Now that’s a facelift! Renault Captur gets whopping mid-life revamp

Finally, a facelift that’s actually worthy of the name: Renault has revealed the updated version of its Mk2 Captur, and from the front at least it bares almost no resemblance to the old car. Quite the overhaul, huh?

The face of the Captur has been almost completely reimagined - new grille, new LED headlights, new Renault logo - bringing it more into line with the recent Scenic and Clio. Chief designer Gilles Vidal isn’t messing around…

At the back things are more familiar, although the brake lights and diffuser have been tweaked for what Renault claims is a more ‘contemporary’ look.

The inside has also been heavily revised: gone is the funky, soft-touch orange trim, replaced with a mix of recycled and low-CO2 fabrics. Leather and chrome has also been banished.

Meanwhile the vertical touchscreen is now a 10.4in unit running Renault’s OpenR Link operating system that incorporates Google, so you don’t need to plug your phone in to bring up a familiar nav. Hooray!

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both standard features though, as is wireless charging and a quartet of USB-C sockets; two front, two rear. Handy.

Meanwhile boot space is up considerably to 536 litres (overall length is up by an entire 12mm, and height drops by 10mm), while the rear bench can be shifted back by up to 16cm to eke out more legroom if you need it.

As per all new Renaults these days, your trim options are Evolution, Techno and Esprit Alpine. They each ride on 17s, 18s and 19s respectively.

There are only two engines to choose from, at least for now: a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol with 90bhp mated to a six-speed manual and capable of 0-62mph in 14 seconds, or a 145bhp hybrid that combines a 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine with a pair of e-motors for 145bhp and the same sprint in 10 seconds flat. Very, very occasional electric-only running too, courtesy of a 1.2kWh battery. That one’s an auto, of course.

No word yet on the fate of the plug-in hybrid that was available on the pre-facelift model...

Renault has also fiddled around with the suspension geometry (MacPherson suspension on the front axle, while the rear is semi-rigid), shock absorbers (all new on the hybrid) and power steering in order to fine-tune the driving experience. There are four driving modes: Eco, Sport, Comfort and MySense, the latter offering more custom settings.

The fresh Captur is due in the third quarter of 2024, prices are still TBC. More as we have it.