This is the Renault Symbioz, the latest in a full-on assault on the C-segment by the French manufacturer. It joins a line-up the Renault Megane E-Tech electric hatch, the Scenic E-Tech electric crossover, the Arkana hybrid coupe-crossover and the Austral mid-sized crossover-SUV for this sector alone.
Fits between Captur and Austral
In clearer terms, Renault says the Symbioz is a hybrid, family-friendly crossover designed to fit into its range between the Captur and the Austral, while it complements the all-electric Scenic by dint of it being a hybrid.
Further, the French company cites an extensive list of its most practical cars, the Symbioz clearly channelling their spirits into its sensible form. These include the Renault 16 (which launched way back in 1965), the Espace seven-seat people carrier and the old Scenic MPV.
Unsurprisingly, given its positioning, the Symbioz is dimensionally pretty similar to the electric Scenic E-Tech. The newcomer measures 4,413mm long, 1,797mm wide, 1,575mm tall and has a wheelbase - the space between the front and rear wheels - of 2,638mm. That makes it 57mm shorter overall, with 147mm less space between its axles, and 67mm narrower, but 4mm taller than the Scenic E-Tech (4,470mm, 1,864mm, 1,571mm and 2,785mm are the EV’s dimensions).
Nevertheless, the Symbioz has a bigger boot at 624 litres (Scenic E-Tech: 545 litres) and it weighs a lot less overall, with a kerb weight of 1,500kg comparing favourably to the all-electric crossover’s near-1.85-tonne mass.
Versatile interior
Visually, the Symbioz follows the sharp-edged appearance of Renault’s latest models, all released under the eye of Gilles Vidal, the company’s design director. It has the sleek headlight clusters, the new and large Renault corporate logo, lightning-bolt-shaped daytime running lamps, carefully sculpted flanks and a tapering glasshouse to lighten up its visual bulk. Alloy wheel sizes range up to 19 inches in diameter on the top-spec models.
Inside, Renault’s large, 10.4-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen dominates the dash, paired with a 10.3-inch digital instrument cluster for the driver. The infotainment is called OpenR Link and has Google built into it, with an Android Automotive 12 operating system overseeing the software. The Symbioz can also be had with the Solarbay opacifying glass sunroof and a powered tailgate, although we’ll have to wait for confirmed Irish specifications before saying for certain whether every model in the crossover’s range will benefit from these features.
Also on the equipment list will be a nine-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, with its acoustics developed by legendary French electronica musician Jean-Michel Jarre. To further up the ambience, there’s 48-colour interior lighting on the Symbioz too.
There will be a degree of modularity and configurability to the Symbioz’s interior. The rear bench, for instance, can slide forwards and backwards by more than 160mm, which means in the roomiest set-up for rear-seat passengers - with 221mm of kneeroom available - the boot still holds 492 litres. Slide the bench forward, though, and 624 litres of cargo capacity becomes available, while folding the rear 60:40-split backrests down liberates up to 1,582 litres of space. Renault is also keen to draw attention to the lipless load area and adjustable boot floor in the Symbioz, as well as 24.7 litres of storage dotted throughout the passenger cabin - including a seven-litre glovebox.
One hybrid powertrain confirmed
Motive power for the Symbioz has so far been confirmed as comprising only the E-Tech Hybrid 145hp powertrain, familiar from the Clio and Captur, among more. It combines a 36kW (49hp) electric motor and an 18kW (24hp) high-voltage starter-generator (HSG) with a 95hp 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. There’s then a multimode automatic gearbox, with four ratios for the petrol engine and another two for the electric motor, as well as a 1.2kWh lithium-ion battery pack. No word on performance figures yet, although Renault is happy to say it is targeting WLTP fuel consumption of around 4.6 litres/100km.
Interestingly, Renault is continuing its ‘Human First’ programme when it comes to the Symbioz’s advanced driver assist safety (ADAS) systems. So while the car has six airbags and up to 24 new-generation ADAS aids available to it, meaning the crossover can lay claim to Level 2 autonomy, it has a button to the right of the steering wheel called My Safety Switch that allows the driver activate or deactivate their preferred settings for up to six ADAS items at a time.