The Top Gear car review:Renault Captur

It’s the second coming of the Renault Captur, a car that we probably snored at reasoning that a taller SUV-ish Clio was a silly idea no-one would much care for. Whoops. It promptly landed Renault a smash hit, becoming the top-selling ‘B-segment’ supermini crossover in Europe and the third most popular in the UK. Yep, we might pigeonhole newcomers in this class as ‘Juke rivals’ but Renault’s Captur is one of the big fish in this pond.

Not that there wasn’t plenty of room for improvement in the old Captur, which had a bobbly ride and tinny cabin. What bodes well for this Captur Mk2 is that it’s founded inside and underneath, on the latest Clio. And that’s based on a new platform, more space, more strength and safety, and a comprehensively up-to-date cabin. 

There’s no speedy Renaultsport version, and the most interesting powertrain choice – a plug-in petrol hybrid, badged ‘E-Tech’ - isn’t coming on sale until mid-2020. So this is a rather conventional package (choose from turbocharged three- and four-cylinder petrol or diesel engines, and a manual or automatic gearbox) and three trim levels. 

What’s exciting? Well, check out the new seats which look suspiciously like they’re from a recent Volvo. No higher praise than that, really. No longer with zip-off covers, like you got in the old car. So, you’ll have to get a bib. In fact, the whole cabin is the headline here. Way nicer inside than the old one, this. Sure, that’s like saying a hotel room is smarter than a damp tent, but still, the Captur isn’t just a whole load more handsome on the outside – it’s grown up and gotten its act together inside and that’s most welcome. Roomier too – but that’s courtesy of the whole car swelling in every dimension. Has your parking space grown lately? Thought not.