Renault Koleos News

... and attractive interior enhancements. Due here in the last quarter of this year, Renault's Korean-built Koleos offers more comfort, versatility and flexibility this time around. Though only slightly different in appearance the front features changes to the air-intakes, grille and headlights. The exterior mirrors now incorporate LED indicators. The initial version's distinctive rear-end styling has been carried over, including the steeply-raked rear window. Careful attention has been paid to the quality and finish of the cabin. A selection of new upholsteries and trims are used while the dashboard and instrument lighting have evolved with the introduction of a more stylish speedometer housing and The Nissan-developed all-wheel drive transmission of the 4x4 version ensures genuine off-road ability. It retains a five-star EuroNCAP crash test rating

The company is planning a long-needed product offensive over the next 12 months to reverse sales and finally entrench the importer as a fully fledged European competitor. Renault Australia managing director Rudi Koenig is blunt in his assessment of the French brand's performance in recent years, blaming a lack of product and prices."There are no more excuses," he says. "For the first time certainly within my tenure with Renault, we are bringing in serious product."When it launched back in 2000, the French carmaker boldly forecast sales of upwards of 6000 within the first couple of years. However, sales peaked in 2002 at more than 4500 and since then have hovered below 3500 despite a $20 million advertising spend in the early days to put its cars on buyers' radar.Last year it sold 2400 vehicles, down 24 per cent compared to 2008. Koenig is confident the company can improve this year but is not predicting wild numbers."The arrival of our new vehicles this year won't do much for sales because most of them arrive late in the year," he says.First up is the 2010 update for the Koleos in May, which gets satellite navigation as standard and other cosmetic updates. In June the Kangoo multi-purpose wagon arrives, followed by the Trafic van in July.The big hopes rest on the Megane hatch, which arrives in November, along with the Fluence sedan. However before the bread-and-butter hatch arrives the hot Megane RS250 hits showrooms in September and then a Megane Coupe-cabrio in October.Koenig says the product offensive has come about because Renault Australia has been able to source new cars from lower cost countries outside France. The Megane will come from Turkey and the mid-size Fluence will be built in Korea, where the Koleos is built.Renault sales peaked the in its first full year on sale in 2002 when 4565 vehicles were sold. Since then sales have hovered between 2400 and 3300, and are dependent on product launches.The arrival of the Koleos has been a saviour. Last year it was responsible for almost half of total Renault sales.

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... 

A purpose-built 4x4 track at the Australian International Motor Show offers visitors the chance to evaluate a range of different vehicles.Show-goers are able to experience as close to a real-life off-roading situation as you can get in the city.Exhibiting 4WD brands are:Hyundai - Santa FeJeep - WranglerKia - Sportage, SorentoLexus - LX 570Mitsubishi - Triton GLX-R, PajeroNissan - X-TRAIL Turbo DieselRenault - KoleosToyota - Landcruiser 200Volkswagen - TouaregVisitors to the show interested in a particular 4x4 will receive a VIP pass to the 4x4 track to experience the vehicle’s performance and are driven around the track by a professional driver.Track is built to demonstrate the abilities of each vehicle and obstacles are designed to demonstrate the vehicles’ increasingly advanced technology and abilities.The see-saw gives an indication of vehicle balance, the hill structure tests traction and control, the moguls and rocks show-off ground clearance and the new addition of the u-turn at the end of the track demonstrates the tightness of the turning circleThe vehicles navigate the track in slow motion; just as experienced four-wheel-drivers would approach such obstacles in real-life situations.

With sales of SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles) continuing to boom, the Renault Koleos and Skoda Octavia Scout 4X4 will both enter the fiercely contested SUV Compact segment.Sales in the segment have grown 2.9 per cent so far this year and 18.2 per cent over the last five years.The Koleos is Renault's first-ever purpose-designed SUV and has been developed in co-operation with alliance partner Nissan.The Czech-built Scout is derived from Skoda's Octavia wagon, but it adds protective body cladding, additional ride height and an all-wheel drive transmission system.Both SUVs are claimed to offer better-than-class-average off-road ability.Skoda says the Scout's flexibility is thanks to a second-generation Haldex clutch mechanism, which allows power to be transferred more quickly between the front and rear wheels when required to provide increased traction on loose surfaces.The Renault's drivetrain draws on Nissan's four-wheel drive expertise and includes all-terrain functions such as Hill Descent Control (HDC) and Hill Start Assist (HSA).Along with all-wheel drive, both Skoda and Renault offer advanced direct injection 2.0-litre diesel engines with their new models.The Koleos features several practical innovations including a split-opening, clamshell-type tailgate. Interior innovations include an air-chilled glovebox and folding tables mounted in the backs of the front seats.The Octavia Scout 4X4 boasts up to 1620 litres of load space with the rear seats folded, and two luggage nets for securing items while driving.Detailed specifications and pricing for both the Renault and Skoda SUVs are expected to be announced in time for the Motor Show.The Koleos and Scout will be amongst more than 30 new models unveiled when the Australian International Motor Show opens at Sydney's Darling Harbour on October 9.

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. 

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.”

Renault MD Rudi Koenig unveiled the new Laguna Estate as the cornerstone and product flagship of the French brand, with its emphasis on safety.

There is a lot hinging on Renault's newest arrival.