Renault Rafale review

Cars inspired by planes are nothing new but the Renault Rafale we're reviewing here has one of the best claims to fame. It’s named after the Caudron-Renault Rafale – a 1934 racing plane that resulted from Louis Renault’s fascination with speed and flying.

The winged Rafale broke records and won awards, and we imagine Renault would love to replicate its success with the four-wheeled version we're reviewing here. To help it out, the Rafale (car) has underpinnings part-developed by sports-car maker Alpine and a choice of two hybrid engines.

The thing is, though, the Rafale is entering a competitive market and is up against the similarly sleek Cupra Formentor and Peugeot 408 as well as the premium-badged Audi Q3 Sportback and BMW X2. So does it have what it takes to stand out?

Read on as we compare the Renault Rafale with its main family SUV rivals...

The entry-level Renault Rafale is the Hybrid 200, which combines a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine with a couple of electric motors and a small battery. The system’s total power output is 197bhp and the Hybrid 200 can officially manage 0-62mph in a respectable 8.9 seconds. 

Acceleration is brisk around town and it still feels punchy on the motorway – once the slightly hesitant automatic gearbox has found the right gear. 

This delay is also noticeable in the more powerful plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version of the Rafale, but to a lesser degree. And because the PHEV has a lot more power (296bhp) and four-wheel drive, it’s ultimately much faster off the mark – 0-62mph takes 6.4 seconds. That’s quicker than the Cupra Formentor eHybrid (7.2 seconds) and the Peugeot 408 Hybrid 225 (7.8 seconds).

Officially, the PHEV gives you 65 miles of electric-only range, which is longer than an equivalent Peugeot 408 (40 miles), although the Cupra Formentor can manage up to 78 miles on electric power alone.   

With the Hybrid 200, you have to upgrade to mid-range Techno Esprit Alpine trim to get four-wheel steering (Renault refers to it as 4Control), but every PHEV version of the Rafale gets it as standard. The four-wheel steering is great, aiding manoeuvrability around town and stability at faster speeds – although the sensation of the rear wheels turning can take some getting used to. 

On a fast, twisty road, every Rafale (even those with that agility-enhancing 4Control) feels a bit cumbersome next to the rival Formentor and BMW X2. There’s more body lean and the Rafale’s overly light (yet quick) steering limits your confidence when driving enthusiastically.

The PHEV comes as standard with adaptive suspension if you go for range-topping Atelier Alpine trim. This allows for marginally better body control, especially in the firmest (Dynamic) setting. The Rafale still feels like a heavy car, though. 

Switch into the softest setting (Comfort) and the suspension relaxes, making for a smoother ride. That said, the Rafale still doesn’t feel especially settled, with the car often pogoing (pitching back and forth) along bumpy roads.

We haven’t had a chance to drive the Hybrid 200 in the UK yet, but based on our short drive in France we suspect it’s the comfiest Rafale of all. It’s a fair bit lighter than the PHEV and less prone to thumping over bumps – even if the ride remains firmer than many family SUVs, including the Citroën C5 X. 

In better news, the Rafale is impressively refined as you drive along – especially when running on battery power alone. Even when the petrol engine is running, things don’t get too rowdy unless you floor the accelerator pedal.

Wind and road noise are well contained, but there is a bit of suspension noise as you drive over larger road imperfections. Ideally we’d prefer a bit more initial bite from the brakes when slowing down from faster speeds, but at least the Rafale’s brakes aren’t as grabby as those in the Peugeot 408.

“I like that in electric mode the Rafale PHEV still feels like it can easily keep up with traffic. Some rivals feel sluggish when running on electricity alone, especially when going uphill.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

No matter which trim level you go for, the Renault Rafale’s seats are comfortable and offer plenty of back and side support.

What’s more, six-way adjustability for the seats (which include lumbar support) is standard, making it really easy to find your perfect driving position. All versions except entry-level Techno come with electric adjustment as standard, and you can save the setting through the infotainment touchscreen.

The Rafale doesn't give you the kind of raised driving position you get in some family SUVs (the Audi Q3 for example). Even so, it’s easy to see out over the bonnet, and the narrow front windscreen pillars ensure you have good visibility at junctions.

The view over your shoulder is reduced by the wide rear pillars, while the very small rear window really limits your view straight out of the back. All Rafales have front and rear parking sensors, and a rear-view camera to help you park. If you go for one of the top trims, you get an upgraded 360-degree camera and a system that can park the car for you.

When it comes to screens, you’ll find a 12.3in digital driver's display behind the steering wheel and a 12in portrait-oriented touchscreen, which is tilted slightly towards the driver. Both look crisp and the Google-based infotainment system responds to prods quickly.

You get plenty of features, including DAB radio, Bluetooth, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring, a voice-control function and a built-in Google Maps sat-nav app.

As with many of the Rafale’s rivals, you operate the infotainment features using the touchscreen. However, you also get a row of physical buttons for the climate-control settings along the bottom of the screen. They're a welcome addition, making it much less distracting to change the temperature when you're driving than screen-based controls.

