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The Renault Rafale is a Alpine-inspired coupe-SUV with premium aspirations and strong performance. Is it worth the outlay? Lawrence Allan finds out.
Things you'll like
- Efficient hybrid-only line-up
- Composed drive
- Classy interior feel
Things to consider
- PHEV version is £50k
- Not quite the promised sporting drive
- Limited rear visibility
What is the Renault Rafale?
The Rafale is yet another SUV product from Renault – a brand formerly known for its expertise in building great small cars. The problem is, small cars aren’t all that profitable these days, so mainstream brands are retargeting their efforts at bigger and more premium bodystyles.
That’s why in just a few short years Renault has progressed from making a couple of SUVs (the Kadjar and Captur) to no fewer than six. So where does this new entrant fit in the range? Take a deep breath and we’ll explain.
The Captur and Arkana (a kind of stretched, curvier version of the Captur) continue to occupy the small SUV space with great success. But the old Kadjar (quietly dropped in 2022) has been indirectly replaced by no fewer than four models occupying the mid to upper-tier family SUV price points. Confused yet?
First, there’s the Symbioz. It’s the no-nonsense, value-focused hybrid family SUV aimed at the more affordable end of the spectrum – think entry-level Nissan Qashqais and the like. Then there’s bigger, posher and more powerful Renault Austral, designed to offer more driver appeal and premium touches – it lines up against the Volkswagen Tiguan.
Alongside that is the Scenic E-Tech, a stylish and long-range electric SUV competing with cars like the Skoda Enyaq. And then, finally, there’s the Rafale.
It might look like an Austral with a coupe-like body, but Renault is keen to stress that this new model serves as the range flagship, being substantially bigger, more expensive and offering more performance and luxury touches. It even has a name borrowed from a record-breaking 1930s Renault aircraft.
So, is the Rafale a worthy recipient of the flagship tag? Or does it make promises it can’t keep? We’ll find out in this review.
Verdict: is the Renault Rafale a good car?
We reckon the Rafale has a lot going for it as a brand flagship. It’s stylish, surprisingly roomy, feels decently upmarket and, while it has plenty of technology, it doesn’t overburden you with distractions. Our only issue is that it’s being sold as a sporty, driver-focused SUV, but while it’s smooth and efficient the Rafale falls short on outright driver appeal.
Pricing, specs & rivals
The Rafale’s semi-premium positioning is clear when you look at its pricing, which is a few thousand pounds more than the equivalent Austral and in line with models like the Cupra Terramar.
The Rafale’s list prices kick off at £38,195 for the entry-level Techno model with the 200hp full hybrid powertrain. This is the only version that avoids the current £40,000+ Expensive Car Supplement tax, as the next model up – the Techno Esprit Alpine – is £42,195.
Topping the full hybrid lineup is the Iconic Esprit Alpine, priced at £44,695. Beyond that is the 300hp plug-in hybrid powertrain, which kicks off from £45,695 in Techno Esprit Alpine form, with the top-tier Atelier Alpine version just squeezing under the £50k barrier at £49,695.
Even the ‘bog-basic’ Techno is hardly sparsely equipped, featuring 20-inch diamond-cut alloys, the full suite of infotainment, ambient lighting, dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, wireless phone charging and a reversing camera. It’s only available with the base full hybrid.
Techno Esprit Alpine does include some useful kit additions, however, including a four-wheel steering system, matrix LED headlights, an electric tailgate, heated and electrically adjustable front seats with a massaging driver’s seat, a heated steering wheel, and a head-up display, along with several styling and interior upgrades.
For the full hybrid the range tops out with the Iconic Esprit Alpine. It features Renault’s clever ‘Solarbay’ opacifying panoramic sunroof, a 360-degree camera system, hands-free parking tech, a 12-speaker Harmon Kardon audio system and a few other niceties.
Meanwhile, the PHEV’s bespoke Atelier Alpine trim tops the range. Building on Techno Esprit Alpine, it brings 21-inch alloys, intelligent adaptive dampers and bespoke styling upgrades along with the same level of kit as Iconic Esprit Alpine.
