Renault’s market-leading crossover supermini is back in more sophisticated second-generation form
As mid-life refreshes go, the Renault Captur really has been put under the knife. What has been tweaked, polished and added to the second-generation car, to put it mildly, is rather a lot, enough even – especially with the radically reworked face and fresh interior – to suggest to buyers it’s a brand new model entirely.The sheer scale and weight of this work is even more impressive when you consider its not-yet-confirmed £22,000 starting price will undercut many rivals, like the from-£25,000 Ford Puma, -£26,000 Hyundai Kona and -£23,500 Nissan Juke.These new changes and additions become even more interesting when you look at that Juke rival, which was also updated this year, but very minimally – an interior bump, and new yellow bodycolour are really the only notable updates. Although welcome, it’s not like Renault needed to make the changes. The Captur is a popular model, selling more than two million units since its 2013 launch, and helping to push the French brand, along with the smaller Renault Clio, to a 53% global B-segment share.We liked the original Renault Captur because it was undemanding to drive, attractive to look at, decently frugal if you went for the right engine. But we didn’t like the Captur that much, its poor body control, light steering and a remote driving experience in general blotting its copybook.This was greatly improved with the second generation model, and this mainly aesthetic refresh builds upon that further, to add, as Renault told Autocar, more modern, upmarket features.So, can this update, along with the car’s mix of style and value, help continue the Captur’s sales. Renault will definitely hope so, especially given it is now competing in what has become one of the most oversaturated segments in the market. When the car launched, its only true rival was the Juke, now competitors range from the Ford Puma and Volkswagen T-Cross to the Peugeot 2008
