This mid-sized Renault coupe-crossover could probably make sense over in Malaysia too.
Renault Australia has recently announced the launch of its new Arkana down under. Poised to rival the likes of Mazda CX-30 and Volkswagen T-Roc, this new coupe-crossover is claiming to bring its fair share of French flair into what is an increasingly crowded segment over there.
Amidst all mid-sized crossovers currently on the market however, the Arkana nevertheless does manage the rather hard task of standing out from the crowd with impeccable ease. And that is primarily down to its design, with its swoopy silhouette not something to be found in the segment this side (price-wise) to a BMW X4.
It is not just the striking exterior aesthetic that might convince Aussies to visit the Renault showrooms in the near future too, as the other ace up the Arkana’s sleeve is the availability of a lot of features for not a lot of money. The base-spec Zen trim for instance will only cost from $33,900 (RM103,000), and brings with it such goodies such as LED headlights and dual-tone 17-inch alloy wheels.
Standard also within the Arkana are a 7.0-inch central infotainment screen paired to an Arkamys sound system, a 4.2-inch digital instrument cluster, a heated leather-wrapped steering wheel, as well as a plethora of active safety features that includes Autonomous Emergency Braking (with pedestrian and cyclist detection), Lane-Keep Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go, Traffic Sign Recognition, High-Beam Assist, Blind-Spot Monitoring and Park Assist.
Though naturally, the higher-end Intens — which retails for $37,490 (RM115,000) over there — nets a few more niceties like a larger 9.3-inch Easy Link touch display with satellite navigation, a 7.0-inch fully driver digital display, interior ambient lighting (with up to 8 colour options) and a leather-suede combination upholstery. This mid-spec variant also features Rear-Cross Traffic Alert and Over-Speed Prevention as part of its enhanced active safety suite, not to mention too Renault’s Multi-Sense with three driving modes for a sportier aesthetic and driving experience.
For those however who want the sportiest(-looking) Arkana on offer will then have to fork out the $40,990 (RM125,000) commanded by the top-tier R.S. Line variant, which brings with it an F1-inspired blade on the front bumper, various gloss black trim pieces on its exterior and a set red-accented 18-inch alloys. This red theme is further continued too within on the contrast stitching of its black leather and suede upholstery, which is complemented by the inclusion of a sunroof, a wireless smartphone charger and a frameless auto-dimming rearview mirror on this particular spec of Renault coupe-crossover.
Then again, it is worth highlighting here that this sporty-looking R.S variant isn’t exactly to be any more powerful than any of its other two lesser-specced siblings. That is as what lies under the curvy hood of all three of these coupe-crossover variants down under is the sole engine option of a 1.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, that drives the front wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission.
A power plant that is borrowed from the Captur on which this Arkana incidentally shares the same CMF-B platform with, the power and torque figures of 156 PS and 262 Nm respectively output by this larger coupe-crossover is rather surprisingly only 3 PS more and somehow 6 Nm less than what is claimed by its more compact counterpart. Renault nevertheless does claim though that the Arkana is capable of delivering a combined fuel economy of 6 l/100 km, which is slightly better than its smaller sibling.
Now for those who have made it this far, there is of course a reason in breaking down the specs of this Aussie Arkana into greater detail than is typical. And that is because there might be a chance yet for this French coupe-crossover to be launched over here in Malaysia.
Sure TC Euro Cars hasn’t officially announced any intentions to debut the Arkana on our shores, but it is really hard to ignore the fact that this feature-rich curvy-crossover will likely serve as stiff opposition to the Malaysian CUV heavyweights alá Proton X50 and Honda HR-V. Particularly if it were to retain a similar retail price as its Aussie counterpart upon its debut over here, which is definitely a possibility if local assembly were to be undertaken with this French SUV.