Rivals
Competitors to the Renault Rafale aren’t widespread, unless you count the same rivals that the Austral has (models such as the Hyundai Tucson and Volkswagen Tiguan). Really, it’s aimed at more style-oriented models such as the new Peugeot 3008 and Cupra Terramar.
Its positioning also pushes it into the realm of premium brand coupe-SUV models such as the Audi Q3 Sportback and BMW X2. However, in terms of sizing it’s closer to pricier models such as the Q5 Sportback and X4, plus the Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe.
Renault Rafale: Interior comfort, quality & technology
The Rafale’s interior will be instantly familiar if you’ve climbed aboard an Austral or Scenic E-Tech before, with a near-identical dash design and switchgear layout.
That’s no bad thing, because overall quality is good - at least in Atelier Alpine spec - with plenty of Alcantara and blue stitching to complement a variety of soft-touch plastics. Granted, a BMW X2 feels posher still, but the Renault isn’t far off.
The driving position isn’t as commanding as it is in some SUVs, but you still get a good view forwards and plenty of adjustment including standard lumbar support. The sports seats are comfortable and thick bolsters also give you plenty of side support, too.
Rear visibility is an issue – one that’s typical of many coupe-style SUVs. The rear pillars are thick and the rear window is extremely narrow, so you’re lucky to see much at all out the back beyond the headrests.
Infotainment, sat-nav, stereo and connectivity
All versions of the Rafale come equipped with Renault’s latest-generation infotainment system, utilising a 12-inch portrait-angled touchscreen combined with a 12.3-inch digital dial display.
The centre touchscreen uses Google-based software, including the Google Voice Assistant and built-in Google Maps along with a multitude of other apps and features. It’s slick, responsive and has crisp graphics, although the screen’s low positioning and angle takes some getting used to if you’re accustomed to screens mounted higher within the line of sight.
Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are still standard for those that prefer it. The dial display has some funky graphics, too. The only minor irritation is Renaults insistence on keeping the audio controls on a fiddly separate stalk behind the steering wheel.
But it isn’t a complete tech fest: there are physical buttons for most of the climate controls, and our favourite button in the entire cabin is the ‘My Safety Perso’ switch. Press it twice, and it switches to a customisable setting for all the driver assist functions, meaning you don’t have to faff about turning things like lane assist off individually in the touchscreen. We wish every carmaker did this.
There’s a suite of USB-C connectors throughout the cabin for charging devices, though every model also comes with a wireless phone charging pad. As for the stereo, we’ve yet to try the standard six-speaker system, but the twelve-speaker Harmon Kardon upgrade (with its Jean-Michel Jarre-designed soundscapes) delivers punchy audio.
How practical is the Renault Rafale
You might assume that the Rafale’s dimensions mirror that of the Austral, but you’d be wrong – it’s substantially bigger. With a length of 4.71m, a height of 1.61m and a width of 1.87m, it’s bigger than all its key mainstream rivals and gets close to the imposing exterior size of the Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe.
The result is a surprisingly roomy car. There’s a generous amount of space up front for even the tallest or broadest passengers – the Rafale’s roofline isn’t all that pinched for the coupe look, so headroom isn’t at a premium.
The same applies in the rear, which is a surprise given the back seat accommodation of many coupe SUVs is compromised by a sloping roofline. There’s plenty of headroom for six footers, and while foot space leaves a bit to be desired the generous kneeroom makes up for it.
There’s also enough space to accommodate three adults across the back – this is a considerably roomier car than something like a Cupra Formentor or Audi Q3 Sportback. The only black mark is the lack of sliding or reclining rear seats, though they’re hardly essential when the Rafale is so roomy.
Storage and boot space
The Rafale is almost as accommodating for odds and ends as it is people. You’ll find a pair of large door bins up front, and although the glovebox isn’t the biggest the quirky centre console storage makes up for it.
Along with the centre armrest there’s a moveable hand rest for the touchscreen – it slides gracefully back and forth to reveal either a pair of cupholders or a deep storage cubby, and incorporates the wireless phone charging pad. There’s also further storage beneath the armrest itself.
Moving to the back, you’ll find some smaller door bins and pockets in the rear seatbacks, but it’s the armrest that really excites (not something we’ve ever said before).
All but the entry-level Techno model get what Renault calls an ‘ingenious armrest’. As well as a lidded storage area with USB-C ports and a pair of cupholders, it also has swivelling arms set up to hold smartphones or tablets at the ideal view for watching videos.