Interior quality is impressive, with soft-touch fabrics covering most surfaces and harder plastics hidden low down and out of sight. All the seats have Alcantara inserts, adding to the high-quality feel and giving the interior a bit of a sporty look. It doesn’t feel as expensive as the BMW X2 interior but it’s a step up from the Citroën C5 X and Peugeot 408.

It’s worth noting that we’ve only examined the higher-spec Esprit Alpine and Atelier Alpine trims so far – we can't tell you whether the quality feel will extend to cheaper Rafales.

“I find it takes some time to get used to all the stalks on the steering column, including one for the gear selector, one for the windscreen wipers and one for the media controls.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

Two six-footers will have no trouble getting comfortable in the front of the Renault Rafale, thanks to the generous amounts of head and leg room on offer. The wide interior means they won’t be rubbing shoulders, even if they’re both quite broad.

There’s a good amount of storage, including door cubbies that’ll each fit a large bottle of water. The centre console has two storage sections – one with two cupholders, the other with a deep well for odds and ends. You can only access one at a time because the other will be covered by the sliding armrest, which doubles as a wireless phone-charging pad.

As with the front, the back of the Ragale offers plenty of leg room and more than enough head room for your 6ft friends, although there’s not much space for feet under the seats. There's a bit of a hump in the floor in front of the middle rear passenger, but it's very low and shouldn't stop them finding space to put their feet.

We really like that the middle seat has a fold-out armrest with two small storage cubbies and two fold-out phone or tablet holders to keep back-seat passengers entertained on long drives. You get that as standard on all versions except entry-level Techno.

Handily, the rear seat backs can be folded down in a 40/20/40 split, making it really easy to load long items through while still having occupants on the outer rear seats. That’s more versatile than the 60/40 split you’ll find in the Citroën C5 X and Peugeot 408.

There are no levers in the Rafale's boot to fold down the seats from the back of the car, as there are on some models. With the seats folded in the PHEV, there's a step from the boot floor to the folded backrest so it’s not particularly easy to slide in longer items.

With its floor in the highest position, the Rafale Hybrid 200 has 535 litres of boot space – meaning it matches the Citroën C5 X and Peugeot 408 and will easily swallow a family’s weekly shopping or a couple of buggies. Dropping the boot floor increases that number to 627 litres but gives you a long drop down to the boot floor.

Meanwhile, the Rafale PHEV has a fixed-height boot floor and a maximum capacity of 539 litres. There's a small storage area under the boot floor to store the charge cable but it'll need to be wound up and packed away with some care.

“Unlike in the Audi Q3 Sportback, in the Rafale I had plenty of clearance above my head when sitting in the rear seats. There’s plenty of leg room too.” – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

In entry-level Techno trim, the Renault Rafale is slightly more expensive than the cheapest Audi Q3 Sportback or Cupra Formentor and a lot more expensive than an entry-level Citroën C5 X or Peugeot 408. The BMW X2 costs more than all of them.

The Rafale is predicted to hold its value quite well, depreciating at the same rate as the X2 and slower than its other family SUV rivals. That’s good news because it should keep PCP rates competitive.

The Hybrid 200 version should keep running costs low for private buyers, with up to 60.1mpg possible according to official figures.

The PHEV has an official fuel-economy figure of 564.9mpg – although you'll need to charge it up a lot to get close to that. When the battery runs low, it retains a small amount of charge to function as a regular hybrid to help maintain decent efficiency.

If you want a Rafale as a company car, the PHEV is the one to go for because, with CO2 emissions of 12g/km, it's in a lower BIK tax bracket than the Hybrid 200.

Three trim levels are available for the Rafale Hybrid: Techno, Techno Esprit Alpine and Iconic Esprit Alpine. The PHEV is available in a choice of two: Techno Esprit Alpine and Atelier Alpine trim.

Techno – which is our pick of the range if you get a non-PHEV version – comes with 20in alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, matrix LED headlights, ambient lighting and fabric upholstery.

Techno Esprit Alpine gets a heated steering wheel, four-wheel steering, heated front seats, a heated windscreen and a powered tailgate.

Iconic Esprit Alpine has styling tweaks, a Solarbay panoramic glass roof, an upgraded 12-speaker Harman Kardon stereo system, puddle lamps and a park-assist system.

Atelier Alpine is essentially the same, but adds adaptive suspension, a gesture-controlled powered tailgate, a black rear spoiler and a Snow driving mode to make the most of the PHEV's four-wheel-drive system.

The safety experts at Euro NCAP awarded the Rafale the full five-star rating when it was crash-tested in 2022. Safety equipment includes emergency lane-keeping assist, traffic-sign recognition, automatic emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring and a system that measures driver awareness. 

In terms of reliability, Renault finished high up in ninth place out of 31 car makers in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey. That’s below Toyota and Citroen but above Skoda, Volvo and Mazda. The standard Renault warranty of five years or 100,000 miles is better than most, but you can get seven and up to 10 years respectively from Kia and Toyota.

“There are not many options available, but I quite like the Style Pack, which adds a small boot-lid spoiler and underbody lighting down the side of the car. The lighting switches on briefly when you unlock the car and reminds me of modified cars.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

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