Renault Koleos review

The first thing you’ll notice when you sit inside the new Koleos is how roomy it seems. Pull the door shut, take note of the neat finger indents on the inside of the armrest’s door pull, and find yourself in an impressively comfortable driving seat.

It’s not quite Volvo XC90 levels of comfort, but it’s very good all the same. It’s easy to find a comfortable driving position, although the pedals in our left-hand-drive test cars were offset just a bit to the right. We’ll have to wait until the car arrives in the UK to see if this carries across.

All around the cabin are materials that look and feel better than we’re used to seeing in recent Renault cars. The dashboard is very upright with grab handles on either side of the centre console, while trim panels across the passenger side fascia are echoed in the door panels, and there’s a healthy amount of cross stitching and leather, too.

Deep door bins and a seven-litre cubby beneath the centre armrest provide plenty of storage, and Renault reckons there's a total of 35 litres of oddments space in the cabin alone. Further back, the boot has a useful 579 litres of space, which can be increased to 1,795 litres thanks to the 60/40 split-folding rear seat backs. The boot’s load height is a little high, but it has a flat floor, so there’s no lip to get bulky items over.

Rear passenger space is one of the Renault’s trump cards, and it features both head- and legroom that is easily among the best in the segment. The two outer seats have ISOFIX points and are every bit as comfortable as the front chairs. Even the middle rear seat isn’t too limited by what is only a small transmission tunnel.

Another boon to those in the back is two USB charging ports and a 12-volt power socket, so there shouldn’t be any fighting over who gets to charge up their devices. A £400 Climate Pack adds ventilation to the already heated front seats and a heating option to the two outer rear seats. This pack also adds a heated steering wheel and windscreen, making winter driving more comfortable.