2022 Renault Arkana Intens review

Renault has bid adieu to its slow-selling Kadjar small SUV, and in its place extends a hearty bienvenue to the newest member of its SUV line-up, the 2022 Renault Arkana.

The Arkana name is an interesting one. According to Renault, the name is derived from the Latin word ‘arcanum’ meaning secret. Those with a sense of irony will recognise that ‘secret’ is a word easily applied to Renault in Australia, so few in number are its cars represented on our roads.

Whether the coupe-like SUV that is the Arkana will change that remains to be seen. For now, though, the new Renault Arkana needs to live up to the French brand’s statement of purpose for the small SUV, one that is, in its own words, “associated with mystery, attractiveness and pioneer spirit”.

Setting aside our general reservations about the whole SUV coupe phenomenon, we have to admit that on first impressions, Renault’s take on the increasingly popular format works.

The proportions work well, the Renault blessed without some of the bloated features that have blighted other examples of the SUV coupe style. Simply, it looks good from any angle. Subjective, of course, but as one who has previously derided SUV coupes, the admission that the Arkana’s styling looks the business is not made lightly.

Renault will bring three variants of Arkana to Australia, two of which have landed in showrooms already, the third not due here until early 2022.

Opening the range is the Arkana Zen priced from $33,990 before on-road costs – $1000 more than the entry-level Kadjar it replaces in dealership forecourts.

Standard equipment highlights for the Zen include a 7.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, black leatherette upholstery, LED headlights, 17-inch alloy wheels, a heated steering wheel, keyless entry and start, climate control, and front, side and rear parking sensors.

The mid-spec Arkana Intens asks for $37,490 plus on-road costs, and adds features over the Zen including a larger 9.3-inch central touchscreen, inbuilt satellite navigation, a 7.0-inch digital driver display, larger 18-inch alloys, leather and suede upholstery, rear cross-traffic alert, electric front seats with both heating and ventilation, and a heated steering wheel. It’s the model we drove at launch.

The range-topping Arkana RS Line is headed our way in early 2022, and when it lands its $40,990 before on-roads price brings sportier exterior styling with a unique front and bumper, 18-inch alloys with red accents, a sunroof, wireless phone charging, black leather and suede seat trim with contrast red stitching, and rear privacy glass.

Renault has kept the options list mercifully short, limited to a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster ($800) and a contrasting black roof and wing mirrors for Intens and RS Line variants ($600), while only the Intens has the option of a sunroof ($1500), which is standard fit in the RS Line. A palette of five metallic hues asks for an additional $750, the only no-cost shade White.

Our launch Arkana Intens was fitted with no options, only wearing a $750 shade of metallic black for an as-tested price of $38,250 plus on-road costs.

Buyers in the segment are spoilt for choice, so cutting through the white noise of 22 different models and 79 variants priced under $40K (before on-roads) means the Arkana has its work cut out.

The MG ZS is the runaway sales leader, and little wonder when buyers can get into one for as little as $21,990 drive-away. Buyers might also consider the Hyundai Kona and Mazda CX-30, while keeping it European, the Peugeot 2008 and Volkswagen T-Roc bring either French flair or Teutonic minimalism to the table.

But where the Arkana stands out is with its swoopy styling, as no other SUV in the segment offers the same profile. If you want to get noticed, stand out from the crowd. Whether the Arkana can do that remains to be seen.

There’s plenty to like about the interior of the Arkana, which looks and feels premium in its execution. Soft surfaces abound, while an aluminium dash fascia looks sharp.

The leather and suede seat trim looks good, and feels even better. The front seats are heated and cooled, as well as electrically adjustable. Comfortable too.

Everything is laid out neatly and ergonomically, with bonus points for large climate-control dials and switches.

Storage options include a couple of cupholders, an average-sized central storage bin, and a cubby fore of the gear selector. One annoyance, though, is the lack of lining in that cubby, the natural home for smartphones and the like. That results in objects sliding around, and doing so noisily. A bit of rubber or felt lining can go a long way.

A clever little cubby for the Arkana’s credit-card-sized key in the centre console is another neat touch. The key works in proximity, unlocking the Arkana as you approach, locking it again as you walk away, all without touching the key itself. One-touch buttons on the front doors also do the job.

