Renault Arkana vs Forthing Taikon 5

What's the difference?

The Renault Arkana Esprit Alpine mild-hybrid combines some serious design flair with a reasonable amount of practicality for a smaller family, but it’s hard to ignore the lack of improvement in efficiency following the addition of the mild-hybrid system. That said, it still succeeds on some fronts. It just does it quietly.

Forthing remains something of an unknown quantity in Australia, but this first look at the Taikon 5 on local roads is promising.

It’s a modest mid-size SUV that’s priced accordingly and if you’re not a car person this will likely be enough to get people into a showroom.

Compared to most of its rivals it’s surprisingly pleasant and nice to drive, which is not something you can say about many first attempts.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer with travel and meals provided.

I’d describe the Arkana as muscular and sporty, with its strong body lines, twin exhausts and 19-inch alloys. The Satin Grey matt paintwork only enhances this grunty exterior styling.

From the outside, the biggest differences between this and its mid-spec sibling come down to the darker accents across the body and grille, along with the Alpine badging. And while that pronounced rear-end won’t be to everyone’s taste, it certainly gives the Arkana a defined personality on the road.

The Esprit Alpine shines inside the cabin, with synthetic leather and synthetic suede liberally used throughout, while contrasting blue stitching on the seats and blue seatbelts highlight Renault’s Formula 1 ‘Alpine’ racing roots.

There’s some real flair inside that this segment can sometimes lack, and I love how many physical controls there are, from the traditional gear shifter and rotary sunroof dial to the satisfyingly clicky buttons. It’s very ASMR-coded.

Outside, the Taikon 5 is inconspicuous to the point of anonymity. If you told me it was a new model from BYD, Chery, GWM or Leapmotor, I’d believe you.

The EV and REEV versions of this car look identical and the only way to tell them apart is the badging on the tailgate. Yes, that means the EV has a fuel filler cap that doesn’t open and serves no purpose.

Beyond the Forthing lettering on the tailgate, nothing identifies the car as a Forthing. Perhaps that will come in time, once more models arrive, but for now it’s a bland look.

Take the front. The angular LED daytime running lights and headlight set-up is cliche and overdone, plus the honeycomb grille is tacky. It's not helped by the prominent charge flap smack-bang in the middle of the front bumper.

Inside, the car takes the same all-too-similar approach of hanging everything off a central touchscreen.

The 14.6-inch touchscreen is large and prominently mounted, but elsewhere the dashboard already looks dated and cheap. It’s not helped by the exaggerated circular air vents that scream Audi or Mercedes-Benz knock-off, or the large silver panels on the steering wheel.

The front is roomy enough that you don’t feel penned in, and the seats hug you nicely into place. The armrest sits a little too high for me, but I like that it slides forwards. The heated function is welcome, and the seats remain supportive on a longer trip.

Storage is best up front, with a couple of cupholders, plus decent space and drink bottle holders in each door bin. The glove box is quite deep, although I reckon you’ll pop a rib if you’re on the shorter side trying to access it from the driver’s seat!

In front of the gear-selector is where all of the charging options are and its easy to have them all in one place, with two USB-A ports, a 12-volt socket and a wireless charging pad, although it’s easy for your phone to slide off while you’re driving. For a flagship grade, it's a little disappointing we're not seeing any faster USB-C ports.

At 9.3 inches, the multimedia display isn’t the largest, but it looks more considered than the usual ‘tablet-stuck-on-the-dash’ styling we’re seeing lately. Overall, the touchscreen is responsive and the system is simple to use. The wireless Apple CarPlay also starts up quickly and maintains a reliable connection.

One small gripe is that the volume controls are tucked away on an easy-to-miss stalk that sits behind the steering wheel. I wish they were on the steering wheel itself... because you forget they’re there.

The back seat is a little awkward to access as an adult, with a relatively small door aperture that makes it easy to knock your head on the way in. There’s also not a stack of legroom behind my driving position, and I’m only 168cm. It should suit two kids reasonably well, although my nine-year old notes the armrest sits too high and the seats are quite firm.

