Renault Captur is the name of two different subcompact crossovers manufactured by the French automaker Renault. The production version of the first one, based on the B platform, made its debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show and started to be marketed in France during April 2013. The Captur Concept was first shown at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.
In Russia, a different and longer car, based on the B0 platform, with the same styling as the first but an extended wheelbase, greater ground clearance and four-wheel-drive has been available as the Renault Kaptur since March 2016. A localised version of the same car has been offered with both front and four wheel drive in Brazil since the beginning of 2017, being badged as the Renault Captur. This model was also introduced to India in November 2017.
There are two different versions of the first generation Captur each built on its own platform.
The car is based on the fourth generation Clio and incorporates design lines from the homonymous concept, as part of Renault's renovated design strategy developed by Laurens van den Acker. It has various customisation options for the interior and the exterior.
The car suspension is made up of MacPherson struts on front and a twist-beam axle on rear. Brakes are discs on front and drums on rear.
The Captur has some new elements, such as a large drawer like glovebox that is more easily reachable by the driver, instead of a conventional glove compartment in left hand drive models.
The Captur originally had four trim levels in the UK: Expression, Expression+, Dynamique Media Nav and Dynamique S Media Nav. In December 2013, Renault added a top-of-the-range Signature trim and, in 2015, the Iconic. In 2018, the Captur added the sportier S-edition.
As standard, it has parking sensors and voice activation for certain functions. In some versions, it also adds removable seat covers with zippers, a new Renault satellite navigation system with touchscreen, reverse cameras and automated head lamps and windscreen wiper.
The Captur achieved a five star rating at the 2013 EuroNCAP tests. Between its standard safety equipment, it has three point seat belts, two airbags, cruise control, speed limiter, ESC, ABS and audible and visual seat belt reminder warnings. Renault Captur is also equipped with Hill-Start assist feature.
In May 2017, Renault introduced a facelifted Captur with slightly revised interior and exterior designs, more customisation options and improved equipment.
Despite being on the market for less than a full year, it managed to rank third in the European small crossover segment for 2013, with just over 84,000 sales, behind the Nissan Juke and the Dacia Duster, and it was the segment's best seller in the last quarter of 2013.
At the end of 2015, Renault Captur was ranked 14th out of the 20 most sold cars in Europe with 195,323 units
The Captur is powered by a range of petrol and diesel engines.
The Captur won What Car? 2014 “Best Small SUV Less Than £16,000”. It was also named Voiture de l'Année 2013 (2013 Best Car) by the French Association of
Automotive Press.
The Renault Samsung QM3 is a badge engineered version of the Captur, launched in South Korea at the Seoul Motor Show in April 2013, shortly after its European counterpart was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show. The QM3 was officially released on 6 December 2013, and the initial 1,000 cars allocated to South Korea sold out within seven minutes.
The QM3's dimensions and wheelbase are identical to the Captur's, while the engine range is limited to a single dCi 90 four cylinder diesel and dual clutch transmission.
The QM3 was voted Best Car at the 2013 Seoul Motor Show. and was chosen 2014 “SUV of the Year” by the newspaper JoongAng Ilbo in March 2014.
A larger car with the same styling as the original Captur but with a larger wheelbase and ground clearance was introduced in Russia in 2016, badged as the Renault Kaptur. The Renault Kaptur is manufactured by the Renault Russia plant since April 2016. The front wheel drive version of this car is powered by the 1.6 litre engine and has manual gearbox or CVT, while all wheel drive versions have the 2.0 litre engine and manual or automatic (four-speed) gearbox.
Change of the naming was explained by the difficulties of the correct pronunciation of the original "Captur" name in the Russian language. Unlike the European Captur, the Russian Kaptur uses the Renault Duster as a base instead of the fourth generation Clio.
A localised Brazilian version was introduced in the beginning of 2017, badged as the Renault Captur. The Brazilian version has manual (five-speed), CVT and automatic (four-speed) gearboxes. That same year, the Brazilian Captur was named as Best Design by Americar (automotive press association of Latin America). The car got a 4-star safety rating in the 2017 Latin NCAP tests.
The car is available in the Indian market since 2017, also badged as Captur. Production and pre orders started in September 2017. Advertising videos from Renault India got a negative reception in some forum and media outlets for allegedly "misinform" customers on the car awards by mentioning the ones received by the B platform version.
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