• Roomy up front and in the rear
• Well-shaped luggage area with split floor
• Practical and capacious for the money

How much space is there?

This is a stylish car, but also very much aimed at families, so it needs to look more coupe-like from the outside than it feels from the inside. And it does. The curve of the roof hasn’t resulted in tiny windows for the rear passengers, and unlike the Toyota C-HR it’s bright and airy in the back.

Rear passengers get slightly more width than those in the front. There are three seats in the back, although three full-grown adults wouldn’t enjoy spending an extended time there. It’s better to treat the Arkana as a four-seater, and use the wide, comfortable central armrest in the back. Rear legroom is adequate, and headroom will only be an issue for over-six-footers. 

Curiously, headroom’s just as much an issue for those in the front if you’re in a hybrid model, as the seats are mounted very high up. Taller drivers will notice they seem very perched.

Boot space and storage

The rear seat splits 60:40, and folds flat to increase boot size from a decent 480 litres for the E-Tech hybrid to a handy 1,263 (1,296), although the angle of the hatch will rule out boxier loads. Taller drivers also ought to watch out, as the boot latch is fearsomely sharp and easily positioned to clonk heads if you’re loading and straighten up too quickly.

Storage space in the cabin is really good, too. The door bins are big and well-shaped enough to fit a water bottle in, and there are a couple of good cupholders in the centre console. You also get a roomy cubbyhole beneath the front armrest and room for a mobile phone near the transmission selector.

Is it easy to park?

The Renault offers a typically lofty SUV-style driving position and gives the driver a reasonable view out of the front over the bonnet. It’s less good for over-the-shoulder visibility, though, and as such parking could be easier.

But the mirrors are good, and there are options to add front and rear parking sensors, a rear-view camera or 360-degree view. With any of those aids in place, parking a Renault Arkana should pose no problems.

Safety

• Five-star Euro NCAP result
• Advanced safety tech as standard
• Semi-autonomous driving pack available as an option

Although it was new to the UK market in 2021, the Renault Arkana was declared a five-star car by EuroNCAP in 2019, after testing the similar Renault Captur. It performed very well indeed, and that’s down in part to the car’s stiff crash structure and suite of driver assistance systems – the most notable, listed below.

• Traffic-sign recognition
• Rear-cross traffic alert
• Lane-keeping assist
• Adaptive cruise control and lane centring
• Blind spot warning