Renault Captur Hybrid review: does it work without a plug?

Woohoo! Another weeny crossover thing…

Yep, it’s at least three or four minutes since you last read about one of these. But halt your cynicism for a moment, for Renault boasts that the Captur is one of the originals. It was just this and the Nissan Juke when it first appeared back in the early 2010s, we're reminded. The fact the Renault-Nissan Alliance meant the two were related beneath the skin is merely incidental…

Well, it’s not one of the only two options now.

Nope. If your heart is truly set on a hiked-up hatchback, the choice is as colourful and discombobulating as the layout of sandwich fillings at Subway. The specific gen2 Captur you’re looking at here is the equivalent of going for a meat-packed BMT but swerving the cheese to appease a small corner of your conscience. It is, folk of the internet, a hybrid.

Hasn’t there been one already?

Somewhat confusingly, Renault launched a plug-in hybrid Captur before this, a hybrid Captur that, um, can’t be plugged in. Which means one of the very smuggest parts of petrol-electric SUV ownership – claiming how many miles you can slink around silently in a car that looks like it shouldn’t do such things – is removed.

Oh.

But that does save you a notable amount of cash and – if you don’t have the ability to charge at home – hassle. The Captur Hybrid uses all the same E-Tech mechanicals and electricals as the full PHEV, too, and produces only a smidge less power while boasting much more realistic green numbers. Namely 114g/km CO2 emissions and 56.5mpg. About as third as economical as the plug-in on paper, but you’re much more likely to hit its numbers outside of a clinical test facility.

Tell me the more interesting numbers.

A 1.6-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine (remember those?) pairs with two electric motors and a titchy 1.2kWh battery to produce 142bhp, enough to shift its 1,472 kilos from 0-62mph in 10.6secs and onto a 106mph top speed.

What’s significantly more interesting is its six-speed clutchless gearbox, with tech dripping down from Renault’s Formula One endeavours. Yep, you can pop a quid in the ‘tenuous F1 reference’ cliché tin, but as you can read in far greater detail here, it’s delightfully nerdy stuff.

Quid deposited. How does it drive away from Eau Rouge or Rascasse?

It’s all tremendously easygoing, in a way a fully automatic small crossover kinda ought to be. The Captur rides well, handles tidily and just gets about its business without grabbing you by the scruff of your neck – nor encouraging you to grab it by its. Which gives you the best possible chance of lassoing 50-plus miles per gallon, at least.

The powertrain starts in electric only, reverses in electric only (there’s no mechanical backwards gear) and will kill the engine’s revs at a steady cruise or while skulking around in traffic. So while there’s no headline 30 miles or so of emission-free commuting to its name, you’ll potter about pretty serenely a lot of the time. You’ll soon tune out of any powertrain-shuffling and just drive it like the sensible automatic car it is.

When you do accelerate with a bit of vigour for a slip road or overtake, the engine really makes its presence known. A nat-asp 4cyl for non-performance purposes is essentially a thing of the past, and a hard-worked Captur Hybrid’s vocals ought to tell you why. But it’s just another little reminder to ease off and take things slower. Driven with disinterest, this is good as any other small crossover I can think of. To be fair, the Ford Puma and Mini Countryman are about the only ones I’d currently drive with any actual interest…

How’s the rest of it?

It looks really smart, especially in racy R.S. Line trim, even if plastering ‘Renault Sport’ on the sills – visible as you open the doors – is a bit much. Now that Renault’s go-faster subsidiary has been swallowed up by Alpine, we wonder what happens next for a nameplate that for so long lived on mesmeric Clios and Meganes. If its legacy is to be assertive flourishes on titchy hybrid SUVs, it’s a little sad. The 18in alloys it brings also happen to be called Le Castellet, which yes, is where the French Grand Prix is currently held. Another quid in the jar.

The interior is great – especially with the larger 9.3in screen of R.S. trim. The rear seat bench slides fore and aft and the infotainment setup is sufficiently bold in its layout to stand out from the numerous cookie-cutter VW Group SUVs it rivals.

Is it expensive?

Prices for the Captur E-Tech Hybrid start at £24,500, representing a £600 premium over a similarly powered petrol Captur with conventional turbo power allied to an automatic transmission, or a £1,800 hike if you’d be happy changing gear yourself in the stock TCe 140.

Flip the argument the other way and this regular Hybrid over £5,000 cheaper than the plug-in. So on balance, it’s a pretty good deal. And given the Captur is Renault’s bestselling car in the UK, a potentially useful way of cleaning up air a smidge while we’re still buying internal-combustion crossovers rather than full EVs.