Renault Symbioz review

The Renault Symbioz name might sound like it was invented to give Countdown players the fear, but it makes sense for this hybrid family SUV.

You see, it's derived from symbiosis – i.e. living and working well together – and that's pretty apt given that the Symbioz needs to flourish in the brand’s crowded SUV line-up. It's one of a handful of Renault SUVs available in the UK now, ranging from the Renault Captur to the Renault Scenic E-Tech.

Of all those, the Symbioz is closest in size to the Renault Austral – another family SUV with seats for five – while mechanically it’s closer to the Captur, with a similar full-hybrid power set-up. 

What about rivals from other brands? Well, the best known is the Nissan Qashqai but there are plenty of other hybrid SUVs, including the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage. If you can do without the full-hybrid tech, you might be looking at the Seat Ateca, Skoda Karoq and VW Tiguan.

So is the Renault Symbioz up to the job of challenging the best family SUVs? Read on to find out...

Engine wise, the Renault Symbioz is available in one full-hybrid (E-Tech) version – take it or leave it. It combines a 1.6-litre petrol unit, a main electric motor and a smaller motor for a combined 143bhp, all sent to the front wheels (there's no four-wheel-drive option).

When you put your foot down from a standstill, the Symbioz does the typical hybrid car party trick of getting away from the line reasonably swiftly, thanks to the instant power from the electric motor. You can run on electric power alone for short distances at lower speeds, with the engine kicking in as you speed up.

It feels more than nippy enough around town to get away from the lights smartly and leap into roundabouts with confidence. The switch from electric to petrol power is quite smooth but acceleration tails off (143bhp isn’t a huge amount of power for a fairly substantial SUV).

Officially, the Symbioz can accelerate from 0-62mph in 10.6 seconds, which is sedate without being intolerably slow. The e-Power version of the Nissan Qashqai is much quicker, with an official time of 7.9 seconds.

The limited amount of power is most apparent at higher speeds when you put your foot down, which brings the engine up to high revs – much like with a CVT gearbox – without acceleration matching the amount of noise. There’s also a slight delay as the engine and  gearbox need to wake up after a prod of the accelerator for a burst of speed. By comparison, the Qashqai e-Power (which is always driven by an electric motor) makes less fuss when pushed, plus it’s a bit more responsive at speed.

Thankfully, the brake pedal is nice and progressive when you press it, and it’s very easy to brake smoothly when you’re driving at high speed. However, because the mechanical brakes are integrated with the electric motor’s regenerative braking system, the pedal can feel a bit grabby around town, particularly when you’re slowing to a complete stop. 

When it comes to handling, the Symbioz doesn’t disgrace itself. You’d never call it exciting but there’s plenty of grip from the tyres and surprisingly little body lean even when you change direction suddenly.

Likewise, the steering is light and precise but there's not enough communication for you to feel particularly involved in the process. We wouldn't choose the Symbioz over, for example, a Seat Ateca as a fun-to-drive family SUV.

In terms of ride comfort, the Iconic and Techno Esprit Alpine version we’ve driven have been fitted with big 19in alloy wheels, and the stiff, shallow tyre sidewalls did little to absorb road surface imperfections, leading to a gentle tremor being passed through to the car’s occupants.

However, bigger undulations were quite efficiently soaked up, and few unpleasant shocks can be felt by occupants. Things are a little less settled at slow town speeds, with speed bumps causing a bit of a thud. It’s not uncomfortable, though, and overall the suspension is more supple than the Ford Kuga’s.

Meanwhile, the Symbioz is a quiet car to travel around in at low speeds, thanks to the silence offered by the electric motor. Unfortunately, once you get up to speed the tyre roar builds significantly, plus there's a fair amount of buffeting from the door mirrors. The Kia Sportage is much quieter to drive on the motorway.

“It’s only when leaving town and heading out on to the motorway that I wished the Symbioz’s engine had a bit more punch. It’s fine once up to speed though.” – George Hill, Staff Writer

There’s little to fault with the Renault Symbioz’s driving position. The driver's seat has plenty of adjustment (electric in Techno Esprit Alpine trim and above) and lines up well with the steering wheel and pedals.  

You sit higher than you would in a family car, for a good view out, although the Nissan Qashqai driving position is slightly more elevated. Front and sideways visibility is decent, but the view over your shoulder and directly backwards is limited. Helpfully, a rear-view camera is standard, upgraded to 360-degree view camera on range-topping Iconic Esprit Alpine trim.

The Symbioz arguably has a more eye-catching dashboard than the Qashqai. Every model gets a configurable 10.25in digital driver's display with a central portrait-oriented 10.4in touchscreen nearby.

The infotainment system runs Google software so it has access to more than 50 apps, including Spotify and Google Maps. Overall, it’s an easy system to use thanks to its simple layout, sharp graphics and quick responses. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone connectivity are offered as standard if you want to bypass the built-in system.

The driver’s display is similarly intuitive, and it’s controlled via buttons on the steering wheel. You can configure it to show functions such as your sat nav map and driving data if you like, but it can be laggy as you flick through the different layouts. 

