Renault has announced that its new family SUV will be called the Symbioz. The name comes from a sleek 2017 concept car which Renault showed off at Frankfurt motor show that year.
Fifth crossover model, with more to come
This new Symbioz will be Renault's fifth crossover model and will slot into the range between the compact Captur and the larger Austral. As with the Austral and the coupe-like Arkana, it will use hybrid power only, leaving the new Scenic to be the fully-electric mid-size SUV in Renault's range.
Renault says that the Symbioz's name is cross-cultural, and similar in many languages: 'symbiosis' in English, 'simbiose' in Spanish and 'simbiosi' in Italian, making the name Symbioz easy to understand by a wide audience.
"For this new compact family car, we wanted a name with human significance, expressing the close bond between a family and their car. The name Symbioz perfectly illustrates life with our vehicle, a place where passengers are as one with their vehicle and the environment," said Sylvia Dos Santos, Head of Naming Strategy at Renault's marketing division. "The name Symbioz is very interesting from an etymological point of view," says Sylvia. "It is inspired by the word 'symbiosis', which itself comes from ancient Greek. A noun derived from the prefix syn-, for 'together' or 'with', and -bios, for 'life'; it means 'living together'.
Life, togetherness, and family
"Life and togetherness are two values deeply rooted in Renault's DNA, with cars for living," explains Sylvia. "'Togetherness', 'life', 'family' - these notions revolve around people and, in a broader sense, the bonding force that unites them all. 'Symbioz' is therefore a particularly apt name to give a Renault family SUV that boast generous spaciousness and large storage space. The name also draws on our French roots, because 'Symbioz' is a clear nod to the French word 'symbiose'. Its pronunciation is very similar across multiple languages, meaning many people around the world can readily recognise the name 'Symbioz'."
The Symbioz will be the smallest of Renault's 'C-segment' SUVs and at 4.41 metres long, only slightly longer than the B-segment Captur. That makes it shorter than the Scenic (4.47 metres), the Austral (4.51 metres), and the Arkana (4.56 metres) and a little longer than the Megane hatchback (4.2 metres). This C-segment line-up will also be joined this year by the new Rafale, which we can think of as a sportier, coupe-like version of the Austral.
Hybrid power
The Symbioz will use the 1.6-litre 145hp hybrid engine from the Arkana, which should be good news from an affordability point of view, and Renault has promised to keep the kerb weight down to 1,500kg - good news if you're planning to park it in Paris anytime soon. While it will be a relatively affordable model, Renault is promising some interesting tech for the Symbioz, including a Solarbay panoramic glass roof based on PDLC (that's Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal) technology which can turn opaque without a blind - you just run an electric current through the crystals in the glass and they snap from completely clear to shaded and back again.
The Symbioz will be fully revealed in the next few weeks, and will go on sale.