Renault Arkana review

If the term coupé SUV makes you think, "Sounds expensive", the Renault Arkana might change your mind. Yes, there are coupé SUVs with big price tags – but the Arkana isn't one of them.

The Arkana gives you slinky styling, a healthy dash of practicality and the raised driving position SUV buyers adore, all at a price that’ll have you slapping your back pocket in appreciation. Plus it's a regular hybrid so your petrol bills should be manageable too.

Sadly for Renault, it's not the only relatively affordable family SUV with coupé styling. Potential buyers will also want to check out another hybrid model, the Toyota C-HR, along with the BMW X2, the Cupra Formentor and the VW Taigo.

Read on to find out how we rate the Renault Arkana against the best family SUVs...

Choosing which engine to have in your Renault Arkana won’t be hard: there’s only one option. Badged the E-Tech Full Hybrid 145, it combines a 1.6-litre petrol engine with a small battery and an electric motor.

Total power is 143bhp, and because the electric motor works instantly at low speeds, it's fine for pottering around town. Once outside the city limits where the Arkana's non-turbocharged petrol engine takes over, acceleration is noticeably less sprightly, leading to a 0-62mph time of 10.8 seconds. That's slower than many cheaper alternatives, such as the Citroën C4.

Thanks to its ability to run on electricity alone, the Arkana E-Tech 145 returns impressive fuel economy, and the switch between electric and petrol power is smooth. Speaking of smooth, the six-speed automatic gearbox is pretty good, flicking between gears quickly. 

There’s little wind and road noise as you drive along but refinement is let down by the engine, which sounds rather thrashy getting up to motorway speeds. That's at odds with how quiet the car can be when running on electricity alone.

What’s the Arkana's ride like? Well, it’s firmer than in most rivals – including the Toyota C-HR – and if you drive over a deep pothole or razor-edged expansion joint you’re greeted with a hefty thud. The firmness controls body movements well over bumps so you and your passengers don't get bounced around, as they might in the softly sprung Citroën C4.

The Arkana handles pretty well too. It’s not as agile as a BMW X2 or Cupra Formentor but has decent grip, not too much body lean and precise steering that’s pleasingly weighted. We wouldn’t say it’s fun to drive, but its sure-footedness gives you confidence on B-roads.

"While the Renault Arkana’s firm suspension helps to make it quite controlled as you drive along, I found that it thudded lots over imperfections in town." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

Finding a comfy driving position in the Renault Arkana is easy, with lots of seat and steering wheel adjustment. The seats themselves are comfortable and have plenty of bolstering to keep you supported through corners. 

Behind the steering wheel sits an easy-to-read digital driver's display in one of two sizes. The entry-level Evolution trim includes a 7in one, while Techno and above increases that to 10in.

The dashboard is easy to use, with physical controls for all the important functions, including the climate control. By contrast, the Cupra Formentor has some annoying touch-sensitive controls that are fiddlier to operate and more distracting on the move. 

You sit higher up from the ground in the Arkana than in the Formentor, although visibility out of the front of the Arkana is slightly worse due to its chunkier windscreen pillars. It's not awful but you can’t see as much at junctions without manoeuvring your head around the side pillars. 

As with most coupé-styled SUVs, the sloping roofline means visibility out of the back isn’t great. To make parking easier every Arkana comes with rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera, with front parking sensors added with mid-spec Techno trim.

You get an infotainment touchscreen on all versions, starting with a 7in landscape one on Evolution trim. That's slightly smaller than the one in the VW Taigo and much smaller than the 12.9in display in the Formentor. Still, the screen is clear and the system responds quickly to your prods.

Stepping up to Techno or above swaps that for a portrait 9.3in infotainment screen. Like the smaller one, it has high resolution and responsive software, but it's still not quite as intuitive as the iDrive system in the BMW X2. All versions of the Arkana come with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring and built-in sat-nav.

Interior quality feels like a step up from the Toyota C-HR (which has more hard plastics), especially in its rear-seat area. The Arkana has more soft-touch materials, the switches feel as well damped as they do in the C-HR and it feels just as well screwed together. The Cupra Formentor feels plusher still.