Where it gets a little annoying is when exiting the driver’s seat and walking around to the passenger side to, say, remove an item such as a bag from the front. The Arkana’s proximity sensors lock and unlock the vehicle in quick succession to an accompanying series of beeps and boops. It’s a small annoyance.

The second row is where the coupe-like styling of the Arkana begins to lose some of its lustre. There’s decent enough space in the second row for a couple of adults, although knee room isn’t in great abundance. Head room, too, is impacted by that sloping roof line, with even my 173cm frame close to scraping the roof lining in the second row. Anyone over, say, 180cm will likely be in constant contact with the roof.

The seats are firmer in the second row, too, lacking the plush comfort of the front pews. You’re definitely left with the feeling you’re sitting on them, not in them.

Conveniences in the second row include air vents, two USB points to help keep devices topped up, and a pair of cupholders in a fold-down armrest. ISOFIX child seat anchor points are fitted to the outboard seats.

The boot looks to be a decent size. Renault quotes 353 litres at a minimum, which expands to 1258L with the second row folded away in 60:40 split-fold fashion. No surprises that it gives away space to the Renault Kadjar the Arkana replaces, its boot measuring in at 408L/1478L. The price of style, it seems, is about 55L.

There is a decent-sized cubby under the boot floor that’s capable of hiding away plenty of stuff, should you need to. It measures 96cm x 96cm with a depth of 17cm, and amply big to hold laptop bags, handbags, purses et al. Nice.

A space-saver spare lives under that second boot floor, which is increasingly the norm with modern vehicles.

Overall, the cabin looks good and feels good, certainly from the front row. The second row is adequate, although taller people will struggle for space. The fact the front seat backs feature large scallops designed to accommodate second-row knees speaks volumes. Still, at least Renault has tried to instil some comfort in the second row. Not all carmakers do that.

The Arkana Intens is equipped with a 9.3-inch portrait-style infotainment touchscreen. It’s fitted with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, satellite navigation, as well as controlling a host of the Arkana’s vehicle settings.

The graphics are crisp and clear, akin to a modern tablet, while menus are quick to load and easy to navigate.

A series of shortcut buttons underneath the screen provide access to a host of menus, from telephony to navigation and vehicle settings. And yet, while pleasingly Renault has helpfully provided dials and switches for climate control, the seat heating and ventilation are accessed via a shortcut button, which then brings up the requisite screen where you swipe up or down to control the seating temperature. It’s fiddly and a reminder that while technology can improve lives, it can also overcomplicate it.

One feature we loved is the ability to control indicator volume. Yes, if you’ve ever been annoyed at just how loud the clicking sound of the indicators can be, the Arkana has your back. Accessing this menu allows you to toggle between ‘High’, ‘Middle’ and ‘Low’ and it’s delightfully quirky.

We opted for ‘Low’, which is still loud enough to hear, but not so loud that your passenger starts complaining. Believe us, loud annoying indicator sounds are a thing. Not anymore.

Helpfully, the indicators in the animated car in the 7.0-inch digital instrument display blink when the indicators are on. So, if the low volume of the ‘blink blink blink’ means you forget they’re on, then the visual aid reminds you. Cute.

That instrument display is pretty basic compared to some other brands’ applications, but it works well in delivering information on the move.

Unlike some small SUVs, the Arkana is fitted with digital radio all piped through a six-speaker Bose sound system. It’s not a high-end iteration, but neither is it cheap and nasty.

Two USB points in the storage cubby up front keep your devices topped up, as well as providing smartphone connectivity that worked seamlessly and quickly, connecting within a second or two of plugging the phone in.

The Renault Arkana carries a five-star ANCAP safety rating awarded in 2019. It scored highly in adult and child occupant protection (96 per cent and 85 per cent respectively), well in vulnerable road user protection (75 per cent), and decently enough in safety assist systems (72 per cent). Of particular note is the perfect 8.0 out of 8.0 the Arkana scored for side impact in both adult and child occupant protection.

The safety body tested the Arkana’s suite of safety systems and found autonomous emergency braking ‘good’ at avoiding collisions in most scenarios, but only ‘adequate’ at highway speeds.

