MOTORING REVIEW: New Renault Rafale inspired by legendary aircraft

Renault’s new flagship model the Rafale E-Tech hybrid was introduced to Ireland mid-summer. Renault hope it will attract conquest sales from other D-segment premium models.

Renault has in recent years moved upmarket with its new cars both in their design and their drivability. Rafale is the first Renault car designed completely under the design direction of Gilles Vidal who had 28 years of experience in automotive design with both Citroen and Peugeot brands before moving to Renault in 2020.

The car is named after the legendary Caudron-Renault Rafale, a fast two-seat French touring monoplane which set an international class speed record in 1933 reaching a speed of 445 km/h.

The design manages to capture the aesthetics and lines of an aeroplane in full flight - especially in the Gloss Slate grey exterior of my review car. The long 2.74m wheelbase allows for the gently curved roofline that doesn’t impede on rear headroom.

The radiator grille is made up of small diamonds arranged in a 3D design around the central logo. The background of blue or slate grey (depending on the version) seems to appear and disappear depending on the angle of vision. The diamond

theme is carried over to the light signature for a strong effect. Thin rear lights are separated to give the car strong visual presence in which a square is divided into seven pieces. When switched off, they look like floating ice cubes. My car had 20-

inch black diamond-cut alloy wheels - but remember big wheels can mean a more firm ride.

Rafale is built on the Renault-Nissan CMF-CD platform and shares some 75pc of its parts and design features with the brand's Espace and Austral models. It is assembled in Palencia in Spain. Good build quality is evident, both inside and out.

This is quite a high car which is helpful when getting in and out. 

The plush interior offers ‘first-class’ space for five adults. The long smart glass sunroof provides maximum protection from the sun in seconds so there’s no need for a roller blind.

Seats are both comfortable and supportive and use sustainable recycled Alcantara material as Renault phases out leather. Change your seating position and you are asked on the central screen if you want to save that new position. 

Front seats include a massage function and lumbar support which you can easily adjust via the main touchscreen. On my Esprit Alpine version, an A with an arrow at the top of the backrest lit up and pulsed to the beat of a human heart which I felt was way over-the-top. The colour of the lighting matches the option you have selected in the Multi-Sense settings - each setting corresponds to a different look, with a specific display, patterns and colours.

With so many steering column mounted stalks, I was fearful of selecting a wrong one while driving. The top one is for the gears; the others deal with lights, wipers and audio. The Multi-Sense circular is on the bottom.

The digital cockpit consists of a horizontal 12.3-inch customisable dashboard display in landscape format and a 12-inch infotainment touchscreen in portrait format powered by Google technology including Google Maps. Below the screen are actual heating and front seat heater controls. There are two small USB ports and a wireless charging pad.

You get huge rear head and leg space even for tall people and the three seats are of equal size. A long high-tech armrest comes with two USB-C ports, a pair of cupholders, some storage space for tablets and smartphones and two fold-out supports for viewing the screens in comfort. A small tunnel won’t interfere with leg space.

The electric tailgate opens to reveal huge boot space of 627 litres expandable to 1,700 litres with rear seats down.

Renault's 32 advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) includes safety, driving and parking categories. I appreciated the big head-up display, blind spot monitors on side mirrors, all-round parking sensors, and excellent cameras that provide views of your car when parking, exiting a driveway or parking slot, or the 360deg view of the entire area front or rear when parked. The car also has hands-free parking.

My car was the esprit Alpine+ E-Tech Full Hybrid 200hp with automatic transmission and up to 1,100km of driving range from a full tank of petrol. Rafale is fuel-efficient (and self-charging) with a claimed fuel consumption of from 4.7 L/100kms which equates to 60mpg. You can drive in urban areas up to 80pc in electric mode. Driving modes are Comfort, Eco, Sport and Personal.

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I found the steering more on the heavier side. While acceleration is plenty powerful, at times it didn’t feel like I had 200 horses at my disposal, but I really had no complaints in that regard. Alerts when I overran speed limits were just gentle ones. The onboard 4Control means 4-wheel steering, a system that, at low speeds or when manoeuvring, directs the rear wheels up to 5deg in the opposite direction of the front wheels, for a 10.4-metre turning circle comparable to that of a small city car.

Renault will launch a more powerful 300hp PHEV hybrid option in 2025.

Prices start from €51,495; my car with metallic paint €60,420; without metallic paint is €58,695.