Hybrid cars are offered by a lot of carmakers today, so it may seem that Renault, with its three E-Tech models, is coming a little late. French carmaker introduced its three hybrid cars with E-Tech nicknames – Clio, Captur and Mégane – in January this year.
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But it’s a bit different than everyone else – with a shaft gearbox that replaced the traditional friction clutch with a gear and completely got rid of the timing rings. And he has two electric motors.
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At first glance, this seems like nonsense, the gear clutch can’t work instead of the classic one, and unsynchronized gearboxes have been forgotten decades ago. According to Renault, however, it is the friction clutch and the “synchronous” – the rings in the transmission that passively ensure that the gear speeds are compared for a smooth shift – are what are likely to fail.
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The designers were able to launch them thanks to the smaller of the two electric motors. This is because it does not drive the car, but serves as a starter for the internal combustion engine and at the same time – and more importantly – compares the speeds of individual gears in the transmission so that the automation can smoothly change gears, and also the teeth of the clutch.
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At first glance, you will recognize hybrid renaults only by the marks on the stern and B-pillars.
Photo: Renault
This is probably the least interesting on the propulsion system – it is an ordinary four-cylinder, still known as 1.6 SCe, ie a unit without supercharging and with indirect fuel injection. But it was redesigned for use in hybrids – it now runs in Atkinson’s, not Otto’s cycle, and got a particulate filter, among other things.
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Its power is 91 hp, the electric motor adds another 49 horses in the hybrid Clio or 69 horses in plug-in hybrids. Technically, it’s the same, but the battery in the plug-ins is larger and works at twice the voltage – 400 volts compared to 200 – so it can deliver more juice to the electric motor at once.
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The unique gearbox has two electric motors and no friction clutch.
Photo: Renault
The electric motor has two gears available and the other electronics shifts around a speed of 60 km / h. The internal combustion engine uses another four qualities and with two for the electric motor they partially overlap in the gear ratios. They are very long so that cars can drive efficiently even at higher speeds; therefore, only four speeds are enough, seven, eight or ten are not needed.
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If it seems to you that Renault reinvented the wheel, he did not do it in vain – the goal was to bring driving behavior closer to a pure electric car. As far as I could, I first tested behind the wheel of a hybrid clio.
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The hybrid clio runs smoothly
The Clio E-Tech will only be available as a hybrid, not a plug-in hybrid. With its 140 horses of combined power, it forms a new top of the offer of this model and at the same time a replacement for the TCe 130 version.
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Its 1.2kWh battery is located on the rear axle, but because it is small, I do not notice a change in the balance of the car compared to conventional variants. And there are no changes in the spaciousness of the interior or the luggage compartment. The CMF-B platform, on which the clio stands, has been developed from the beginning to handle electrification.
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The so-called full-hybrids, including the Renault Clio E-Tech, do not need recharging. But you also don’t get an “electromobile” license plate, unlike plug-in hybrids.
Photo: Renault
However, what is significantly different is driving behavior. All three E-Tech models always run on electricity, not petrol. Clio is supposed to be able to move from 80 percent in electricity in the city, even if the battery capacity is so low.
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Because E-Techy runs on electricity at low speeds, the clio really looks like an electric car in the city. This means especially fast and smooth starts. Even outside the city, if I drive halfway, maybe two-thirds of the gas, the ride is absolutely smooth, similar to an electric car or a car with a continuously variable transmission. The internal combustion engine is excellently damped when many people have trouble knowing if it is running.
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The interior is the same, just as good as with a conventional clio.
Photo: Renault
Unlike an electric car, however, there is a noticeable delay between depressing the throttle all the way and the full thrust. It seems as if one is waiting for the turbocharger to spin, but the reason is different – in the design of the transmission. In the event of a sudden change in the driver’s demand, it takes a smaller electric motor a second, perhaps a second and a half, to compare the speeds of all components in the transmission and the car can take up full speed.
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Purely on electricity, the clio can travel about three kilometers. It constantly retains about 30 percent of the capacity in the battery, because the starter-generator is high-voltage. It is from this battery, not from the standard 12V car battery, that the internal combustion engine is always started, the vehicle is always set in motion for electricity, and also the energy is necessary for the correct operation of the transmission.
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While the Clio E-Tech has a classic gear selector, the Captur E-Tech Plug-in (pictured) got an electronic one that always returns to its original position, like the Zoe’s electric car. Unlike him, however, he also received the Park button.
Photo: Renault
Of interest compared to conventional hybrids is the B transmission mode, in which the car brakes relatively heavily with an electric motor and recovers kinetic energy. In this mode, as with all other cars equipped with it, the special fact is that you also control the deceleration with the accelerator pedal. Regenerative braking is effective, but if you do not step on the brake, it is not at its maximum level. And it is still necessary to use the brake pedal for a complete stop.
