Butterfly off-roader launch

The sleek and modern urban-designed but off-road-capable Koleos, will arrive in Australia in September in three trim levels in four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive with diesel and petrol engine choices.

Prices will start at $30,000 and range up to the low $40,000s, according to Renault Australia senior communications manager Craig Smith.

“We plan to sell 100 to 150 a month, making it our biggest-selling model in the range,” he said. The current top-selling Renault in Australia is the Megane sedan, which sells some 70 to 80 a month.

“We now have 25 per cent of the market segments covered, but Koleos will lift that to about 40 per cent.”

Koleos is built on the Nissan X-Trail platform with the same running gear.

In a multi-national focus, the Koleos is the first product of the alliance between the Japanese and French car companies and will be built in Korea by Renault Samsung Motors.

At launch, the Koleos, which means butterfly, will be available in 4x4 and 4x2 petrol models and 4x4 in diesel, with a 4x2 diesel to come later.

Smith said there would be no issues with supply, but if customers ordered a model not in stock it would take about 10 to 12 weeks to arrive from Korea.

He said the vehicles would be well-equipped, including standard curtain airbags and stability control.

“We expect younger buyers to be attracted by the urban-centric vehicle with weekday practicalities, weekend leisure capabilities and a quiet cabin,” Smith said.

The Koleos comes with 112kW and 131kW versions of the two-litre diesel engine or a 2.5-litre 127kW petrol engine, both with six-speed auto or manual transmissions.

While specific features have yet to be confirmed for Australia, Smith said Bluetooth and satellite navigation would not be available.

It also comes with a horizontally split rear tailgate, automatically folding rear seats, a host of stowage areas and will be the first Renault in Australia with a three-year 150,000km warranty.

The Koleos is part of a Renault product assault this year which continues next month with the Laguna diesel hatch in six-speed manual and auto, the Clio RenaultSport in July, the Laguna estate in September, followed by a two-litre turbo hatch and the Sport Megane DCI in October.