Renault is pushing hard to succeed in Australia with a new management team, a heavily revised model range and some other enticements to draw people into French showrooms in this country. Until very recently the French giant has been extremely embarrassed at being almost invisible to Australians while its arch-rival European rival, Volkswagen, can seem to do no wrong.

The latest showroom deal being offered by Renault in Australia is free services for the first three years on the Koleos crossover. This deal will be available on all new Koleos vehicles sold from January 1 until March 31, 2011. There is some fine print in the deal, but on the whole it all looks pretty reasonable to us. Details are available from Renault dealer. 
 

Renault Koleos has a futuristic look both inside and out that’s a long way removed from the typical somewhat dull vehicles that it competes against in Australia.

Though the Koleos is sold with the option of two-wheel drive, our interest in the vehicle we have just reviewed is the 4WD model. The all-wheel-drive system was developed in conjunction with Renault's partner Nissan. That Japanese marque has had decades of experience in this field and some of the systems in the Renault were borrowed from the Nissan Dualis and X-Trail.

Koleos comes with a keyless card and start-button function; electronic child locks; an automatic handbrake; dual-zone air conditioning; cruise control; and automatic headlamps and windscreen wipers.

The rear tailgate is a clever split design that lets you open only the upper portion when in crowded shopping centre carparks. The lower part hinges to a horizontal surface that’s ideal for sitting on when at kids’ sporting events and the like.

Though the boot is relatively large from front to rear it’s a fair way off the ground so it’s not always easy to load heavy items. The sleek slope of the roof limits the size of boxy items if the rear seats are in use. On the positive side, the 66/34 split rear seat gives you a number of loading choices when all the passenger seats aren’t being used.

One carrying option allows the front passenger seat-back to be folded flat, allowing loads as long as 2.6 metres to be carried safe from the weather and the bad guys.

Koleos is sold as the Dynamique 4x2 petrol variant with a six-speed manual, or CVT automatic; or Koleos Privilege 4x4 petrol or diesel models with the choice of six-speed manual or six-speed adaptive auto. Our test car was the turbo-diesel, which is priced at a competitive $39,990 without dealer and government charges.

On the road this is a very quiet car when used on smooth surfaces and doesn’t become objectionably loud on Australia's harsh coarse-chip roads. It is well insulated from road and mechanical noise.

Handling is pretty good, though the high centre of gravity takes away any sporting pretensions. The Koleos turns in promptly and holds the road well. Understeer starts to take over if you push very hard, pulling the car back to a safe speed if the driver has been overly ambitious.

Renault has long been a leader in the safety stakes and Koleos boasts a five-star Euro NCAP crash test result, using dual front, dual side and curtain airbags.

Koleos has good ground clearance and approach and departure angles to allow safety to a higher standard than you would expect when used on beaches and rough tracks than you might expect.

Renault's Koleos 4x4 is competent and compliant on-road and performs better on dirt trails and even at the beach than you might expect. But the big feature of this car is the French flair it provides. Now with free servicing for three years it’s become an even more attractive proposition.