Amenities are decent, with two USB-A ports, map pockets and multiple drink holders.

There are two ISOFIX child-seat mounts and three top-tether anchor points, but two seats will fill this space best. You’ll also need to be careful of knocking your head when buckling any tots in.

The boot is the standout, with up to 485L of capacity when all seats are in use and that can jump up to 1268L when the rear row is folded flat.

Its capacity is more than some mid-sized SUVs, and it's handy that you can adjust the floor to two positions. It’s been more than enough for all of my family’s errands this week.

This grade also gets a powered tailgate and a temporary spare tyre.

Surprisingly standard across the Taikon 5 line-up is ventilation and a massage function for the driver’s seat. This is good value for money, plus the massage feels strong.

The driver’s seat also offers 10 ways of electric adjustment and most people should find a comfortable driving position. You sit high, which SUV buyers prefer for the commanding view.

The steering wheel doesn’t reinvent the wheel (pardon the pun). It’s conventional and straightforward, which is no bad thing. All the buttons are clearly labelled and do exactly what they say.

Behind it, the digital instrument cluster is unremarkable and clearly displays the critical information, including a digital speedometer, odometer and remaining range.

You’re able to cycle through several informative pages. Oddly, the up and down buttons on the steering wheel adjust the cluster’s brightness.

The 14.6-inch central touchscreen multimedia system is large, however it’s tilted too far back and picks up reflections as a result.

The interface is simple and there isn’t much to get lost in, which makes the occasional lag when opening apps and sub-menus harder to excuse.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard and the connection held up over our short driving loops.

The drive modes and vehicle settings live in the touchscreen, but the climate control gets its own bank of physical dials and touch-sensitive buttons. The latter is great to see given so many carmakers are burying it in the touchscreen.

Elsewhere in the cabin there is a fancy-looking and Volvo-esque crystal-style gear selector, a wireless phone charger (Exclusive only), two cupholders, an open storage area under the centre console, a decently sized centre console box, as well as a glovebox.

In the second row there’s enough space to get comfortable. At a leggy 182cm, I had plenty of legroom behind my own driving position and headroom is okay, though the panoramic glass sunroof in the top-spec Exclusive trim eats into it.

The virtually flat floor means getting three adults across the rear bench isn’t out of the question, though there’s little bolstering in the seat back and base, so you’ll slide around in the corners.

Second-row amenities include central console-mounted air vents, a singular USB-A port, as well as a fold-down armrest with cupholders.

There are ISOFIX child seat anchorage points on the two outboard rear seats and top tether points on all three.

The Exclusive comes with a power tailgate. It beeps and opens slowly, but eventually the job gets done.

Boot space is 480L with the rear seats upright, expanding to 1480L with them folded. The boot area is fairly spacious and there’s a flat load floor.

Depending on the variant there’s an underfloor compartment that’s big enough to store some charging cables.

The EV Exclusive comes with a space-saver spare wheel, which is critical if you do long-distance drives in rural and regional areas. Disappointingly it doesn’t feature in the entry-level EV Luxury which makes do with a tyre repair kit, despite having the space to fill.

All versions of the REEV also have a tyre repair kit, but this makes more sense as the space is taken up by the rear-mounted electric motor.

Both the EV and REEV are offered in two trim levels called Luxury and Exclusive. They are priced as follows:

• Forthing Taikon 5 REEV Luxury: $36,990
• Forthing Taikon 5 EV Luxury: $38,990
• Forthing Taikon 5 REEV Exclusive: $40,490
• Forthing Taikon 5 EV Exclusive: $42,490

All prices are drive-away

That pricing undercuts the likes of the BYD Sealion 6, Leapmotor C10, Geely EX5 and Starray EM-i, as well as the Jaecoo J7 PHEV.

