Renault Rafale - a flight of fancy?

[@rosswishart9006]

I’m a big fan of the SUV coupe style and have the Iconic Esprit Alpine on order, it looks fantastic, comes with all the bells and whistles and is ideal for the family. Having taking it for a test drive I understand the criticism, it could certainly benefit from a greater responsiveness however I couldn’t justify the extra £25,000 required for the same spec’d Merc GLC coupe. Great video.

[@houseofcars1973]

It does offer a lot of value in comparison to the German brands for sure.

[@danf430]

I have Mk3 Touareg and am moving to a Rafale. There's a delay in the gearbox too, it has a 8 speed ZF. You get used to it and adapt your style to compensate. It's not a big issue for me anyway.

[@houseofcars1973]

I like the Rafale: I like the way it looks, I like the interior and I have to say the plug-in hybrid feels like it’s got its act together with the driveline.

[@chris-townson]

Really interesting how the electric Megane and Scenic gave a better ride. Nice to see the heated windscreen on this model - I wish Renault would offer it for other models in the UK.

[@markc6030]

Look forward to you comparing the plug-in to this version 👍

[@richardhargrave6082]

Another great review, Brian. I like this, I'd have one over the German offerings, just because its different and it has Perso... I've said it before, Renault are really cracking it at the moment, also with Dacia. Its badge snobbery that stops it selling here, although personally, I'd go for a Long Range Scenic or an Austral

[@GPigTV]

Very good review, really informative. I have the non-coupe version of this car and engine in the Austral. I acknowledge the minor delay when you do something out of the ordinary, but we’re talking milliseconds and in fact the car still accelerates immediately using the torque from the large electric motor. What you actually experience is a whole bunch of gear changes because the electric engine has two gears, and the petrol has 4 gears and they can combine dependant on the load for a total of 13 possible gears, but there’s no real delay on acceleration that I’ve experienced. I have no issue with it, and it’s much better than my Mercedes traditional auto gearbox which is so slow to react to sudden requests it can be dangerous. I also find the ride absolutely fine, in fact better than my CRV it replaced, but then they don’t offer the 4wheel steer on the Austral anymore. Having said that, you can control the amount of input from the rear, and even switch it off if you don’t like it. One more point, it’s now a 2kw battery, not 1.7.

[@houseofcars1973]

The Austral certainly rides better, as I’ve tested the car against the Hyundai. I have to say, I didn’t find the same hesitation in the Austral as I did in the Rafale, but maybe it’s just because I had more time with the Rafale it made itself apparent more. Don’t get me wrong, I do like the car, but I just felt it should be better. I expected more from it given how good other Renault products have been and this the flagship. Anyway, driving the 300bhp PHEV next week, so will see if that’s a bit sharper. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment, it’s much appreciated.

[@jackd4758]

Hi Brian, thank you for a very good honest test. Could you compare this car to the Cupra Terramar please? Which car would you buy if you had to choose and why. I am facing such a choice and would be grateful for your opinion🙂

[@houseofcars1973]

First of all, thank you for watching and taking the time to comment. Appreciate your feedback. I’d probably choose the Cupra. I like the Rafale, but I felt it should be better for the money and a car that is the “flagship” of the Renault range. Also, the Terramar is a bit more refined, so better suppression of wind and road noise, has better driver responses and feels a bit more premium. It’s also a better handling car too. Also, the interior of the Cupra really does feel special and some really nice materials used in it. Don’t get me wrong, I like the Rafale, but the Cupra is the better car in my opinion and the one I would choose. Hope that helps and thanks again for watching.

[@jackd4758]

@ I think the same as you, I like Rafael but it seems to me that Cupra is a much nicer car, a little less space inside for passengers in the back, but wider which is very important to me. Thank you very much for your answer, it helped me a lot in making a decision. Best regards🙂

[@boyhewittboyhewitt2354]

i was look for a new plug in hybrid. I looked at Audi suv, Mercedes suv and had a look at the byd seal u. for me down to cost, practically, comfort, out of every thing i looked at the Rafale ticked more box's. the plugin version looks the better choice for me so i have ordered a Rafale Ateller Alpine E-Tech plug-in hybrid it drives so much better then the E-Tech full hybrid version still a little hesitant when put your foot down but i hand a plug in Mercedes that was like that. for the cost, practically, comfort it was between a Skoda Kodiay Soportline 1.5 TSI iV 204 PS DSG Plug-in hybrid and the rafale, the Rafale just made more sense to me and it look good

[@houseofcars1973]

I have the Rafale PHEV arriving tomorrow for a couple of days. Looking forward to seeing the differences.

[@boyhewittboyhewitt2354]

it will be good to see what you think

[@GrahamR-q9b]

Another great review. I would say that it is a not car I would consider, the exterior is quite bland apart from the side profile and the dash look's odd it appears to have a air vent between the two screen's . I like the google set up and wished my DS 7 had it as DS own system is not that good . Thanks once again. Next please.

[@klunk64]

peugeot 208 gt 2023 has that same hesitation ,example say coming up to a junction but not stopping and you can see a car coming in the distance but you have plenty of time to go ,so you put your foot on the accelerator and the cars does nothing for 3 seconds then starts to go

[@GPigTV]

I have same engine in Austral and the car accelerates immediately, you just get this moment of the engine kicking in and the gear ratio changing, but acceleration is immediate from the huge electric motor which it prioritises. My Mercedes has that horrible huge delay too of 2-3 seconds so I know what you mean, but that’s not the case I’ve found with my Austral which is the non coupe version of the Rafale.

[@BenJ2827]

Great review, stunning looking car but that engine choice is dire! Why didn't they just put a 3 ltr petrol engine in it!

[@houseofcars1973]

They don’t have one I suppose and the platform can’t take one. It sounds worse than it is as the performance is actually very good, and as I said, it feels quicker than the numbers suggest. I’m driving the new 300bhp PHEV next week so I’ll be interested to see how it compares. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@BenJ2827]

@@houseofcars1973 I'm actually test driving the AWD 300hp version this week. It will be interesting!

[@houseofcars1973]

Let me know what you think: then I’ll tell you my thoughts on it….

[@BenJ2827]

@@houseofcars1973 Wow! I was very impressed by the AWD version. The steering and ride are superb and it feels really quick. Maybe I need to not get hung up on the engine size and just go with how it drives. Decisions, decisions!

[@gerrywhelan7426]

Great Review. No rear wiper or a spare wheel, just daft. 3 Cylinder, no way. Old Renaults did isolate bad roads, but not anymore. High tech complexity will prove unreliable in the long term.

[@sIightIybored]

Renaults would be top of my list if they didn't have such a high boot sill. It makes cars otherwise on the shopping list unusable. They've gone for a low one with the Renault 4, which I hope catches on.

[@andie9762]

Shame about the drive as it’s a good looking car.

[@houseofcars1973]

It isn't "bad" to drive, its just that I felt it could be (should be?) better. I felt the Austral was a better car to drive. Anyway, I have the PHEV coming next week, so will report on how that is to drive.

[@andie9762]

@ Looking forward to hearing your opinion on that engine.

[@PaulFaessen]

🥱

[@houseofcars1973]

😴😴😴

[@barryprobert2509]

What a moaner ☹️

[@houseofcars1973]

What a constructive comment……