That’s no substitute for seating flexibility, and happily the rear seatbacks fold in a 40/20/40 split to enable through-loading without losing the outer rear seats. Sadly, there are no boot-mounted levers to easily fold them, but that’s more than made up for by the Rafale’s boot capacity.
The Rafale Full Hybrid has a 535-litre outright capacity, which is already competitive before you realise that doesn’t include the underfloor storage and adjustable boot floor. Position it at its lowest point and it increases to a vast 627 litres, although you do then introduce a big load lip.
The PHEV, meanwhile, loses the adjustable boot floor and some of the underfloor storage space to its bigger battery pack. Nevertheless, its 539 litre capacity is still impressive – vastly more than a Cupra Terramar PHEV and even more than the Volkswagen Tiguan eHybrid.
Performance & drive: What is the Renault Rafale like on the road
You’re not exactly spoiled for choice with engines in the Renault Rafale: unlike the Cupra Terramar, which also offers pure petrol options alongside hybrids, the Rafale is exclusively offered with hybrid power.
The entry-level choice is the full hybrid. This combines a 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine with a couple of electric motors – a 34hp one serving as a mild hybrid-style starter-generator, the other 70hp one supplying power to the wheels.
The way it works is a bit confusing. In basic terms, there’s a clutchless gearbox that has four ratios for the engine and two for the electric motor, an alternative to the more commonly used CVT gearbox. In practice, it also means that the Rafale always moves off under electric power, with the petrol engine never kicking in until 12mph.
With 200hp and a 0-62mph time of just under nine seconds, off-the-line performance is clearly restricted by the engine not fully waking up until you’ve gained a bit of speed. Happily, once moving there’s a decent response from the combined power sources so overtaking or building up speed on slip roads isn’t a stressful experience.
However, while it’s commendably smooth most of the time there are occasions (such as when the battery is low or the engine is cold) where the car holds onto ratios leaving the engine revving unusually high when you’re cruising along at, say, 35mph.
On the occasion where a gearchange is needed you have to wait up to a second for the change to occur while the electric motor does its best to fill in the gap, and you have no ability to change gears yourself. It takes some getting used to, and is a long way from feeling sporty.
These foibles are less absent on the 300hp plug-in hybrid. In theory this has a full four different power sources, adding a 136hp electric motor that powers the rear wheels for all-wheel drive while boosting the petrol engine’s output to 150hp. Performance is much stronger, but again there’s little in the way of engagement or sporting intent.
The PHEV also has an EV mode, which delivers ample acceleration for everyday driving and a top speed of 84mph before the engine wakes up. Also, while the paddles behind the steering wheel don’t let you select any gears, they do allow you to adjust the regenerative braking through four levels for a useful bit of driver interaction.
Power, 0-62mph times
- Renault Rafale E-Tech Full Hybrid: 200hp/ 8.9 secs
- Renault Rafale E-Tech Plug-In Hybrid : 300hp/ 6.4 secs
Ride and handling
Our experience of the Rafale so far has been the top-spec Atelier Alpine trim, which comes with a novel touch at this price point: four-wheel steering. It’s designed to increase agility in the bends, but also gives the car a tighter turning circle at low speeds – the same 10.4 metres as a Renault Clio, conveniently.
While this is great around town, on faster roads the way the four-wheel steering reacts takes some getting used to – only small steering inputs give you plenty of turn-in, and the way the rear feels like it is oversteering round artificially is unnerving at first. Happily, there are three Alpine-tuned drive modes letting you adjust the severity of the rear wheel’s steering input. Regardless, more feelsome steering would help it feel more natural.
Alpine Atelier models also come with a bespoke suspension setup including camera-based adaptive damping. This reads the road ahead to, in theory, react to bumpy surfaces quickly. With it fitted the Rafale does a decent job at smothering bumps despite some thumping from its chunky 21-inch alloys, and it feels pretty sophisticated overall.
The four-wheel drive system also ensures plenty of grip, being able to send 100% of power to the front or rear wheels depending on drive mode. So it’s grippy and composed, but is it fun? We’d stop short of saying yes. Partly, the unsporty powertrain is to blame, but the remote steering and somewhat relaxed body control also don’t help.
