2019 Renault Koleos vs 2020

What's the difference?

Renault's Koleos is a bit of an oddity. It doesn't really fit in the current Renault ouevre but the French giant really needed a mid-size SUV. Luckily for Renault, it had a ready-made platform to borrow from partner brand Nissan.

This is the second Koleos to ride on the guts of a Nissan X-Trail, which means a lot of the hard work is already done and Renault just has to be Renault and do something quirky, right?

Right? 

Let's ponder for a moment Renault's assertions about the 2020 Koleos. Launched late in 2019, Renault told us it is officially "reimagined." I'm not a particularly sceptical fellow so without seeing a picture I thought: "Either there has been a big and unexpected facelift, or there's a whole new Koleos for me to look forward to." What a sap I am.

Then I saw the photos. Checked the date on them. Nope. It looks exactly the same as the old one, save for a few detail changes. Ah, perhaps the interior has had a facelift. Nope. New engines? No again.

Perplexed? Yes, very much so. So an opportunity to spend a week with a top-of-the-line Koleos Intens was a great opportunity to see whether Renault may have been better off keeping its powder dry on such a big call.