Renault Grand Kangoo, the aptly named?

It’s not a surprise, we knew it since we discovered the concept car whose production version unveiled at the Munich Motor Show is very closely inspired, but after the Space, now the Scenic forgets its fundamentals. Like the first city, it turned into an SUV and lost its family virtues in the process (sliding rear seat, independent rear seats, plenty of storage, etc.). A car to live, a real one, there is however still one at Renault, it is the Kangoo. However, this new version, renewed in 2021, lacked a long variant that could accommodate up to 7 passengers and more luggage. It was enough to ask, here it is which is precisely presented this day on the other side of the Vosges. Presentation.

Bulky but very, very spacious

No need to dwell on style. The Grand Kangoo looks like a “normal” Kangoo, except that it is more… “big”. 42 cm to be very precise. With 4.91 m long, it is thus the size of a large road sedan (it is more or less the size of an Audi A6!). To evolve in the cities, there will be more convenient than him. On the other hand, transforming the family and a chest of drawers will only be a mere formality. With the 7 seats in place, the boot volume is preserved with 500 litres. In 1-seater configuration with all the seats removed and the front passenger seat folded down, it can swallow up almost 4m3! As for the loading length, it reaches a remarkable 3.11 m.

Renault promises spacious rear seats, even in 3rd row, to be confirmed by us. To make this third row easier, the sliding doors are 18 cm wider than on the “just short” Kangoo. Finally, we were talking about the Scenic in the introduction, there is no doubt that the latter must be envious of the 5 independent, sliding, folding and retractable rear seats that the MPV benefits from.

Launch in 2024

If the features we have just listed appealed to you, be aware that you will still have to wait before going to a dealership to reserve a copy. Orders will open towards the end of 2023. As for the first customers, they will be delivered at the beginning of next year. The choice of engines will be more limited than on the short Kangoo. In essence, no 100 hp version for example, only the 130 hp model (with a choice of mechanical or automatic gearbox). In diesel, on the other hand, and this is very surprising, the Blue dCi 115 hp goes by the wayside, only the 95 hp variant can be chosen (attached to a manual gearbox).

Renault could not ignore such a version these days, the Grand Kangoo will be able to receive the 100% electric block of its little brother. Like him, it delivers a power of 122 hp (90 kW) and a torque of 245 Nm of torque, values ​​that should be sufficient in most situations. It also recovers, and this is less positive, the small battery with a capacity of 45 kWh, which does not allow it to travel more than 265 km on a single charge (LTP cycle). It is certainly only 20 km less than the Kangoo runs but it remains low in absolute terms. And do not rely on fast charging (limited to 80 kW) to hope to fill up with electricity in a short time. It thus takes close to thirty minutes to recover barely 65% ​​of energy.

The entry-level Grand Kangoo could approach or even exceed the €30,000 mark. It’s expensive, but when you think about it, models offering so much space at such a price, it no longer runs the wheels today. Ah yes, in the same group, there is the Dacia Jogger all the same which barely exceeds 27,000 €… in hybrid!

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