Should I run comfortably on Korean roads? Renault’s ambitious project that overcomes various negative factors [주말車담]

Renault Korea’s new mid-sized sports utility (SUV) ‘New Renault Grand Coleos’. Reporter Go Seok-hyeon

The market response to Renault Korea’s new mid-sized sports utility (SUV) ‘New Renault Grand Coleos’ (Gran Koleos) is enthusiastic. It is gaining popularity with 3,900 units sold last month, the first month since its launch.

The Grand Koleos is a new car launched by Renault Korea four years after the XM3, which had been supported by exports. Just by looking at the vehicle specifications, you can see signs of Renault Korea putting a lot of thought into it. It recently chose the ‘midsize SUV’ class, which is popular in the domestic market, and launched it as a hybrid car free from the electric vehicle chasm (temporary stagnation in demand).

In fact, there was a lot of bad news before launch. The Grand Koleos is a model developed using the CMA platform developed by Volvo, and China’s Geely Automobile’s ‘Xingyue L’ model is also similar using the same platform. So, it was said that the Grand Koleos was a ‘Singyue L Taekgali’ model. The new car was also embroiled in a ‘misogyny controversy’ during the promotion process. However, the initial popularity of the product seems to have overcome various negative factors.

On the 23rd of last month, I drove the ‘Gran Koleos (E-Tech Hybrid)’ for a total of 230km, including Seoul and Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province.

The exterior and interior space were spacious, befitting the name (Grand) meaning ‘huge.’ The wheelbase is 2820 mm, and the rear seat is spacious enough for adults over 180 cm tall to spread their knees halfway. The same goes for the back seat. What stands out most inside is the 12.3-inch screen, which is arranged three in one row. The displays for the driver, middle, and passenger seats can be used independently. In particular, it was noticeable that the passenger seat screen was not visible from the driver’s seat, as if a ‘privacy protection film’ had been attached. Although the display’s user interface (UI) configuration was somewhat complicated, the recognition rate of the voice recognition function was high.

The second row space is the widest among models in its class, with 320mm of knee space. JoongAng Photo

What stands out most inside is the 12.3-inch screen, which is arranged three in one row. The passenger screen cannot be viewed from the driver’s seat as if it has a ‘privacy protection film’ attached. Reporter Go Seok-hyeon

It was also convenient that when you step on the brake deeply while driving the vehicle, auto hold (when stopping the vehicle, the vehicle remains stopped even when you take your foot off the brake) is activated. However, the transmission was an electronic floor change that adopted the gear rod of the past. The shifting information was displayed only on the driver screen, which was not intuitive, and I felt that the gear stick took up unnecessary space compared to the dial/button type.

Some features introduced as cutting-edge technology were somewhat disappointing in Korean road conditions. A representative example is ‘Active Drive Assist’, which is introduced as a level 2 (partial automation) level autonomous driving assistance technology. When driving with the function activated, it was difficult to reduce the distance between the car and the car in front, and other cars often cut into the gap. It took some time to automatically gain speed, and cornering was a bit rough.

The transmission of the ‘New Renault Grand Koleos’ was an electronic floor change system that used the gear stick of the past, but I felt that it took up unnecessary space compared to the dial and button system. Photo Renault Korea

The ‘automatic parking system’ automatically finds a parking space, and when you select the desired space, the vehicle automatically adjusts the steering wheel and speed to park. Reporter Go Seok-hyeon

The ‘road sign recognition speed warning’ function was also disappointing. Navigation systems usually sound a warning sound only when speeding in a speed camera enforcement zone, but this function sounds a warning sound when you exceed the road speed limit by more than 3 km per hour. Depending on road conditions, there are times when speeds temporarily increase, and this warning was enough to interfere with driving. You can temporarily turn off notifications in the vehicle settings, but they will come back when you turn the car engine off and on. I thought that domestic drivers would not prefer it.

Although it is a hybrid car, it moves forward so well that it feels like driving an electric car, whether at low or high speeds. In the city, most driving was done using only battery power. Quietness while driving was as good as that of an electric car.

The ‘automatic parking system’ was a function that allowed one to feel the convenience of cutting-edge technology. It automatically finds a space to park, and when you select the space you want, the car automatically adjusts the steering wheel and speed to park the car. However, when a vehicle approached while the function was running, the car automatically stopped. It appears to be a safety measure. After driving a total distance of 230 km, the fuel efficiency was 12.4 km per liter. It was slightly lower than the official combined fuel efficiency of 15.7 km per liter.

Reporter Ko Seok-hyun [email protected]