Renault Koleos updated

Renault Australia has had some success with its Koleos compact SUV particularly with incentive pricing and again when the cheaper front wheel drive model arrived. But in three years, it never really took off.

That could change for the appealing Korean with French and Japanese antecedents following the arrival of a revised version complete with a cuter face, minor body tweaks and more features. It faces possibly the stiffest competition in a crowded compact SUV segment.

The top-of-the-range Privilege model comes with a panoramic glass roof and now adds bi-xenon headlamps with fixed cornering lights and 18-inch alloy wheels as standard. There's a new signature colour, Cayenne Orange, available across the range, that makes Koleos stand out in any car park.

Koleos Dynamique and Privilege models score the innovative child-minder mirror which allows the driver to easily view the rear seat occupants a particularly useful feature for parents of young children.

The Koleos benefits from family-adventure friendly storage cubbies, flexible seating adjustment and load carrying solutions, a full armoury of passive and active safety systems and the seal of approval of a five star EuroNCAP crash-test rating.

Renault has been able to bring this generously equipped vehicle here with a kick off drive-away price of $29,990 for the Expression 4x2 manual.

The Koleos range offers a choice of engines lifted from Nissan's X-Trail: a 2.5-litre petro and a Renault designed 2.0-litre dCi turbo-diesel, four-cylinder. The diesel delivers better fuel economy and lower emissions than the outgoing model.

The all wheel drive model boasts  real off-road ability and Renault says it's ideal for escaping from the urban jungle to the great outdoors thanks to its Nissan-derived all-wheel drive traction system (4x4 only).

There are three generously equipped trim levels, Expression (petrol only, 4x2 only), Dynamique and the range-topping Privilege (petrol only, 4x4 only). Numerous options are available including parking sensors, hands-free entry and ignition, joystick-operated integrated satellite navigation, Hill Descent Control and Hill Start Assist. Koleos gets a factory-backed,  five year/ unlimited kilometre warranty and five year road side assistance.