The debate about the pros and cons of SUVs has been raging since long before I started at Business Car in 2017, but there’s no doubting the vehicles’ continued popularity. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders registration data for 2024 revealed that all of the top five UK sellers, and eight of the top ten, fitted this bracket.
It’s unsurprising therefore that we continue to get new SUV models arriving on the scene – even from a company such as Renault which seemed to have the market pretty well covered already. The Symbioz, which arrived last year, was the fourth medium SUV to join the manufacturer’s range, following on from the Austral, Arkana, and Scenic E-Tech. Renault bills the Symbioz as the entry-level option from those four, and now we’ve got one for six months I’ll be finding out if that makes it a prudent value choice, or just leaves a driver feeling short-changed.
That being said, our particular Symbioz is hardly bargain basement, since it’s in the range-topping Iconic Esprit Alpine equipment grade. The most attention-grabbing item on the standard equipment list is probably the ‘Solarbay’ panoramic sunroof, which features glass that can be switched between transparent and opaque, without the possibility of physically opening. Personally, I’m not normally a fan of sunroofs, since I’m not interested in my car becoming a greenhouse in summer, or in distracting glare from above year-round, but perhaps the Solarbay tech will succeed in addressing these issues while bringing the benefit of a little extra light to the cabin.
Other items of standard equipment include a 10.4in touchscreen with built-in Google Automotive services (though as an Apple iPhone user I probably won’t make the most of this), and a 10.25in driver display. Other noteworthy features include a 360-degree camera system, and heated seats and a heated steering wheel, which are particularly welcome having taken delivery of the Symbioz during winter.
With the ‘Esprit Alpine’ part of that spec name nodding to Renault Group’s performance brand, our Symbioz also features some sporty design elements. Initial impressions of these are a bit mixed – I like the dark 19in alloy wheels, but think the blue-trimmed seatbelts might be a step too far.
Our car has come with a single cost option – £650 Arctic White paint. It looked okay when it was delivered, but sadly my first drives with the Symbioz in inclement weather have proved the cliché about the difficulty of keeping white cars clean very true, as mud and grime from the roads has proved highly conspicuous once transferred to the bodywork. I’m therefore anticipating more time than usual spent car washing over the next few months if I’m to keep up appearances.
There’s only one powertrain option available with the Symbioz – a 145hp conventional hybrid. I’m optimistic about this, since as someone without home charging facilities, I found with my previous Toyota Yaris long-termer that a conventional hybrid powertrain offered far better fuel economy than I’d previously experienced with rarely-charged plug-in hybrid or ICE cars. Naturally, as a medium SUV rather than a small hatch, the Symbioz’s official WLTP economy figure isn’t as high as the Yaris’s – but at 60.1mpg, the Renault gets closer than I might have expected. I’ll be interested to see if I can get as close to matching this official figure as I did with the Toyota.
| Model | Renault Symbioz E-Tech Hybrid Iconic Esprit Alpine 145hp |
| P11D price | £33,055 |
| As tested | £33,705 |
| Official consumption | 60.1mpg |
| Our average consumption | TBC |
| Mileage | 2,155 |
Standard equipment: 19in alloy wheels, dark tinted rear windows and tailgate, aluminium sports pedals, frameless auto-dimming rear-view mirror with light and rain sensor, heated electric folding door mirrors, automatic air conditioning with one-touch quick demist function and air quality regulator, electric hands-free tailgate, hands-free keycard access and start, electrically adjustable heated front seats, heated steering wheel, ‘Solarbay’ panoramic sunroof, wireless smartphone integration with Apple Carplay and Android Auto, 10.4in touchscreen with built-in Google Automotive services including navigation, nine-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, 10.25in driver display, wireless phone charger, four USB-C ports, ambient lighting, traffic sign recognition with overspeed prevention, safe exit alert, blind spot warning and rear detection with emergency lane keep assist, active emergency braking system, adaptive cruise control with lane centering assist, rear cross traffic/pedestrian alert, all-round parking sensors, hands-free parking, 360-degree camera system.
Options: Arctic White special metallic paint (£650)