Noise and refinement
The Rafale feels like a premium SUV when it comes to refinement. Wind noise is kept well in check, while road noise is only an irritant on really poor surfaces. And, of course, the going is super-smooth when you’re wafting along in electric-only mode.
When the engine does fire up, it’s noticeably less intrusive than the four-cylinder unit in the hybrid Renault Arkana, for example. There’s an occasional gruffness typical of a three-cylinder, but generally it’s well isolated from the cabin.
Euro NCAP: is the Renault Rafale a safe car?
While Euro NCAP hasn’t specifically crash tested a Rafale, the Austral on which it’s based was put through its paces in 2022 – and Euro NCAP reckons they’re so mechanically linked that the rating applies for both.
The Austral (and therefore the Rafale) achieved the maximum five-star rating, with Euro NCAP in particular praising the car’s adult occupant protection and safety assist tech. A category score of 83% for child occupant protection is good, but falls slightly short of electric models such as the Cupra Tavascan and Ford Capri.
The Rafale also has an extensive suite of standard safety aids including the usual automatic emergency braking with pedestrian, cyclist and junction detection, lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring, traffic sign recognition and driver attention monitoring.
Further standard assist tech includes a rear emergency braking function to prevent reversing collisions, rear cross-traffic alert and safe exit alert, which prevents you from opening your door into oncoming cyclists or traffic when parked roadside.
Fuel economy and running costs
Despite its sporting intent, the Rafale doesn’t drink fuel like a traditional sports car thanks to the all-hybrid lineup.
Renault claims an impressive 60.1mpg combined for the full hybrid model. That certainly compares well with much thirstier pure petrol alternatives and is also considerably better than hybrid alternatives like the Ford Kuga HEV and Hyundai Tucson Hybrid. Renault also points out diesel-like 683-mile range on a full tank.
As for the plug-in hybrid, its useful electric range nets an official combined economy figure of nearly 565mpg (reduced to 404mpg thanks to the bigger wheels and extra kit of Atelier Alpine spec).
That’s a figure achieved in a lab-based test with a full battery, and you might get near it if you keep the battery charged up and regular drives fit within the car’s EV range.
The PHEV’s CO2 emissions of between 12-15g/km and 8% Benefit-in-Kind tax rating more than offset the list price for business users, too
Renault Rafale PHEV: electric range and charging
The Rafale PHEV has an electric driving range of between 59 and 65 miles, depending on spec, thanks to its 22kWh battery.
That figure would’ve been impressive a couple of years ago, but such is the progress of plug-in car ranges it’s merely average: a VW Tiguan eHybrid, for example, promises up to 77 miles. Still, it’s ahead of the 52 miles a Peugeot 3008 PHEV promises, and should be more than ample for most people’s commutes.
Unlike the Tiguan, Renault doesn’t allow you to access DC rapid charging to quickly top up the PHEV’s batteries. That means a charge time of just under three hours using a typical 7.4kW home wallbox.
The Rafale’s battery also gets a strong warranty of up to eight years or 100,000 miles, covering its ability to retain at least 77% of its capacity up to this point.
How much does the Renault Rafale cost to insure?
One of biggest reasons you might choose the Austral over the Rafale is insurance costs. The Rafale sits in significantly higher insurance groups despite featuring the same engines, with the entry-level E-Tech Full Hybrid sitting in group 29 as opposed to group 21 in the Austral. The PHEV, meanwhile, starts at a disappointingly steep 38.
Renault Rafale FAQs
Where does the Renault Rafale fit in the range?
The Rafale is the new flagship SUV in Renault’s range, sitting above the Austral while sharing many of its components. It’s designed to offer a stylish coupe-SUV look along with a sportier, more sophisticated driving experience than lesser models – both hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions are available.
What is the range of the Renault Rafale PHEV?
The plug-in hybrid Renault Rafale offers a 22kWh battery pack which delivers a quoted range of between 59 and 65 miles, depending on spec.
Is the Renault Rafale coming to the UK?
Yes, the Renault Rafale is available to order in the UK and has been since late 2024. Production has commenced in Spain for both the full hybrid and plug-in hybrid variant.
