Renault Kangoo E-Tech Reviews

At long last, Australian Renault importer Ateco has officially confirmed Dacia for our market. 

The Captur will become Renault’s first ‘connected car’ in Australia. 

Sometimes the best cars are amongst the worst sellers.

Why the new Megane might change your mind on French cars.

Retro car design is having a moment. Again.Massive around the turn of the millennium, few endure today from back then (namely BMW’s Mini and the Fiat 500), as most (including the Volkswagen New Beetle, Chrysler PT Cruiser and Toyota FJ Cruiser) enjoyed only fleeting success at best, before fading away.Today, we’re lucky enough to experience the overtly nostalgic Nissan Z and Ineos Grenadier, but there are others that we may never see.Here, then, is a list of desirable retro vehicles available overseas that could make it big in Australia if given a chance.Blocked from sale in Australia by Jeep owner Stellantis, the Thar is a descendent of the original Willys Jeep, dating back to 1947 when Mahindra started manufacturing it under licence.While the styling leans heavily into that ancestry, the current iteration, launched as a two-door hardtop in India in 2020, is a stylish body-on-frame recreational vehicle, offering four-cylinder turbo petrol or turbodiesel choices, modern comfort/convenience features and serious 4x4 off-roader capabilities. Just like its American doppelganger.Based on the Scorpio 4WD’s underpinnings, the four-door Roxx wagon offshoot, meanwhile, only debuted in July last year, and is considerably more practical, as well as civilised.Both versions would undercut their Wrangler OG cousin by tens of thousands of dollars, underscoring Stellantis’ desire to keep Mahindra’s ‘jeep’ out of Australia.We understand that an evolved version of today’s U725-series Bronco that broke loose in North America in 2021 is set for an Australian debut sometime in the future. The question is when.Ford’s global CEO, Jim Farley, recently confirmed right-hand-drive production for the T6 Ranger/Everest-based off-roader, which is a handsome and well-proportioned reimagining of the crisp 1966 original.Fun fact: the nameplate managed to evade Australia until the F-150-based Bronco III was actually assembled here in the 1980s, using Falcon engines.With China a nearby sourcing opportunity thanks to partner Jiangling Ford Auto, Ford locally would have a serious weapon against the coming, formidable BYD Denza B5 and much-rumoured Toyota LandCruiser FJ-style 4WD wagon.Bring the Bronco on.You might be surprised to learn that, like the earlier Bronco, the world’s first mass-produced hatchback, the original Renault 4 (1961-1994), was also built in Australia for a brief period.It was ultimately too kooky and utilitarian for our tastes back in the 1960s, but the eight-million-selling French front-drive family car germinated the seed for what we know as the modern small SUV today.The reinvented R4 for 2025 retains its beloved namesake’s upright stance, friendly face, chunky detailing, slanting rear doors and interior versatility, but with modern SUV proportions clothing an advanced all-electric architecture shared with the closely-related (but more diminutive) R5 E-Tech expected in Australia at some point.That the latter nabbed the most recent European Car of the Year gong bodes well for the 21 Century R4.Despite a long production run that saw it topple the Ford Mustang in the US at one point, the 2008-2023 Dodge Challenger never made it to Australia due to being left-hand-drive only.A pity, but some consolation could come in the unlikely event of specialist Japanese manufacturer Mitsuoka breaking completely from tradition by exporting one of its magnificent creations, the M55.No, not a motorway, but a current-gen Honda Civic with a Challenger nose and a Datsun C110/240K-esque posterior. Preposterous… or the automotive lovechild you never knew you pined for?Unconvinced? Then keep in mind that today’s Civic remains one of our favourite small cars on the planet, period, so at least the M55 would drive brilliantly. Especially as it uses a turbo/manual powertrain combination.The strange and wonderful wizards at Mitsuoka strike again with the Buddy, a current RAV4 topped and tailed by a ‘70s Chevrolet Blazer-inspired bodywork.Available in hybrid powertrains, the modifications meld uncannily well with the venerable Toyota SUV’s mid-section, especially when the retro wheel covers and period-evoking colour palette options are selected.Narrowly missing out being our bestselling vehicle outright in 2024, today’s fifth-gen RAV4 is popular enough to justify Mitsuoka importing the Buddy to Australia.

