Expect the unexpected, that would be a happy motto for Renault. Since it almost went bankrupt, the group has been managed by CEO Luca de Meo and brand boss Fabrice Cambolive in a noticeably cooperative and chummy atmosphere, but this creates pressure to produce quite rational products. They built, say the gentlemen at the top, cars that could be sold, for the time being there was no room for daydreams. First of all, as the electric R5 is due at the end of 2024, with dense quotations from the original and aimed straight at the heart.
Holger Appel
Editor in business, responsible for “Technology and Engine”.
Until then, models like Austral, Espace and Scénic have had the task of catching customers, all of them tuned to SUVs, sometimes with different roots or not.
Now it so happened that the sun shone over Paris for four weeks, and just in the hour when de Meo and Cambolive wanted to lift the cloth, a storm and cloudburst descended over the airport of Le Bourget. What came to light was a Rafale, not Dassault’s fighter jet of the same name, but a new car, nomen est omen. Historically, the name Rafale belongs to the 1930s, has a motor connection to Renault, but has been carried into the air for years with an afterburner and is now turning back to earthly things, an SUV cast in the form of a coupé.
picture series
New Renault Rafale: storm and compulsion
It falls on the elongated silhouette, the real door handles, the pretty Alpine blue, the new headlights, all in all neat preparation. Renault has not reinvented the car, but from spring 2024 the 4.71 meter long Rafale will find itself in a niche that seems to be getting bigger and bigger. A monochrome glass roof and all-wheel steering set exclamation points.
Johannes Winterhagen Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 10 Johannes Winterhagen Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 5 Joshua Hildebrand Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 10
The technique is known from Austral and Espace, propulsion takes care of a 1.2-liter three-cylinder petrol engine, which is electrically lined. This is how 200 hybrid hp come about. It cannot be charged externally, which distinguishes it from the plug-in hybrid. In return, it saves weight and complexity, the E-Werk is used for thrust from below and offers shorter distances under power. The effect on fuel consumption is particularly noticeable in the city. We suspect a top speed of around 175 km/h and a starting price of 45,000 euros. A version with a second electric motor on the rear axle, 300 hp and all-wheel drive will follow in September 2024.