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On a half-hour drive, I tried several times what full throttle means for the Clia E-Tech and how it can handle higher speeds, and my average consumption was 5.6 l / 100 km. I dare say that with the conventional version I would be three liters higher – and that a quiet ride would easily get under five liters.
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Electricity is enough in the city
On the contrary, the plug-in hybrid captur, which I switched to from Clia, was very surprised by the consumption. Because it has a more powerful electric motor, it works a little differently, even though the transmission is the same. It uses the electric motor more and the internal combustion engine starts later, at higher speeds and at higher loads.
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This means that driving through the city is even smoother. However, the connection of an internal combustion engine is accompanied by a delay even more noticeable than with a hybrid clio. It may not be longer, but when you reach the limit of the electric motor, the car does not seem to react at all to a greater depressing of the accelerator pedal – before it connects the gear clutch.
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The clear Capturu E-Tech Plug-in digital instrument panel clearly states how much power the electric motor has in stock and how much it is currently using.
Photo: Renault
I most often encounter a delay when I give full throttle at the end of the village. On the plus side, neither the plug-in nor the “full-hybrid” will see you plucking or digging, which the Renault EDC dual-clutch suffers from here and there.
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The Captur E-Tech has a battery with a capacity of 9.8 kWh and can travel up to 65 km purely on electricity in city traffic. Even though it reports a discharge, it is still a quarter full so that the car can function as a hybrid. And so he can start and shift at all – the powertrain still works the same way.
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There is less space under the floor of the Capturu E-Tech Plug-in than with the conventional version.
Photo: Renault
In the case of the capture, however, the technique has also changed – instead of the crank axle, it is multi-element at the rear. The battery replaced the petrol tank under the rear seats and weighs 150 kilograms. The gas tank moved under the floor of the trunk and lost a few liters of its volume.
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It’s all known in the driving performance, both better balance and lower center of gravity, as well as a more sophisticated rear axle. Of course, the Captur is no sports car, the chassis is soft and swaying, but at the same time comfortable.
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The Capturu E-Tech Plug-in high-voltage battery required the installation of a better rear axle.
Photo: Renault
In terms of power consumption, looking at the display I was amazed. True, I drove with a loaded car, but I drove in a similar style as with a clio, and the resulting value of 1.5 l / 100 km really surprised me. However, for a complete picture of the potential operating costs, it is necessary to add another 14.8 kWh / 100 km of electricity consumption, but even that is more than a decent value in electric or electrified cars.
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Great cars for quiet drivers
As a result, the greatest specificity of Renault E-Tech technology is also the biggest shortcoming – the delay after depressing full throttle before the transmission engages and the car pulls properly. However, it should be added with one breath that even in such a case, everything is smooth and without jerking – and most importantly, it is a relatively marginal part of the proceedings.
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From left Renault Captur, Mégane and Clio E-Tech
Photo: Renault
Renault also presents its hybrids as cars for people with a calm driving style, at least according to the incredibly talkative instructors who accompanied us. And he built them just for such people – when driving smoothly, they are smooth, comfortable, really economical and completely successful cars.
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| Renault Clio E-Tech | Renault Captur E-Tech Plug-in | |
| Combustion engine: |
1598 cc, in-line four-cylinder petrol engine working in the Atkinson cycle | |
| Max. internal combustion engine power: | 67 kW (91 hp) at 5600 rpm | |
| Max. internal combustion engine torque: |
144 Nm at 3200 rpm | |
| Max. power / torque of the main electric motor: | 36 kW (49 k) / 205 Nm | 51 kW (69 k) / 205 Nm |
| Max. power / torque of auxiliary electric motor: | 15 kW (20 k) / 50 Nm | |
| Max. combined power / torque: | 103 kW (140 k) | 117 kW (160 k) |
| Battery: | Li-Ion, 1.2 kWh, 200 V | Li-Ion, 9.8 kWh, 400 V |
| Transmission: | multimode automatic with electronically controlled gear clutch, 2 gears for electric motor, 4 gears for internal combustion engine | |
| 0-100 km / h: |
9,9 s | 10,1 s |
| Top speed: |
180 km / h | 173 km / h |
| Average consumption (NEDC-BT): |
3.6-4 l / 100 km | 1.5 l / 100 km |
| Operating / maximum weight: |
1313/1758 kg | 1564-1625/2060 kg |
| Length x WIDTH X HEIGHT: |
4050 × 1798 × 1440 mm | 4227 × 1797 × 1576 mm |
| Basic luggage volume: |
299 l | 265-379 l |
| Axle drive: |
front | |
| Basic price of the model: |
285 000 Kč (Clio Life SCe 65) | 425 000 CZK (Captur Zen TCe 100) |
| Basic price of the tested version: | CZK 494,000 | CZK 750,000 |
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