Renault is going full steam ahead on hybrid and electric cars.  Plug-in hybrid development, despite offering one in its mid-size Rafale coupe SUV, is a dead end for Renault, CEO Fabrice Cambolive told Autocar. 

On the same day Mitsubishi confirmed its new Renault-based ASX, the French brand’s Captur version of the light SUV is coming back to Australia. 

Australia’s new car market rose very slightly in volume in 2024 compared to 2023 - but it wasn’t good news across the board.

This new mid-size SUV could be the car to put Renault back on the map in Australia and it isn’t even really from the French brand. The Dacia Bigster is a stretched version of the Romanian budget marque’s latest Duster small SUV. Measuring 4.57 metres long, the Bigster is a direct rival to the likes of the Toyota RAV4, Mazda CX-5, BYD Sealion 6, Nissan X-Trail and Mitsubishi Outlander. Plus, the Bigster is said to pack a hybrid system not unlike the RAV4’. Australian plans are not concrete, but Renault importer boss Glen Sealey previously told CarsGuide that Dacia is “going to happen” and they’ll probably wear Renault badges Down Under. Beneath the Bigster’s bonnet is a 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine (from a previous project between Renault and Geely) paired with a six-speed automatic transmission and electric motor on the front axle, the cumulative output is 114kW. Like its Duster brother, Dacia has confirmed an all-wheel drive hybrid version of the handsome Bigster will be available. Like the Toyota RAV4 hybrid, it adds a separate motor on the rear axle not connected to the front via a differential or transfer case. A plug-in hybrid is a possibility in the future thanks to parent company Renault having “all the solutions”, said Dacia CEO Denis Le Vot to AutoExpress. “We recoup the assets developed by the Group… We put them back and make our own soup with the leftovers. We make good business with that for us, and for the clients and we manage, as a whole, the CO2 emissions of the Group,” Le Vot told the British publication.  While Dacia is seen as a budget brand in the UK and Europe, helping drive its success, in Australia it won’t be quite so bargain basement. A combination of Australian Design Rules and market forces mean they’ll be closer to existing Renault products in price. “The specification we will take for Australia will be vastly different to what they perhaps take in the UK,” Sealey admitted to CarsGuide. “There’s certain features and requirements that we will have that the UK are happy not to have.”Think automatic transmissions, advanced parking cameras, sound systems, alloy wheels and the like. Looking at the related Duster in the UK, the upper-mid Journey trim looks like it would suit Australia with large alloy wheels and all the usual creature comforts. Compared to an equivalent Mazda CX-30, the Dacia is around £5000 (A$10,000) cheaper. It is worth noting that UK buyers typically pay much higher prices for their cars than Australia. Stiff competition from China’s GWM Haval, MG, Chery and more is keeping prices lower Down Under. “In Australia, the Chinese pay zero per cent duty and we have to pay five per cent to get Duster here. So already, before we even start, there’s a 15 per cent differential,” explains Sealey.In other words, don’t expect a base model Bigster to compete with a Haval H6 Premium ($30,990, drive-away). Instead, expect a similar price to a base grade RAV4 GX ($42,260 before on-road costs) but with more value-oriented features, just like Skoda used to offer.As for models it makes sense to bring, the Bigster fights in Australia’s biggest market segment, the medium SUV, which made up 22.8 per cent of sales in 2024. The smaller Duster’s segment accounts for nearly 15 per cent of the market, so both are prudent choices. Sales of the ageing Renault Koleos that the Bigster may effectively replace were down 67 per cent last year. Importer Ateco is remaining quiet on plans for Dacia for now but we expect movement this year. 

Renault's Kangoo has for many years been a popular choice for small van buyers in Australia. The 2024 release of the third-generation model was keenly anticipated, but does the latest petrol-powered model set a new benchmark?