Written by Keith Adams Updated: 29 May 2024

We’re living with a Renault Arkana for three months to see what it’s like as a daily driver.

Keep reading for the full report or click the links below to jump straight to the section you’re interested in.

Reports by Tom Wiltshire

Report 1: Welcome and introduction
Tom Wiltshire takes delivery of Renault’s bargain-priced coupe-SUV. A niche too far or a surprise hit for Renault?

Report 2: Hybrid working
Some time with the Renault Arkana hasn’t really convinced our reviewer of its worth just yet

Report 3: Ask the audience
What do the rest of the Parkers team think of the Renault Arkana? The keys have been forced upon them so our reviewer can find out

Report 4: Farewell
We say goodbye to the Renault Arkana after three months and a couple thousand miles. What did we think?

Report 1: Welcome and introduction

Tom Wiltshire takes delivery of Renault’s bargain-priced coupe-SUV. A niche too far or a surprise hit for Renault?

Sales figures for SUVs keep rising, but what do you do if you want to stand out from the crowd? I mean, the obvious answer is to buy something that isn’t an SUV… but what if you still want that raised ride height and illusion of ruggedness? Enter the coupe-SUV, a class more or less invented by the BMW X6 in 2008.

It’s a sign of the changing times that this bodystyle, once reserved for high-end brands, has filtered down to the point where Renault can apply it to one of its own models. This is the Renault Arkana, the slinkier and ostensibly more stylish sibling to the Renault Captur, and if it looks familiar it might be because Renault’s advertising it pretty heavily.

What it’s advertising in particular is the car’s very favourable price tag, particularly on finance, but being cheap and standing out aren’t enough on their own to make a car any good. So I’ll be living with an Arkana as my daily driver for three months to see what its other talents are like.

What Arkana do we have?

Renault’s supplied us an Arkana E-Tech Hybrid in S Edition trim. S Edition is the middle of three trim levels, and comes with quite an odd mixture of equipment:

• 9.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto)
• Adaptive cruise control
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Digital dashboard
• Front and rear parking sensors
• Reversing camera
• Climate control
• All-round electric windows
• Keyless entry and start

An interesting list, certainly. An absence of heated anything feels stingy, to me – the S Edition doesn’t just lack heated seats and steering wheel, but even the door mirrors aren’t heated. The upholstery also feels rather cheap, though that’s rather a nit-pick.

‘Hybrid’ in this case means a full hybrid system – there’s also a mild hybrid version, confusingly also advertised as a hybrid but functionally it’s just a petrol automatic.

The E-Tech system fitted to our car is rather more sophisticated, although I’m not necessarily sure that’s a good thing – more on that later.

What all the above comes out to, plus a black roof, metallic paint and spare wheel from the options list, is £31,140 if you were to buy today (February 2022). Put down a £3,978 deposit and our car would cost £420 per month – that’s on the 24-month PCP deal Renault prefers, rather than a more typical 36-month term.

First impressions

I’ll admit that my first impressions of the Arkana aren’t overly favourable. The exposed boot latch mechanism has already drawn blood twice from the top of my head, which isn’t a fantastic start. I’ve also been bemused at the car’s dreadful fuel economy on motorway cruises, and irritated at its overly firm ride.

But it’s big – space in the back seats and boot is highly impressive despite the sloping roofline – and even though it’s not to my particular taste I’ll admit that the Arkana is eye-catching and looks good in our car’s Zanzibar Blue paint. Hopefully a few more miles will warm me to its foibles.

Mileage: 5,344
Fuel economy: 45.6mpg
Official fuel economy: 58.9mpg

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Report 2: Hybrid working

Some time with the Renault Arkana hasn’t really convinced our reviewer of its worth just yet

I’m a little while into my time with the Renault Arkana and have covered several hundred miles, both locally and further afield. That’s given me plenty of time to develop some opinions on it, particularly on the hybrid powertrain.

Renault makes a big deal about the Arkana being ‘hybrid-only’, though that’s only technically true – the entry-level model is a mild hybrid, which in truth is little more than a slightly more efficient petrol. We’ve got the full self-charging hybrid here, though.

Hybrid systems have really come a long way since the early days of the Toyota Prius more than two decades ago, but Renault has its own way of shuffling power between the engine and the electric motor and to be honest, it just doesn’t work very well. The Arkana’s power output is a fairly generous 145hp, but it never feels like it, even if you put it into ‘Sport’ mode.

The transition between the power sources is actually quite smooth, but that’s the only part of the powertrain that’s refined. The 1.6-litre petrol engine is forced to rev quite high even during an undemanding cruise or a 30mph jaunt through town, making for unpleasantly noisy progress. Put your foot down and matters get even worse, sending the revs spiralling even higher.

If it were a regular automatic car, it would feel as though you’re driving round one or two gear ratios below where’s comfortable. Speaking of comfort, the low-speed ride quality is really beginning to jar – this is a family SUV, not a sports car, and it’s simply far too firm for the UK’s pockmarked tarmac.

The Arkana will waft along in all-electric mode at times, but the small battery means this doesn’t last for more than a couple of miles. And when it does, the 48hp electric motor doesn’t exactly provide sparkling performance.

Overall, Renault’s hybrid powertrain feels like a first-generation product that hasn’t worked out all of its kinks, in stark contrast to the much smoother and more refined system you’d find in something like a Toyota C-HR. And the worst part is that, for all that sacrifice, you don’t even get great fuel economy – I’ve yet to see more than a 46mpg average, even when driving carefully.

