RENAULT KOLEOS 2,5 AWD DYNAMIQUE

In-between long-termers, Renault kindly lent us a Koleos to sample over the December holidays. The task was to travel to Witsand from Cape Town and back without filling up (just over 600 km). That is to say, the tank was full and the larger-than-midsize Koleos’ spacious interior even fuller. I removed the rear headrests and the parcel shelf to fit a bicycle. I considered attaching our Thule roofbox to the roof rails but this was not necessary.

The range read 610 km to empty as my daughter and I set off on the Saturday before Christmas. After 300 km of leisurely driving at around 100 km/h, we arrived with the range still reading 610 km and the fuel gauge above three-quarters. I think we must have had a tailwind helping since this is not known to be the most economical powertrain around town. We would easily have made the trip back home after the new year without a top-up if it wasn’t for a detour on gravel roads to Malgas to cross the Breede River. The old hand-drawn pont is still in service before the new, larger vessel is commissioned. With the navigation guiding us, we noticed a picture of a ship with a car on it and the lady amusingly instructed us to “board the ferry”.

The all-wheel-drive setting was left in auto and for the vast majority of the journey, no more than 10% of the torque was sent to the rear wheels.

With cruise control on, the CVT can be annoying as it increases the revs from around 2 000 to

5 000 r/min to maintain momentum uphill. To prevent this, I ditched the cruise control and regulated the throttle for a smoother ride and improved fuel economy.

The ride quality is excellent. The only electrical glitch we noticed was an annoying occasional “beep” that might be linked to the low-fuel warning. It beeped once when the refuel indicator was illuminated. Once the tank was filled, the lamp extinguished but the random beep remained.

I would have liked to hang on to this vehicle a little longer ... it does have an unexpected personalised registration number especially for me (JC 48 PP GP).

After 300 km of leisurely driving at 100 km/h, we arrived with the range still reading 610 km