Lifestyle Reconn R2 vs Renault Symbioz

What's the difference?

Once upon a time Queensland was the home of Aussie camper-trailer manufacturing and companies, such as Lifestyle Camper Trailers, were pumping out camper after camper to happy customers. But then came the imports and the price that people were willing to pay for the product dropped very quickly. Many local companies succumbed and just went out of business, others started importing their own and some innovated, developing new products; Lifestyle did two of the three. 

Today Lifestyle only builds light-weight, heavily off-road caravans which it calls Hypercampers and others would call a hybrid caravan, because it takes some elements of a camper-trailer and others of a caravan. It has four models, one of which is built in China in a factory the company part-owns. The other three, including the Reconn R2, which I’m testing, is built in Queensland.

Are you the kind of person who doesn’t mind standing out? You like to go against the flow?

Well, if so, you might be exactly the kind of person who buys the all-new Renault Symbioz, the French brand’s new small SUV.

“It stands out in a sea of same-same SUVs,” is how Renault Australia General Manager Glen Sealey sums up the Symbioz.

The problem for Renault, is that it is a very big sea it finds itself in the middle of. The small SUV segment is the second biggest part of the local new car market in 2026, behind only mid-size SUVs and ahead of utes. 

And it is full of well-known and popular models including the best-selling Chery Tiggo 4 Pro, Hyundai Kona, GWM Haval Jolion, Jaecoo J5, Mazda CX-30, MG ZS, Toyota Corolla Cross and the list goes on. 

Certainly from a looks perspective the Symbioz stands out. But it also stands out for other reasons, such as being a bit more expensive than many of its rivals and because it is the last French brand left in the Australian market following the decline of Citroen and Peugeot. 

Sealey said he expects the Symbioz to be the best-selling Renault model in Australia, and it arrives in the middle of a major product overhaul that will see six new or updated models arrive in the span of 18 months. 

But does the Symbioz really have what it takes to stand out from the pack and win over those not afraid to try something different, or will it be lost in a vast sea of SUVs?