Powertrain aside, I have found a few positives to the Arkana. I’m a fan of the infotainment system and its big, clear, portrait display – it works well, especially when displaying Android Auto. And the driving assistance systems all function reliably and make for a relaxed time, from the well-judged adaptive cruise control to the all-round parking sensors.

Mileage: 5,715
Fuel economy: 45.8mpg
Official fuel economy: 58.9mpg

Report 3: Ask the audience

What do the rest of the Parkers team think of the Renault Arkana? The keys have been forced upon them so our reviewer can find out

Some of Parkers long-term test cars find themselves in high demand – usually anything big and square gets pressed into service for house moves or trips to the flat-pack furniture store, while anything luxurious ends up being requisitioned for long drives or wedding chauffeur duties.

Oddly enough, though, the Parkers team haven’t found too many excuses to borrow the Renault Arkana, and so I’ve almost had to force the keys upon my colleagues in order to get a second opinion.

The first victim was editorial director, Tim Pollard, who summed the Arkana up as ‘remarkably unremarkable’. Well said, Tim.

He agreed with me on the Arkana’s poor fuel economy, too, saying “I just kept being drawn to the ho-hum 45mpg average fuel economy showing on the dash in my tenure and wondering if it was all worth it…. Diesel family cars were doing that 15 years ago – where’s the progress?”

He’s a valid point, and it highlights how far behind the competition Renault’s hybrid system is in terms of fuel economy. A similarly powerful Toyota C-HR would easily top 55mpg in the same scenario – I know, I’ve done it – and be more responsive, quieter and pleasant to drive in the process.

Parkers editor Keith Adams found himself in need of the Arkana’s services too, and put it to the test on his monster drive back home. Take it away, Keith…

“I had low expectations for the Arkana. As a breed I don’t ‘get’ coupe-SUVs, so this car was at a disadvantage before the get-go. Tom was kind enough to lend me his car for the trip back home to Cumbria – a good 500+ mile journey – a long enough schlep to get to know the Arkana, and either love or hate it.

“On the journey up, I quickly reacquainted myself with Renault’s infotainment set-up (it doesn’t feel much different to my old 2017 Scenic) and the adaptive cruise control (excellent). My opinions formed quickly – it’s a good motorway car, cruising well and unobtrusively, but it feels like a well-sorted five-year old car.

“Up north and in the mountains, the lack of refinement from the hybrid system (the engine cutting in noisily and randomly) and flaccid throttle response soon made it a chore. The ride quality is disappointing, too, and not particularly well damped. As has been mentioned elsewhere, the fuel consumption of 45mpg was unimpressive for this much touted E-Tech system, too.

“But despite those failings, I ended up quite liking the Arkana. I like the way it looks, and the excellent practicality compared with something like a C-HR. Given Renault’s current excellent finance deals, it does represent good value too. Overall, after my 600 miles behind the wheel, it was a dynamic and refinement disappointment, but if I were tooling around town and up the motorway, I’d be happy enough with it.”

Good to have some balance, isn’t it?

Mileage: 6,235
Fuel economy: 45.5mpg
Official fuel economy: 58.9mpg

Report 4: Farewell

We say goodbye to the Renault Arkana after three months and a couple thousand miles. What did we think?

It’s time to say goodbye to the Renault Arkana after a gratifyingly brief three-month spell. If you’ve read my reports above, you’ll know that I didn’t exactly gel with this car during my time with it – in fact, I struggled to see the point of its inclusion in Renault’s UK lineup or indeed why you’d buy one over the many excellent hybrid SUVs already on sale. Don’t be too fooled by my apparent loving cleaning job pictured above.

I won’t repeat myself too much, but my biggest complaints were with the refinement and economy of that hybrid powertrain. I don’t think it’s fit for purpose when compared to the vastly better hybrid systems on the market, though curiously I’ve since driven a Renault Clio with the same engine and didn’t have anywhere near as much to moan about.

I guess the Arkana’s additional weight must have a marked effect on the hybrid engine’s responsiveness. Whatever the issue is, it makes for an unpleasant driving experience.

And it’s not like that experience is backed up with stellar fuel economy, either. The Arkana’s steadfastly refused to hit its claimed economy figures during my time with it, even when I’ve been driving relatively gently – 48mpg remains the most impressive figure I’ve seen, while 45mpg is more common during daily use.

The other complaint I have is with the ride which is simply far too firm for a family SUV and not something I’d be too happy living with over an extended period.

It’s important to have some balance, though, and I’ll give the Arkana its dues in certain areas. I’ve been impressed by the level of practicality on offer, with a large boot and plenty of space in the back seats it’s a surprisingly effective family SUV despite that swoopy roofline.

I should also give Renault credit for its assisted driving systems – the Arkana’s adaptive cruise control is one of the better systems I’ve used, and it’s ideal for taking the sting out of motorway journeys.

I’ll also acknowledge that for a large, relatively well-equipped SUV the Arkana is reasonable value.

But I think better cars for less money can be found elsewhere – in the stylish Citroen C4, Mazda CX-30 or Toyota C-HR.

What it always comes down to is this: would I recommend the Renault Arkana to a friend who was in the market for something about this size and price? The answer, honestly, is no.

Mileage: 6,925
Fuel economy: 45.1mpg
Official fuel economy: 58.9mpg