Renault Kangoo Review & Prices
The Renault Kangoo is a clever small van with a fab interior and low running costs, but load capacity and payload are down on the best alternatives
What's good
What's not so good
Find out more about the Renault Kangoo
Is the Renault Kangoo a good van?
Renault is one of the biggest names in commercial vehicles in Europe, and it’s offered the Kangoo van since 1997. The current model was launched in 2020, and if it looks familiar to you, don’t panic - it’s also sold as the virtually-identical Nissan Townstar as well as the re-engineered Mercedes Citan.
The Kangoo is one of the smaller vans in this segment and doesn’t offer the most loading space or the heaviest payload. Instead, it’s meant to be easy to drive and has some clever features to make loading and unloading easier.
It’s a bit like a modern studio apartment vs a sprawling country estate - it may be small, but it’s set up to make great use of the available space.
Competition in the world of small vans is fierce and the Kangoo can count among its alternatives not just the closely-related Nissan and Mercedes models, but also the Ford Transit Connect, Volkswagen Caddy Cargo and the Stellantis conglomerate of Citroen/Peugeot/Vauxhall/Fiat vans.
The Kangoo is pretty compact, but you can still opt for medium or long wheelbase models as well as a long-wheelbase crew van. There’s only one roof height available, but there’s a choice of three engines - a 1.5-litre diesel in two states of tune, or a 1.3-litre petrol.
The latter could be an ideal choice if you carry lighter loads and want to save a little on purchase costs - petrol vans are ideal if most of your journeys are shorter ones. The regular diesel is the most efficient engine available, though the more powerful variant comes with an automatic gearbox that can take the sting out of long journeys.
There’s also an excellent electric variant - the Kangoo E-Tech, which we’ll cover separately in its own review.
The Renault Kangoo doesn't have as big a capacity as some small vans, but it's efficient to run and has some clever touches
Trim levels are called Advance and Extra, with the really basic ‘Start’ model phased out in the UK. That means all Kangoos come with plenty of equipment, including air-conditioning, smart wheel covers, cruise control, twin sliding doors and a touchscreen infotainment system with smartphone connectivity.
Extra models add keyless entry, climate control, LED headlights, a 360-degree parking system and body-coloured bumpers and door mirrors for a smarter look.
The options list even includes things like a wireless smartphone charger to make the Kangoo feel even more like one of Renault’s passenger cars.
Where the Kangoo does somewhat fall down compared with alternatives is in the load area. The maximum load length and width aren’t too dissimilar from a Citroen Berlingo, but while left-hand drive versions of the Kangoo get a really clever pivoting bulkhead to extend this, the UK model does not. That means the Kangoo has no way to compete with the Berlingo’s clever Extenso cab which allows loads of around 3.4m to be carried.
There is a smart internal roof rack, which lets ladders be carried just above the passenger’s head - but this isn’t quite as useful.
Payload, too, is lower than alternatives, making the Kangoo a bit of a lightweight when it comes to hard work.
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How much is the Renault Kangoo?
The cheapest Kangoo comes in at just over £20,000 ex-VAT, which makes it on the lower end of small van pricing - pretty close to the Citroen Berlingo. It’s a £1,000 jump to go up to a diesel engine, but quite a lot extra if you want the higher-powered diesel with its automatic gearbox. The Extra model is around £2,400 more than the Advance, which isn’t too expensive considering the extra kit.
It means that the most expensive Kangoo you can buy is only barely over £30,000, excluding the electric model of course.
Engines and performance
Two diesels and a petrol, all with reasonable fuel economy
The Kangoo is available with a 1.5-litre diesel with either 95hp or 115hp, or a 100hp 1.3-litre petrol.
The latter could be an ideal choice if you carry lighter loads and want to save a little on purchase costs - petrol vans are ideal if most of your journeys are shorter ones. The lower-output diesel is the most efficient engine available, though the more powerful variant comes with an automatic gearbox that can take the sting out of long journeys.
Dimensions, towing capacity and payload
The Kangoo has good towing capacity and a reasonable payload, though the Citroen Berlingo can carry more
The Kangoo’s loading area isn’t as large as some alternatives, but there’s not an awful lot in it. All models come with twin sliding doors, which is nice, plus barn doors on the back. A lifting tailgate isn’t an option.
Long models gain length in their wheelbase as well as their body, and it’s quite the difference - it’s gained 42cm compared to the Medium model, and that’s entirely in the load area.
Left-hand drive models get a super-clever folding bulkhead arrangement as well as a pillarless door, which makes for easy loading from the roadside. However, this feature hasn’t been retained for UK vans, which is a shame. Nor is there much of a pass-through bulkhead along the lines of the Citroen Berlingo’s Extenso-Cab. However, you do get the option of a smart internal roof rack - this lets you use the whole roof length of the van for storing long items like ladders on the secure inside, rather than having to lash them to an external roof rack.