"I really like the suede seats in the top-spec Renault Arkana. They’re comfortable and supportive, and the electronic adjustment makes it even easier to find your driving position." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

The front seats in the Renault Arkana go back far enough to accommodate long legs and there’s plenty of width, so you won’t be rubbing elbows with your passenger. Head room isn’t particularly good though, with taller adults liable to find their heads closer to the roof than in a Cupra Formentor.

Storage space is pretty competitive. The door bins are big enough and there are a couple of generous cupholders, plus some storage under the front armrest and a useful cubby with room for a phone or wallet in front of the gear selector.

You’ll find a six-footer will have more leg room in the back of the Arkana than in a Toyota C-HR. As you might expect, the stylish roofline eats into rear head room but not by as much as you think, making it possible for your tall friends to sit back there without too much hassle. That said, the Formentor still offers more head room. 

There’s room for three adults to sit side-by-side in the rear, with a decent amount of shoulder room on offer. Better still, they won’t have to straddle a bulky central tunnel, meaning that they have a good amount of foot space. Indeed, our only demerit is that the middle seat is slightly higher, so they’ll have to slouch to stay clear of the roof. 

The Arkana’s hybrid battery pack lives under the boot floor, which reduces the amount of boot space on offer. Still, you have 480 litres to play with and more than enough space for several carry-on suitcases or a set of golf clubs. It’s also bigger than the boots in the Citroën C4, the Formentor and the C-HR.

A two-level boot floor is standard with the Arkana, allowing you to minimise the loading lip and ensure there’s no step in the floor when you fold down the rear seats. They don’t do anything particularly impressive though, splitting 60/40 rather than the more flexible 40/20/40 arrangement that you’ll find in an Audi Q3 Sportback or BMW X2.

"Given the Renault Arkana’s sleek roofline, it’s quite impressive that you still have plenty of space in the rear. That's not something you find in many coupés." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

A sloping coupé roofline often means a higher price, but that's not the case with the Renault Arkana. It costs less than the Toyota C-HR, undercuts the Cupra Formentor by a decent chunk and is not much more expensive than a Citroën C4 or VW Taigo.

Reasonably slow depreciation means the Arkana should be quite competitive if you’re buying on PCP finance, although those rivals are expected to hold their values better. 

The Arkana should be affordable to run thanks to its hybrid system, with around 60mpg possible with the engine running, and even more if you spend most of your time at lower town speeds using the electric motor.

Low CO2 emissions mean the Arkana will be fairly cheap as a company car. However, a plug-in hybrid will be even cheaper, with the Cupra Formentor e-Hybrid attracting lower BIK tax. Or you could cut your BIK tax bill dramatically by choosing an electric car or electric SUV. 

The Arkana's entry-level Evolution trim is relatively well-equipped, with 17in alloy wheels, adaptive cruise control, automatic headlights, automatic climate control and keyless entry. We’d upgrade to mid-spec Techno to get a bigger infotainment screen plus a leather steering wheel, 18in wheels, wireless phone-charging and extra safety kit.

At the top of the pile sits Esprit Alpine trim. It’s quite expensive but adds lots of styling tweaks, including 19in wheels, heated seats, a heated steering wheel and electric front seats.

The Arkana scored the full five stars in its Euro NCAP crash test in 2019. It performed well for protecting adult occupants up front and children in the rear. All versions get automatic emergency braking (AEB) and lane-keep assist, while Techno adds blind-spot monitoring and a rear cross-traffic warning system.

The model didn’t feature in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey but Renault as a brand finished a strong ninth out of 31 manufacturers. That’s above Volkswagen, Audi and Nissan but below Toyota, which claimed fifth place.

Toyota also offers a better warranty, giving you up to 10 years/100,000-miles if you regularly service your car with Toyota, compared with three-years/60,000-miles for the Arkana.  

"Around town, I found the Renault Arkana to be a really efficient partner, switching between electric and petrol smoothly." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

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