The entry-level Luxury grade gets the following as standard:

• 19-inch alloy wheels
• Tyre repair kit
• LED headlights
• 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster
• 14.6-inch touchscreen multimedia system
• Four-speaker sound system
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Crystal style gear selector
• Synthetic leather upholstery
• 10-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat
• Four-way electrically adjustable front passenger seat
• Ventilated and massaging driver’s seat

That’s a fair amount of standard equipment for the asking price, but stepping up to the top-spec Exclusive adds:

• Space-saver spare wheel (EV Exclusive only)
• Power tailgate
• Panoramic glass sunroof
• Rear privacy glass
• Power-folding side mirrors
• Six-speaker sound system
• Wireless phone charger
• Synthetic leather-wrapped steering wheel

Although the EV and REEV versions of the Taikon 5 are virtually identical in terms of specifications, there are some small differences.

The EV has a proper start-stop button, the REEV doesn’t and instead turns on and off when you unlock and lock the car. Additionally the EV has an automatic mode for the climate control which the REEV misses out on.

The Esprit Alpine is now a mild-hybrid, combining a 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with a 12-volt hybrid system to produce up to 116kW of power and 270Nm of torque. But that’s only 1.0kW and 8.0Nm more than the previous iteration, and it doesn’t improve overall fuel efficiency, so the benefits of the new system are limited on paper.

The idea behind the mild-hybrid system is to improve power delivery off the mark, but a firmer commitment to a proper hybrid powertrain would have done more to improve the Arkana’s efficiency and competitiveness in this increasingly electrified segment.

It’s front-wheel drive and uses a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, which can seem a little unsure of itself at lower speeds but settles into its rhythm and feels more confident on the open road.

While the Forthing Taikon 5 EV and REEV may look virtually identical, what is lurking under the bonnet is rather different.

The EV has a single, front-mounted electric motor that produces 150kW and 340Nm.

The REEV instead has a rear-mounted electric motor, making it rear-wheel drive. It produces 120kW and 240Nm, which is 30kW and 100Nm less than the EV.

It’s paired with a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine that’s capable of producing up to 75kW. It acts purely as a generator and never drives the wheels.

Despite now being a mild-hybrid, its combined fuel consumption remains unchanged at 5.9L/100km. With its 50-litre fuel tank, that gives it a theoretical driving range of up to 847km, which is still a pretty great result for a family SUV.

My real-world result came in at 6.7L/100km after a mix of highway and urban driving, which is a respectable result and not too far off the official figure.

Both versions of the Taikon 5 have a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery.

The EV has a 64.4kWh unit that’s good for up to 427km of WLTP electric range, whereas the REEV has a smaller 31.2kWh unit good for up to 170km of WLTP electric range.

For the EV that’s fairly standard for the segment, but with the REEV the battery pack is much larger than many of its similarly priced rivals.

You can’t forget the REEV also has a petrol engine that’s fed by a 43L fuel tank. This allows for a WLTP total range of up to 937km.

Both versions have a Type 2/CCS port on the front bumper, allowing for AC and DC charging.

The EV has a peak AC charging rate of 11kW and a peak DC charging rate of 80kW. The latter is mediocre, but it allows for a 30 to 80 per cent charge to occur in 30 minutes.

The REEV has a peak AC charging rate of 6.6kW and a peak DC charging rate of 40kW. Despite being slower, a 30 to 80 per cent changer using the latter is still claimed to take only 30 minutes.

The Arkana can access a decent amount of power once you’re up to speed, but it can feel underwhelming off the mark. It’s also surprisingly easy to lose a little traction when you need to accelerate quickly from a stop.

That said, once you’re up to speed on the open road, it’s more than capable of keeping up with traffic or overtaking when needed.

The suspension is on the firmer side, so you do feel some of the smaller bumps through the cabin, but otherwise I like the handling.

There’s not much body roll through corners and the steering feels responsive, making the Arkana reasonably enjoyable to drive.

The cabin is relatively quiet, although some road noise creeps in on the highway. There are three drive modes that are easy to cycle through, and Sport mode offers slightly sharper gear shifts at lower speeds, which helps give the powertrain a little more urgency.

Visibility is good from my driving position, with a fairly commanding view of the road through the front and sides.

