the CVT box was slow to respond and ruined the car’s motorway refinement by sending the diesel’s revs soaring.

Still, it was comfy and composed and returned respectable economy.