Used Renault Captur 2020-present review review

In the battle for small SUV supremacy, the Renault Captur has been in the fight since 2013.

The original (2013-2019) Renault Captur was so popular that, with this second one, Renault chose evolution over revolution. The car's funky looks have been made sharper, its chic interior more premium and its engine line-up more varied. As a used buy, it's more competitive than ever.

Engines: The engine range kicks off with the TCe 90, an 89bhp turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol that comes exclusively with a six-speed manual gearbox.

Sadly, the TCe 90 lacks get up and go, so we'd recommend turning instead to the TCe 140 – a 138bhp 1.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol available with a manual or automatic gearbox. It provides brisk enough acceleration, with 0-60mph in around 10 seconds. A 94bhp 1.5-litre diesel is also available, but it's not as commonplace as the petrols.

There are also the automatic-only E-Tech Hybrid 145 and more powerful 158bhp E-Tech Plug-in Hybrid 160. The plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is the quickest Captur, officially hitting 0-62mph in a lively 8.6sec, and has an official electric-only range of around 30 miles.

The E-Tech Hybrid 145 is best suited to trundling along in town traffic at low speeds without needing the engine. In urban environments, it's punchy enough, and isn’t that much slower from 0-62mph than the TCe 140. Acceleration trails off a bit when the engine is engaged to get you up to motorway speeds, though.

Trims and equipment: The trims range starts with SE Limited, followed by Iconic, S Edition, sporty R.S. Line and Launch Editions for the E-Tech hybrids. Standard equipment from new includes full LED front and rear headlights, auto folding power-adjustable side mirrors and rear privacy glass. You also get a 7in touchscreen with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity, Bluetooth and a DAB radio.

Ride and handling: The Captur doesn’t deal with pockmarked urban road surfaces particularly gracefully. The heavier E-Tech versions are arguably the worst of the range over potholes, although they're not back-breaking.

The ride improves as you build speed, but never completely settles. It fidgets, even on a smooth-looking section of motorway, and over bigger dips and crests it can get a bit bouncy. Our tip is to try to avoid the bigger 18in wheels, which make matters even worse.

The Captur’s steering is precise enough and light around town, but doesn't build weight reassuringly at faster speeds. A lack of outright grip works against it too, although body lean is kept relatively in check.

The E-Tech hybrid Captur is a little more weighty, but that’s nothing compared with the PHEV model, which is a fair bit heavier due to its larger battery pack. That makes the car feel less agile than in petrol guise, although the standard car isn't exactly a barrel of laughs anyway.

If the raised driving position promised by a small SUV is what you’re after, the Captur will appeal to you. The seat, steering wheel and pedals line up well, so you're not sitting at an odd angle.

The air-conditioning is operated using physical controls rather than a touchscreen, which is a good thing and keeps distraction to a minimum. You get standard analogue instrument dials on most models, but they're replaced by a 7.0in digital display in S Edition cars or a 10.0in one in the E-Tech hybrid and PHEV models.

Interior and practicality: Front passenger space is good, while rear room is adequate rather than amazing. A six-footer will find their head is rather close to the roof, and knee room will be tight if there’s someone of a similar height sitting in front.

Renault says the Captur has one of the biggest boots in the class, but there’s a caveat: that’s only if you slide the rear bench all the way forwards, which doesn't leave much rear leg room. With the bench slid all the way back to maximise rear leg room, boot space is 422 litres. That’s more than you get in most family hatchbacks.

If you're interested in finding a used Captur or any of the other cars mentioned here, head over to the Used Car Buying pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.

Used Renault Capturs start at around £12,000. That'll get you a 2020 Iconic model with less than 15,000 miles on the clock. Expect the 1.5-litre diesel to be under the bonnet.

Hybrid and PHEV examples start at around £13,000, while 2021 and 2022 Capturs start at around £15,000. Spend between £15,000 and £20,000 on 2023 and upwards cars.

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MPG

The 89bhp 1.0-litre has an official average of 47.8mpg, while the 138bhp 1.3-litre averages 47.9mpg. The hybrid's average is 56.5mpg and the PHEV's is 217.3mpg, although that will be difficult to achieve in real-world driving.

The PHEV will officially do around 30 miles on electricity alone.

Road tax

All petrol and diesel variants will currently cost you £180 per year in road tax, whereas hybrid cars will cost you £170 per year. Find out more about current road tax costs here

Insurance and servicing

Insurance groups never exceed 22, so it should be relatively cheap to insure. Renault offers fixed price service plans from £265 – that includes one A service and one B service.

The 89bhp 1.0-litre petrol (TCe 90) is a little lacklustre, so the punchier 138bhp 1.3-litre petrol (TCe 140) is a justifiable upgrade. The hybrids are also worth considering, although they demand considerably more cash.

At the time of writing, Iconic trim is the most common on the used market – it comes with a good level of equipment, too.

Our favourite Renault Captur: TCe 90 Iconic

The Suzuki Vitara is a similar size to the Captur. It’s good to drive, has a practical interior and is well equipped. On the minus side, its CO2 emissions are quite high.

The Suzuki Ignis is slightly smaller overall, but it’s very good value for money, is fun to drive and is well equipped. The ride is rather firm, though, and it’s noisy at speed.

The Toyota C-HR is not the most practical small SUV, but it does drive rather well and you can find it in hybrid form. It comes with Toyota’s famed reputation for reliability, which should mean years of trouble-free motoring.

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If you're interested in finding a used Captur, or any of the other cars mentioned here, head over to the Used Car Buying pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.