Renault Rafale Review & Prices

The Renault Rafale takes the ‘coupe SUV’ body style that has proved so popular with buyers of posh brands, and brings it into the mainstream. It’s a bit like buying designer clothes from TK Maxx because the style and quality is there but it just doesn't feel quite as fancy buying it off a rail.

Its is-it-an-SUV-or-something-else design makes it an alternative to the likes of the Peugeot 408, Cupra Formentor and the Citroen C5 X.

Whatever you want to call it, the Rafale is a stylish-looking thing. You get an upright front end with a large grille and sleek headlights. At the back the taillights are narrow in the middle before fanning out to the sides, giving the car a tall, imposing stance.

It’s a similar story inside, with the cockpit rather wrapping around you in a sporty manner. You get a horizontal instrument binnacle ahead of you, and a large, vertical display for the maps and infotainment to the right. Both are quick to switch between menus and pretty easy to use.

Materials are hit and miss though – it doesn’t feel cheap inside but it’s not particularly posh either. The seat upholstery on the top-spec Alpine model we sat in was particularly lovely, though.

It’s pretty spacious too, particularly in the back seats where you get loads of leg and headroom, and there’s even good space for a third person to sit in the middle. Storage is fine, with large door bins being a positive, though the glovebox is small and the area under the armrest isn’t massive.

Boot space is decent, with more capacity than you get in the Cupra Formentor and Peugeot 408, but a bit less than in the Citroen C5 X. You lose a little capacity if you go for the plug-in hybrid to make space for the batteries, but compared with equivalent plug-in versions the Renault wins against all those mentioned above.

At launch, the Rafale is only available with a self-charging hybrid engine. It has 200hp and promises up to 60.1mpg. The plug-in hybrid is coming later and has 300hp – its favourable Benefit-in-Kind rate means it’s probably worth waiting for if you are a company car driver, and should offer excellent economy if you can keep its batteries charged up.

We’ll update this review with driving impressions once we’ve been behind the wheel, but if you can’t wait that long you can find out how much you could save with Carwow’s Renault Rafale deals. You can also browse other used Renault models, and when it’s time to sell your car, Carwow can help with that, too.

The Renault Rafale starts at about £38,000 in entry-level Techno trim, and it’s about £3,000 extra for the mid-spec Techno Esprit Alpine and another £2,500 for the fully loaded Iconic Esprit Alpine.

Standard equipment is pretty good, with the twin-screen interior, 20-inch alloy wheels and wireless smartphone charging. All models get adaptive cruise control, too. Mid-spec models get extra kit including Matrix LED headlights and Alcantara upholstery, while top-spec models add a cool sunroof that can be turned opaque at the touch of a button, and a 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system.

Regardless of its decent specification, it’s possible to get more affordable coupe-SUVs, particularly if you’re not fussed about the hybrid engine. For example, combustion-engined Peugeot 408s start at around £32,000, or £30,000 for the Citroen C5 X. You can also get a plug-in hybrid Cupra Formentor for £40,000, so not far off the price of a basic self-charging hybrid Rafale.