Roomy SUV faces a tough rebirth

Koleos returns but lacks wow factor

YOU probably don’t remember the old Renault Koleos as it had a very short life, from birth in 2007 to a humane bullet to the back of the tailgate barely three years later.

I can only just about remember testing it at the launch in Morocco. Or was it Manchester? Anyway, it was a forgettable car.

So why is Renault having a second attempt? It’s simple – the company need a vehicle in this price range, but it’s a well proven fact that big French saloons don’t sell in the UK, whichever company makes them. Also, Renault’s previous high-end machine, the Espace, isn’t imported into this country because there’s no real demand for big people carriers any more.

There is, however, a huge appetite for SUVs, so the Koleos makes a lot of sense. Using a name that was previously associated with a failure isn’t such a brilliant idea, but then most people have probably forgotten the original anyway.

The car itself is big at 4,672mm. It’s rather surprising that the Koleos is only a five-seater, but your Renault salesperson will point you towards a Grand Scenic if you need more than that.

It’s a rather striking motor. The chrome plastic trim along the front wings is a rather obvious way of adding poshness but it actually works and the whole thing – especially in our test car’s Admiral Blue – looks sophisticated and high quality.

Unfortunately, things go a bit downhill when you step