Renault has finally gone the crossover route with its Koleos - a true multi-cultural project. designed by Renault, developed by Nissan and manufactured by Renault Samsung Motors at their Busan plant in Korea.The Koleos can be had in petrol and diesel guises, both of which feature a 4x4 drivetrain that borrows a number of components from Nissan’s X-Trail. The 2,5-litre 16-valve petrol engine develops 126 kW, while the 2,0-litre turbodiesel develops 126 kW and a handy 360 N.m of torque. Both of these engines can be mated with a six-speed manual transmission or a six-speed CVT gearbox.

Measuring 4,52 meters in length, 1,85 meters in width, and with 206 mm of ground clearance (188mm in the diesel), the Koleos combines Renault’s typically svelte styling cues, such as trapezoidal headlights and crisp creases in the sheet metal, with a purposeful stance.

The sloping rear end opens in a 60:40 split that facilitates easier access to a flat-floored load bay. The cabin offers comfortable seating for five adults where comfort features include under floor storage compartments, a refrigerated centre glove box between the front seats as well as BOSE sound system. Refinement is an area in which Renault hopes to excel with the Koleos, and extra features such as an “acoustically damped” windscreen, a balancer shaft and a twin-mass flywheel for maximum refinement of the diesel engine should go some way to ensuring a quite road-going environment.

The suspension set up is similar to that of the Nissan X-Trail, with MacPherson struts up front and a fully independent, multi-link, rear set up. The All mode 4x4-I system distributes torque to where it is most needed, so under normal driving conditions only the front wheels receive torque but, when grip decreases, up to 50 percent of the available torque can be directed to the rear wheels.

Other technical highlights include a hill-hold function that grips the vehicle in place for a few seconds to assist with a smooth take-off on a steep incline, as well as a hill decent system that enables the driver to control a steady decline at a maximum speed of 7km/h when navigating rough terrain.

Like many of its Renault stable mates, the Koleos bristles with safety features such as Isofix anchorages on the outer rear seats, six airbags, ESP and traction control as standard and brakes with ABS, EBD and EBA. An additional safety feature is an electronic clutch that detects at any point a break in traction on any of the wheels.

Pricing will be announced closer to the vehicle’s arrival on the local market in October.

A driving impression of the Renault Koleos appears in the August ’08 issue of CAR.

Original article from Car