Renault plans to add two further models to its 4×4 range by the end of the decade to supplement the Koleos that goes on sale in July.
The company’s design vice president Patrick Le Quement confirmed: “We are developing a range of 4×4 crossovers and I think the Koleos sits right bang in the middle.
“There will be an [4×4] addition to the Megane range, when the new cars arrive over the next 18-months. A bigger brother for the Koleos is [also] something we are looking at.”
Whereas the Koleos uses Nissan X-trail underpinnings in four- and two-wheel-drive form, the larger counterpart will harness the new Nissan Murano platform
The smaller 4×4 will apply new Megane technology plus expertise gained from Nissan’s Qashqai.
Le Quement said: “There is lots of room below Koleos as people downsize, as Ford has shown with Kuga.”
Asked if a marked growth in brands and models occupying the compact and small SUV market could mirror the reduction in RVs suffered by expansion among compact MPVs, Roland Bouchara, Renault UK’s managing director, said: “We don’t talk about the same volumes as the MPVs. The MPV problem was partially the result of high Motability sales. A smaller SUV could be two years away but we will go down to that size.”
