Test drive: Renault Captur E-TECH, a plug-in hybrid SUV with many advantages

An SUV that works like an electric car in the city and consumes as little as a diesel on the open road. That is the new Renault Captur E-TECH, the plug-in hybrid version of the Captur that Renault has just gone on sale. Its price? From 31,000 euros with the Zen trim, and from 32,300 euros for the SL Edition version, including promotional discount, but excluding any additional discounts when financing the purchase.

To put it in perspective, at list prices, that is 6,500 euros more than the 155 hp Captur TCe with EDC gearbox and Zen trim. A difference you can substantially reduce if you take advantage of the Moves II Plan grants. Price is not the only factor where the hybrid Captur may make you look the other way. There is also the capacity of the boot, with a reduction that can be significant if you think of the Captur as your only car and will travel with passengers and luggage. And here the disadvantages of the plug-in hybrid Captur end; everything else adds to its favour.

Of course, its plug-in hybrid status means the Captur E-TECH displays the DGT CERO label. In this category and with these characteristics there are not many alternatives to the French SUV, beyond the Kia Niro PHEV or the new Jeep Renegade hybrid. If you are looking for another SUV of this size with a CERO label, you will always have to depend on a plug, as is the case with the Peugeot e-2008.

What lies under the bonnet of the Captur E-TECH

The Captur E-TECH (and the Mégane E-TECH, also a plug-in hybrid) shares its propulsion system with the Renault Clio E-TECH self-charging hybrid. Here you can read our first test of the Clio hybrid. Basically it changes the power of the electric motors and the battery used, as well as the equipment needed (onboard charger, socket, etc.) to be able to plug it in.

Under the bonnet we find a naturally aspirated 1.6 petrol engine producing 90 hp, and two electric motors, one that works mainly as a generator and starter motor, and another as the drive motor, although both electric motors can assist the combustion engine or move the vehicle on their own. They do this through a novel gearbox that Renault is called Multimode, which has no clutch or synchronisers. This is possible because the first electric motor adjusts the speed of the combustion engine to couple it to the gearbox ratios as required.

The independent or combined operation of the thermal engine and each of the electric motors depends on the situation in each case. Mainly, on the demand on the accelerator and the state of charge of the battery. The total system output is 160 hp.

The electric motors receive energy stored in a 9.8 kWh battery (75 kWh usable), which is recharged through the socket located on the right side of the bodywork, with the usual fuel filler flap on the left side. We leave you a video showing how this technology works in practice, both in the Clio and in the Captur and Mégane:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOCd7MtIXEw

With the cable supplied as standard, the Captur can be recharged at home from a domestic socket in about five hours, a time that can be reduced to around 3 hours if recharged at the maximum power the onboard charger allows, 3.7 kW. That will be the minimum charging time even if you plug into a public charging post – for which you will need the cable sold as an option – since the power is limited to the car’s 3.7 kW charger.

On the road with the hybrid Captur

If its 160 hp, the 50 km of electric range it claims (65 in the city) or a WLTP consumption of 1.4 l/100 km are figures that make you view the Captur E-TECH favourably, you can keep doing so without worrying too much.

We have not been able to cover many kilometres on this first contact, but enough to confirm that performance matches the 160 hp it claims. Although they are not “sporty” 160 hp, not even in the Sport mode of the Multisense system, which is standard.

The Captur’s responses are always calm and quiet, even when the combustion engine kicks in. You will notice it, but not as much as in other hybrids. Sport mode combines the strength of all three motors, provided the battery has enough charge. And the response when pressing the accelerator is a linear delivery of power, as if it were a car with a turbo that had barely any lag.

The driving mode called Pure prioritises electric propulsion, something you can also do by pressing the EV button on the console, without needing to go into the Multisense menu. Here you can move in electric mode without problems; the response is agile enough in urban traffic and on interurban roads.

And you do not need to be careful with the accelerator to keep the combustion engine from starting. Unless you press firmly to the floor, the electric motors will take care of propelling the car in electric mode up to a maximum speed of 135 km/h, where it practically “sticks”. From there, if you insist on the accelerator you will no longer gain speed, unless you press hard, similar to a “kick-down” in an automatic car.

50 km of electric range, and on the open road like a diesel

We will check this when we test it more thoroughly, but on the various routes playing with the driving and the on-board computer, we estimate it is easy to achieve the electric range it claims. And also to stay at consumption around 2 l/100 km if we use the hybrid driving mode (called My Sense) until the battery runs out, which will give you enough to get close to 100 km with that surprising consumption.

From this point, the Captur will behave like a conventional hybrid, recharging the battery on the move through regenerative braking. In this hybrid mode, if you do not have a plug again, you will move with consumption practically like a diesel, around 6.5 l/100 km.

Otherwise, driving the hybrid Captur E-TECH poses no difficulties and requires no special learning. You have an E-Save driving mode that keeps the battery charge to ensure about 25 km of electric range. For example, when heading onto the open road if you want to arrive in the city and drive in EV mode.

There are no shift paddles, and the small selector that replaces the gear lever only offers, as an alternative to automatic “D” mode, the “B” position, which increases regeneration and therefore the deceleration capacity when lifting off the accelerator. It would be more convenient to be able to activate this mode from paddles on the steering wheel.

Focusing on practical and everyday aspects, the hybrid Captur keeps all the qualities of the combustion-engined models (except the aforementioned loss of boot capacity): ergonomics, living space, a comfortable driving position with good visibility, rear bench with longitudinal adjustment…

In addition, it adds the advantages of the complete equipment of the ZEN trim, the minimum you can choose. Even this trim adds elements that are optional on the rest of the ZEN versions, such as the higher version of the Easy Link system with a 9.3-inch screen instead of 7, compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Or the digital instrumentation, which changes how information is presented depending on the programme chosen in the Multisense system.

Above it sits the SL E-TECH Edition trim, with exterior and interior personalisation options that make it even clearer that the Captur you drive is “special”.

Renault Captur E-TECH image gallery

<<>>
<<>>
<<>>

Technical specifications of this car

CrossoverRenault Captur26 versions · from 22,900 €