Koleos updated for 2020
With new features, including what Renault are calling a “more assertive exterior design”, enhanced interior comfort and more in-car tech, the new version of the Koleos large SUV has arrived.
The Koleos is not only Renault’s best seller in Australia, it’s the top-selling French vehicle of any type in this country. With the changes for 2020, Renault Australia expect that trend to continue.
“Starting from $32,490 RRP the Renault Koleos is designed for Australians who are confident in their decisions and are prepared to stand apart from those around them,” said Anouk Poelmann, Renault Australia Managing Director.
"Elegant curves, bold lines, aggressive grilles and a strong new colour, the New Renault Koleos will stand out with a road presence that is distinctively Renault.”
French Facelift
The new look is applied to all 2020 Koleos variants - Life, Zen and Intens – and starts with a bolder grille that adds a chrome strip and thinner chrome bar in the bumper that extends to the fog lamps. A more prominent skid plate features at the front and has been echoed at the rear.
The redesigned rear also includes a transverse chrome strip to match the front-end, with the third stop light lengthened and twin chrome exhaust tips added.
Premium “Millesim Red” metallic paint is a new colour option for 2020, while the 19-inch alloy wheels for the Intens, with a ‘black diamond finish’, are also new.
Carryover exterior design elements include the chrome trim strip on the front guards and C-shaped headlamps.
Inside, key features are said to have been improved to enhance driver and passenger comfort, with new additions including a reclining second-row seat, while the Intens grade adds a full-length glass sunroof.
The rear seat upgrade doesn’t impact the Koleos’s luggage capacity, which remains at 458 litres with all five seats occupied and increases to 1,690 litres with the rear seat folded.
Carryover features include a boot floor that’s the same level as the load sill, generous centre console storage, ambient lighting and warming/cooling front seat cup holders.
Future Tech
New technologies applied to the MY20 Koleos include a full-screen Apple CarPlay display added to the Intens, with all grades compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
LED Pure Vision headlamps are standard on the upper grades, while front and rear DRLs add what Renault calls a “3D effect”.
Standard safety systems include ESC, ABS, EBA, EBD, Advanced Emergency Braking System, Hill Start Assist, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning and a rear view camera.
Zen and Intens grades add 360-degree parking sensors and Blind Spot Warning, with the Intens model also receiving Automatic High/Low Beam Headlights and Easy Park Assist.
Renault’s R-LINK 2 sat nav and multimedia system (with 7-inch horizontal or an 8.7-inch vertical screen, depending on grade) offers interior personalisation options, as well as voice recognition, while the navigation system on the Zen and Intens offers a 12-month live traffic and 36-month TomTom map update service for free.
Dual front USB outlets are now located under the centre console.
Bye, Bye Diesel, Limited 4x4
The 2020 Koleos arrives without a diesel engine option, with the 130kW/280Nm 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four deleted, leaving the 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol as the sole engine available. Matched to a CVT, this naturally-aspirated four produces 126kW and 226Nm.
While the styling tweaks and Renault’s PR suggest off-road ability, only the Intens grade is offered with four-wheel drive – the ‘All Mode 4x4-i’ system that’s essentially the same as what’s used in Nissan’s X-Trail and Qashqai.
This on-demand system can be manually shifted between the standard front-wheel drive and locking four-wheel drive, or left in auto, which manages front/rear drive according to grip and driving conditions and can send up to 50 per cent of torque to the rear wheels.
Of note is that Lock 4x4 mode is only designed for reduced speeds and automatically disengages above 40 km/h or each time the engine restarts.
The Koleos’s 210 mm of ground clearance is claimed to be one of the highest of its category, while short overhangs deliver approach and departure angles of 18 and 25 degrees, respectively.
New Pricing
Available now, Renault Koleos list pricing starts slightly up on the MY19 model, while Renault’s ‘5:5:5 Easy Life Ownership Program’ is available range-wide. This program of 5 Year/Unlimited km warranty, 5 Years Capped Price Servicing and up to 5 Years’ Service Activated Roadside Assistance tops the previous three years warranty/service coverage and adds an additional year of Roadside Assistance when scheduled services are performed with a Renault dealer.
2020 Renault Koleos pricing*
Koleos Life (4x2) $32,490
Koleos Zen (4x2) $35,990
Koleos Intens (4x2) $42,990
Koleos Intens (4x4) $45,990
*manufacturer’s list pricing only, excludes ORCs