Every Symbioz has two USB-C ports for each row of seats, as well as wireless smartphone charging up front. Below the touchscreen, there are physical switches for direct operation of the climate-control features, including interior temperature, fan speed, air distribution and screen demisters front and rear.

This is great, because you don’t have to take your eyes off the road to make adjustments, like you do in a Ford Kuga. The switches also have a nice tactile feel to them.

Depending on the trim level, prominent interior surfaces get differing treatments, with Techno Esprit Alpine trim padding the dashboard in front of the passenger with a fabric inspired by contemporary sportswear, and Iconic Esprit Alpine trading this for stitched soft faux-leather.

Elsewhere, the plastics used are pleasant enough – nothing you touch will have you recoiling in horror. However, the Qashqai feels a touch more plush in general.

“The interior has plenty of visual appeal and feels plush enough in isolation but when driving a Qashqai later I found the Nissan had the edge in this regard.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

Few adults will find any cause for complaint in the amount of room they have in the front of the Renault Symbioz. Indeed, very long-legged drivers will find their seat goes back further than in the Nissan Qashqai.

At seven litres, the glovebox has room for more than just gloves; you could easily fit in a flask and a lunchbox. Each door pocket will take a 500ml water bottle and there’s a total of 24.7 litres of internal storage when all the cubbies are totted up. 

Like the Austral, the Symbioz has a sliding rear bench, and sliding that all the way back gives enough leg room for six-footers when the front seats are occupied by similarly tall folk. They’ll be happy enough with head room too, but the way the ceiling curves to the side of the car means they’ll need to duck to get in and out. Middle seat passengers may also struggle for headroom, because that section of the seat base is slightly raised. On the plus side, the central floor hump (which holds mechanicals such as the exhaust and gearbox) is quite small, so the passenger with the short straw should have a reasonable amount of foot space.

If you slide the rear bench all the way forwards – creating a generous 624 litres of boot space in the process – most of the leg room disappears, rendering the rear seats a child-only zone.

If you go for Iconic Esprit Alpine trim, the Symbioz has an impressive Solarbay panoramic roof, which can be darkened in four configurations to reduce direct sunlight, controlled by a toggle switch on the ceiling.

In theory, the absence of a blind is good news for rear head room, and the Symbioz offers more head room than a Nissan Qashqai with its conventional panoramic roof and blind. 

Meanwhile, the Symbioz’s boot is a reasonable size (492 litres) even with the rear bench all the way back. For context, the Qashqai offers 504 litres – enough to hold seven carry-on suitcases.

The Symbioz has an adjustable boot floor too. In its highest setting, it creates a flat load floor from the entrance all the way to the front seatbacks when the rear seats are folded down, creating a 1582-litre load bay. The Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage and Skoda Karoq are all more practical in general though.

“At six foot five, I found myself surprisingly comfortable in the back seat of the Symbioz, although I did have to duck a bit when getting in and out.” – Chris Haining, Sub-editor

Where the Renault Symbioz lands its heaviest blow on the Nissan Qashqai and other family SUVs – on paper at least – is in terms of efficiency and purchase cost.

Starting with price, in entry-level Techno trim the Symbioz undercuts the considerably less well equipped Qashqai by hundreds or thousands of pounds (depending on which engine you choose). You can check prices and keep an eye out for discounts using our free New Car Deals pages.

Efficiency-wise, the Symbioz's E-Tech hybrid system officially returns an impressive 60.1mpg, compared with the 54.3mpg promised by the Qashqai e-Power. The Symbioz has lower CO2 emissions (107g/km), placing it in the 26% bracket for company car tax so it's cost-efficient as a company car – although an electric SUV will cost even less in tax.

All Symbioz models have much more than just the basics as standard. You get adaptive cruise control, dual-zone climate control, a wireless phone-charger, a 10.4in infotainment touchscreen plus ambient interior lighting with 48 colours to choose from.

Stepping up to Techno Esprit Alpine spec gets you 19in alloy wheels and swisher interior trim, plus lane-centering assistance for the adaptive cruise control, a hands-free powered tailgate, heated front seats and a heated steering wheel.

Iconic Esprit Alpine trim adds the Solarbay roof, a 360-degree parking camera and a nine-speaker Harman Kardon sound system but unless you really want those items we don't think it's worth the considerable extra cost.

The Symbioz has yet to be crash-tested by independent safety experts Euro NCAP. We can tell you it comes with plenty of safety tech, including automatic emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, and lane-keeping assistance. Blind-spot assistance comes with mid-range Techno Esprit Alpine trim and above.

Every Renault sold in the UK comes with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty. Plenty of rivals offer better warranties, notably Kia, which gives you seven years or 100,000 miles. The Symbioz's E-Tech hybrid battery is covered separately for eight years or 100,000-miles, whichever comes first. There’s a guarantee of the battery maintaining at least a 63% maximum capacity in that time.

In our 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey, Renault finished in 23rd place out of 32 manufacturers ranked. Kia finished eighth and Nissan 19th.

“If I was looking for a comfortable, economical family SUV, the attractive price of the Symbioz means I’d have trouble looking past it.” – James Tute, Content Editor

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