Renault Koleos 2009 News

An accelerating Korean auto industry is now within a car's length of equalling sales of our home-grown models.  According to the official car sales figures for October released last week Korean vehicle sales in Australia were up 80 per cent compared to October 2008 and up 23 per cent for the year so far compared to the same period in 2008.Sales of Korean-made cars (12,324) nearly equalled the total sales of all Australian manufacturers (12,822) for the month.  Nearly 20,000 more Korean-made cars have been sold in Australia this year than in the same time last year.  By comparison, locally-built cars are down by 24,594 units, a drop of 17 per cent.Hyundai is leading the way, recording its best-ever October result in Australia, up by 106 per cent over October 2008, and is our fourth biggest-selling carmaker behind Toyota, Holden and Ford.  It's not only Hyundai and Kia that are raising the profile of Korea.The Holden-badged models of Captiva, Cruze, Barina, Viva and Epica are made by GM-Daewoo in Korea. The Renault Koleos is made by Samsung in Korea and Ssangyong SUVs are from a Korean plant.  About 39 per cent of light cars sold in Australia, 27 per cent of small cars and 26 per cent of medium-sized SUVs - including Australia's most popular SUV, the Holden Captiva - are built in Korea.A Hyundai spokesman said: "We are now on the shopping list. There was a time when we weren't but we have won awards - such as the Carsguide Car of the Year in 2007 - which has made people really notice us.  We didn't take our foot off the accelerator when the recession started late last year.  We didn't reduce production and we didn't spend less on marketing. That worked in our favour because people saw us as being constant."Overall car sales in Australia were up in October for the first time in 16 months.  Improvements were across the board covering private, business and rental buyers.  Sales of vans and Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) were particularly strong.And the situation is set to improve when import tariffs drop 5 per cent from January 1.  Some importers, including Mazda and Subaru, have already passed on savings.

As the manufacturer’s newest entrant in the compact off-road segment, the Koleos, launched last September, has helped swing the spotlight back on to Renault.As Renault is part of the Nissan alliance, the Koleos shares the best of Japan with the style of Europe. The off-roader is based on the Nissan X-Trail but takes a typically French path to its design and upmarket interior.Two models are available, the Dynamique and the Privilege, with prices starting at $29,990 for the petrol 2.5-litre front-drive Dynamique.The Dynamique is available in both front and all-wheel-drive configurations.Apart from the Nissan-sourced 2.5-litre petrol engine, the Koleos is available with a refined Renault 2.0-litre turbo-diesel in two states of tune, either 127kW or 110kW.In keeping with Renault’s high equipment levels, the car comes with keyless card and start button function, an automatic handbrake, automatic headlights and windscreen wipers, dual-zone climate control, satellite audio controls, cruise control (with speed limiter), power windows, roof-mounted child-minder mirror, electronic child locks and adjustment of the exterior mirrors.Joining the Koleos at the Melbourne Motor Show will be the hot special edition Clio RenaultSport R27.The R27 boasts a Cup chassis that is 7mm lower than the ClioSport and gains 17-inch Dark Anthracite BeBop wheels that give it an even sportier feel and higher precision above the ClioSport.It is powered by 2.0-litre normally aspirated engine that delivers 145kW at 7250 revs and 215Nm at 5500 revs.The car will hit 100km/h in 6.9 seconds, yet it delivers a combined fuel economy cycle of 8.4 litres/100km. In keeping with the sharper chassis setup, the model gets Recaro sports seats equipped with side airbags.The new Laguna hatch and wagon will also be featured at the show. The 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show... 

New French cars are doing it tough Down Under.The top-secret prototypes were seen in Townsville this week as they completed a Down Under durability trial, part of a regular test program in Australia for all the French carmaker's new models.The cars were heavily disguised. All badges had been removed and false panels covered noses and tails, but they were the Laguna Coupe and the successor to the current Megane hatchback.The two-door Laguna is expected to break cover next month at the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix but the Megane will not be ready for showrooms until late next year.The delay on local deliveries will probably be 12 to 18 months for both cars.Renault Australia refused to confirm the identity of the cars, or even any involvement in a program with the Megane and Laguna Coupe, but their escort was a giveaway.They were pictured leaving a Townsville motel after an overnight stop with the latest Renault Koleos four-wheel drive, undisguised, carrying the support crew for the French engineering team.“We do not discuss future products,” Renault Australia spokesman Craig Smith says.But he admits Renault is using Australia to test its future models, for final certification and advanced engineering on hand-built prototypes.“Every product we bring out in Australia from now on will have an element of local testing,” he says. “The new Laguna did about 30,000km of testing in Australia before it was launched in Europe.”The five-door Laguna hatch will be in showrooms here in June, first with a diesel engine as the company's local flagship.It will be followed several months later by a petrol-engined model. The Laguna Estate wagon will go on sale in September.Testing of the Laguna Coupe is part of the car's durability certification, which includes hot-weather running and trials on rough-road conditions with cars built on the regular production line in the build-up to full capacity.The Megane will probably be an engineering prototype, hand-built and undergoing much more fundamental test work.The car is at least 12 months from its European debut, though it could break cover at the Paris Motor Show in October.Smith was more open about the Koleos, which Renault Australia will introduce to the Australian motoring press in Morocco next month.“The Koleos will be on sale here in September,” he says. “It will be available in petrol and diesel, starting at just over $30,000.”