Similarly, the Arkana’s lane-departure warning was rated as ‘good’, but lane-keeping assist as ‘adequate’, the report stating that “the system does not intervene in more critical emergency lane-keeping scenarios”.

The full suite of safety assists fitted to the Arkana Intens includes autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane-keep assist, lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, traffic sign recognition and park assist.

A full complement of airbags covers both rows of occupants.

At $37,490 plus on-road costs for the Intens variant, there are more affordable small SUVs in the segment. The three top-sellers all undercut the Renault’s price, and by a fair margin. The MG ZS can be had for $21,990 drive-away, while the Hyundai Kona starts at $26,000 before on-roads. Even the highly specified Kona Highlander undercuts the Arkana Intens, as tested, at $38,000 even. And Mazda’s CX-30 starts at $28,990, while $39,190 will land a well-specced G20 Astina in your driveway.

In terms of price and equipment then, the Arkana Intens is a match for some similarly equipped rivals. Although, it can’t match those models, on price at least, for an entry point, with the most affordable Arkana Zen priced well in excess of the three top-sellers in the segment.

Renault covers the Arkana with its standard five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, while servicing intervals are at a very generous 12 months or 30,000km, whichever comes first. Renault Australia hadn’t released its capped-price servicing costs for the Arkana at launch; however, using the mechanically similar Kadjar and Captur as a guide, expect to pay around $399 a pop for the first three visits (total $1197) or a total of $2385 for the first five years/150,000km.

Renault claims the Arkana needs just 6.0L/100km of regular 91RON unleaded on the combined cycle. Our test loop at launch, covering a variety of scenarios and roads, returned an indicated 7.4L/100km. That’s acceptable. The Arkana’s fuel tank capacity is 50L.

The Arkana range is powered by Renault’s 1.3-litre (1333cc) turbocharged inline four-cylinder petrol engine making 115kW at 5500rpm and 262Nm at 2250rpm. Power is sent to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. There is no all-wheel-drive variant in the range.

Performance is brisk enough around town, the Arkana happy to zip briskly from traffic light to traffic light. Renault claims a 9.1-second 0-100km/h sprint time, and that felt a little underdone by the seat of the pants. In short, it feels quicker, if only marginally.

Where the Arkana loses some points is for its double-clutch transmission that proved recalcitrant from standstill and hesitant under harder acceleration. It behaves fine in general around-town driving, but moving away from traffic lights or turning into traffic amplified its hesitant nature.

Similarly, attempt an overtake on the freeway and there’s a lag in response from the transmission. It’s at once exasperating and uncomfortable; a feeling that’s only heightened when reverse parking, with the transmission’s hesitancy making for nervous times.

Which is a pity, because in almost every other regard the Arkana proved adept and capable. From its zippy nature at city speeds, to the decent, if a touch firm, ride quality, the Arkana proved, for the most part, adept at handling the urban environment.

The engine never feels stressed, even at highway cruising speeds, while around town it feels like there’s always something left in reserve.

On smoother roads, the Arkana’s suspension tune proved capable and offered a calm and unflustered ride. That fell away just a smidge on some stretches of less-than-perfect bitumen, with sharp hits jarring through to the cabin.

There are three drive modes to choose from – Eco, Sport and MySense – which alter drivetrain and steering characteristics. Eco dulls everything down to a level you probably don’t want to spend too long in, while Sport sharpens throttle response and allows the engine to rev out a little more freely under acceleration. The steering also gains some subtle but noticeable heft. MySense is simply Renault-speak for normal driving settings with options to customise steering and the digital instrument cluster. It’s the default setting.

As much as we love the styling of the SUV coupe (there’s something we’d never thought we’d say), it’s hard not to come away from the Arkana feeling a little disappointed.

In terms of value, it’s certainly up there for the segment, but the value is easy to see too. From a nicely finished and equipped interior, to a level of standard inclusions commensurate with its circa $37K asking price, the Arkana Intens looks in the metal, and on paper, like a worthy addition to the ranks of the ever-growing small-SUV segment.

As a package, the Arkana Intens left us bewildered. A decent engine felt compromised by a less-than-stellar application of a double-clutch transmission. Which is a bit of a shame, as in most other regards, the Arkana proved a sprightly urban-focussed SUV.