Renault Kangoo internal and external measurements
Exterior dimensions (ML/LL)
Exterior length: 4,486mm/4,910mm
Exterior height: 1,864mm
Exterior width with mirrors: 2,159mm
Exterior width without mirrors: 1,919mm
Interior load length (ML/LL)
To bulkhead: 1,806mm/2,230mm
Interior loading width
All versions
Max: 1,570mm
Between wheel arches: 1,248mm
Interior loading height (ML/LL)
Max height: 1,215mm/1,248mm
Rear door aperture height/width
All versions: 1,115mm/1,256mm
Renault Kangoo towing capacity
All Kangoos can tow a maximum of 1,500kg braked, which is an impressive figure for a small van.
Renault Kangoo payload
The Kangoo’s payload isn’t the most impressive. The most capacious version of the long-wheelbase model can carry 975kg, which isn’t bad, but the medium-length van is limited to just 836kg. When you consider some variants of the Citroen Berlingo can carry over a ton, that’s not so good - though it’s on par with the Volkswagen Caddy Cargo.
The Kangoo can tow up to 1,500kg braked, which is a good figure and higher than equivalent alternatives.
Cab interior and tech
A pleasant place to sit with car-like features, but too narrow to seat three
The Kangoo has an extremely car-like cab to sit in. That starts from the beginning, with a low-set driving position that, while it doesn’t necessarily allow you to lord it over other traffic, does feel very comfortable and natural for a long journey.
The driver’s seat has plenty of adjustment and tall drivers should find they have just about enough room for their legs provided they push the seat right up to the bulkhead - though you may have to sit a little more upright than you prefer. We wouldn’t recommend opting for the optional double front passenger seat - the cabin’s just too narrow to seat three, even if they’re skinny apprentices rather than burly labourers.
Ergonomically, it’s close to ideal. The steering wheel sits much more vertical than in some older vans, and the gear lever is set high up in its own little pod - this allows for storage below it or, with a bit of contortion, pass-through access to allow driver or passenger to exit from either side.
In terms of switchgear and technology, it feels most like a Dacia - Renault’s budget arm. While you won’t find the luxurious fittings or Android-based software of Renault’s latest passenger cars, you do get a standard 8.0-inch touchscreen, plenty of solid-feeling physical switchgear and a control layout that makes quite a lot of sense.
Physical heater controls - something you don’t get in a Volkswagen Caddy Cargo and are awkward to use on a Citroen Berlingo - are particularly welcome, and can easily be twiddled even if you’re wearing gloves.
The touchscreen feels slightly old hat, but wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both included - great additions that let you bypass Renault’s own interface.
Storage is okay. The glovebox is pretty small, and the door bins are shaped for bottles of water but not much else. There are a pair of cupholders set down low, while storage for larger items consists of an open cubby behind the central screen, a lidded cubby above the instruments and some open shelves in the roof area.
MPG and running costs
The most efficient Kangoo on paper is the dCi 95 - the mid-spec diesel with a six-speed manual gearbox. This will do up to 54.3mpg, and you can expect around 50mpg in regular driving. The same goes for the automatic model, which despite its official figure of 52.3mpg could be the more efficient version if you do a lot of motorway driving, thanks to its automatic gearbox revving lower at high speeds.
The petrol model returns an official 40.9mpg, but will warm up quicker than the diesels - so is likely to return similar or even better figures on short trips across town.
Diesel models are fitted with an 18.6-litre AdBlue tank.
Safety and security
The Kangoo gets a pretty good safety offering as standard. All models come with driver and passenger, lateral and curtain airbags - still not always a given in vans. There’s also electronic stability control, lane-departure warning, autonomous emergency braking, a rear-view camera and rear parking sensors, and automatic high beam assist - all standard.
You can also add on things like adaptive cruise control, blind spot assistance and a digital rear-view mirror.
When the Kangoo was tested as a passenger car (not sold in the UK) by Euro NCAP, it scored four stars. That’s on par with what passenger versions of the Citroen Berlingo scored, which is pretty good.
A Thatcham-approved alarm is optional on all trim levels.
Reliability, problems and service intervals
Renault’s reliability reputation is middle-of-the-road, but it does score pretty well for aftercare courtesy of a comprehensive commercial vehicle dealer network called Pro+. Renault also sells heavy trucks, remember, so it knows a thing or two about keeping fleets on the road.
As most of the Kangoo’s parts are shared with Renault passenger cars, availability shouldn’t be too much of a struggle, and there’s nothing so complicated that a non-Renault garage wouldn’t be able to fix it.
The present Kangoo hasn’t been subject to any safety recalls since launch in 2020, which is reassuring.
Service intervals are set at 24,000 miles or every two years, whichever comes sooner. There’s no variable intervals, nor are they different between petrol and diesel vans. The warranty, meanwhile, is three years and 100,000 miles of cover.