The Arkana isn’t too difficult to park given it’s not a particularly large car, but the 360-degree camera system is underwhelming compared with some of its rivals. My husband reckoned he’d seen better graphics in 8-bit Tetris…

The EV’s front-mounted electric motor is adequate, rather than quick. It’s enough to keep up with urban traffic.

Because it’s front-wheel drive with full torque available from a standstill, don’t be surprised by a touch of wheelspin if you bury the accelerator.

When taking off harder the electric motor can make prominent whirring sounds, but this kind of feedback is nice as an eerily quiet car can feel disconcerting.

In the REEV, the 1.5-litre petrol engine only ever acts as a generator, so it drives like an EV. Its electric motor sits on the rear axle, which makes it quieter from the driver’s seat and rear-wheel drive. In practice the lower outputs blunt it and it feels slower than the EV.

There’s still enough off the line. You only notice the deficit at higher speeds.

There are a total of four EV/hybrid modes to choose from, including EV-only, EV priority, hybrid and fuel only. They all do exactly what its name suggests.

Due to the limited driving program at the launch, I didn’t get to fully experience the extent of how the REEV powertrain operates under every circumstance. For example, I couldn’t drive it with a low battery charge and have it solely rely on the engine.

When the engine fires up to charge the battery, it stays quiet and in the background. If you're not paying attention you wouldn’t know it’s on.

Both versions of the Taikon 5 offer two levels of regenerative braking. There’s no one-pedal mode, meaning you need to use the brake pedal to come to a stop.

What’s surprising is the way it drives. Its rivals can drive like a dog’s breakfast and while the Taikon 5 isn’t class leading, the dynamics are better than you’d expect.

What I mean by this is the steering has some sense of what’s happening with the tyres when you turn the wheel. There are three settings to choose from and the most natural is Sport mode, which is the firmest.

There's no Australian-specific suspension tune, but it’s still generally compliant and comfort oriented. Unlike many of its rivals though, it’s not overly soft and floaty.

In terms of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) the Taikon 5 is a generally quiet car, even at higher speeds. However, we noticed some plastic trim rattles and creaks, which isn’t ideal given they're brand new.

At this stage the Forthing Taikon 5 hasn’t received an ANCAP safety rating and is therefore unrated for now.

The following safety equipment is standard across the line-up:

• Six airbags
• Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Front and rear cross-traffic alert
• Lane-keep assist
• Adaptive cruise control
• Reversing camera
• Rear parking sensors

Stepping up to the Exclusive brings front parking sensors, as well as a high-definition surround-view camera.

On the road, the Taikon 5 is a welcome relief from the bings, bongs and chimes that plague many of its rivals.

That’s partly because it goes without a driver attention monitoring system. This is the culprit of many bings and bongs in rival vehicles.

The only safety gripe is the lane-keep assist can be a touch hands-on and yank at the wheel if you get too close to the painted lines.

The Arkana is offered with Renault’s five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, which is now considered a below-average term for the class, although you do get five years of complimentary roadside assistance.

Servicing intervals are well spaced at every 12 months or 30,000km, which is great if you do heavy kays each year.

Renault also has an assured pricing structure for its scheduled services, with the Arkana averaging around $477 per service across its first five workshop visits, although the fourth is notably more expensive at $859.

Renault currently has 52 locations listed across Australia, although that figure includes some service and parts-only locations, so the network isn’t quite as extensive as some of the mainstream brands.

The Forthing Taikon 5 is covered by a seven-year, 200,000km warranty, while the high-voltage battery is covered for eight years, 200,000km.

There’s 12 months of roadside assistance which can be extended out to five years provided you service within the Forthing dealer network, when required.

Logbook servicing with the REEV is required every 12 months or 15,000km, whereas with the EV it’s every 12 months or 20,000km.

Forthing is offering five years of capped-price servicing. With the EV it’s $1815 and the REEV it’s $2605 which works out to $363 and $521, respectively, per year.

Forthing is still scaling its dealer network in Australia and it currently has 20 sites operational. The company plans to have a total of 35 by the end of 2026.