They don’t feel as upmarket as they should for a car in this category, especially the roof liner which feels like it's from one full segment below. However, our biggest gripe is the type of materials that have been used for the dashboard and the overall use of hard plastics for the interiors. And I really like the ambient LED lighting and design of the air conditioner controls. There are also some great design touches such as the butterfly-shaped instrument cluster that gets a large digital speedometer in the centre, flanked by a tachometer and a fuel gauge. The wrap-around dashboard is a fresh design and certainly feels like a step up from the Duster's. While there’s nothing to complain about the chic exteriors, the interiors are a bit of a hit-and-miss. But, in spite of the Captur being a looker, Renault is offering a whole multitude of customisation options in the form of garnishes such as chromed trim parts, several roof graphics and even two preset themes for those would have a difficult time choosing individual parts. Overall, it’s a very refreshing design unlike anything else seen in this segment before. Apart from the aforementioned DRLs and fog lamp combo, the tail-lights, as well as the headlights, are also full LED. There’s LED ambient lighting on the inside as well, but more on that later. Speaking about LEDs, there are lots of them across the car.
To add to that, the Captur’s short bonnet is muscular, drooping down at the front into an elegant headlight cluster, and culminating in a chunky bumper with 'C'-shaped units that house LED daytime running lamps (DRL) and fog lamps. Big wheel arches over the wonderfully designed ‘crystal cut’ 17-inch wheels sporting 215/60 rubber and the massive 210mm ground clearance lend it the unmistakable proportions of an SUV. Even with the Captur’s graceful lines, it still manages to have a butch quality, thanks to the wide and squatter stance compared to something like the Hyundai Creta.
It mirrors the European Captur’s design language, with swooping lines, curves and minimum angles, making it inherently French in its aesthetics, contrasting the Duster’s more Romanian origins. In fact, it’s already gone on sale in Russia but is spelt ‘Kaptur’ thanks to the the letter ‘C’ being pronounced as 'S' in the Cyrillic alphabet.įrom the outside, it’s almost impossible to tell that the Captur is based on the Duster platform. The Captur we’re getting is one that’s specifically made for emerging markets, built on the company’s M0 platform that’s proven its mettle in the Duster. That one is built on the Clio platform, and thanks to the Euro-spec bells and whistles, would’ve cost a bomb to bring here. No, this is not the same Captur that’s sold in Europe. Here’s where a bit of confusion begins, though. The car that Renault thinks has what it takes to challenge these two is the Captur. But let’s face it, the competition here is pretty tough.The Hyundai Creta has more or less become the epitome of maximum bang-for-the-buck when it comes to features, while the newly arrived Jeep Compass has stirred up the market with its true-blue SUV credentials. While the levels of success seen by its models have been mixed, the French carmaker now wants to make a stronger impression in the mid-size SUV/crossover segment. While it still hasn't quite reached the heights of its Indo-Japanese and Korean rivals, Renault has been making some interesting cars for the Indian market.
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