Comments on: 2009 Renault Koleos Review and Road Test

By: Ashish

Ashish — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:18:35 +0000

Hi Everyone : I am looking to buy a used car and wanted to ask abt 2010 Koleos Dynamique Auto 2wd Petrol. It has abt 30K kms on it and am getting it. Has still got 2 yrs warranty left on it, want to ask if its a good car. I am not a off road person but am concerned abt comments on body roll, servicing costs, expensive parts etc, how far is it true?. Can someone tell me what fuel consumption can I expect in suburban driving conditions? Also what sort of return can I expect on resale if I end up selling it in say 2014 with 90K kms on it? Thanks guys….appreciate any comments. Need to make a call soon.

By: Gustavo

Gustavo — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 03:26:33 +0000

Tengo un Koleos 2.5 4WD desde el 2009 en Costa Rica. Excelente desempeño y confort. Me encanta su techo panorámico, su equipo BOSE y todas las extras francesas que trae. En Costa Rica no hay nada que se le asemeje en cuanto al equipamiento que trae este vehículo y su precio. El Concesionario me ha brindado un excelente servicio y su mantenimiento es cada 10 mil kilómetros. Unico SUV del mercado con este tipo de mantenimiento. Muy contento con el auto y lo recomiendo a ojos cerrados.

By: Jen

Jen — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:38:10 +0000

I love my Koleos! I purchased a 2009 demonstrator model with 8000k on the clock and saved quite a bit from buying a new car. I researched many of its competitors and my only worry in purchasing the car was from this review about the handling. I am glad I took no notice of it, it handles well around our hilly suburb and beautifully on the freeway. Lots of other reviews mention this is a premium car and it is. Also you don’t feel like you are driving the same car as everyone else around. So many people have commented to me that they love the car and I would highly recommend trying one out.

By: Tony

Tony — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 13:27:16 +0000

We have had our Koleos Privilege for 2 and half years now. With just over 27000 kms on the clock, it has given us nothing but compliant,breakdown free, surefooted, and let’s-go-anywhere service.

While it will not win any line honours for busting out of block from standing start, it still packs a growl when asked. With a switchable 4WD option, we normally keep it on 2WD duty for daily drives etc, the 4WD mode has made the driving in the pouring rain or storms safe and confident ones. It stubbonrly refuses to give in to the more difficult terrain conditions and has not failed us, not once.

The keycard has been a godsend for the wife, along with all the nice little things that came with the model. It simply makes her life easier not having to deal with minor things, she once proudly declared that her baby (Koleos) is a better car than mine (Alfa Romeo GT). It tackles off road terrains without a puff, and lugged all our belongings, bits of furnitures and whiteware without complaints when we recently moved into our brand new house.

It drives with very little road noise making a long trip up and down the state quite enjoyable being entertained by the great Bose stereo and CD stacker. It is spacious with our guests love the headroom and legroom. It comfortablly sits five and looks great in black with the external styling enhancements. Our family guests with small children particularly appreciated the sunblind at the back when they visited in middle of summer.

Looking back now, if there was something we should have considered getting, it would be the HID Xenon headlights. Driving up and down the countryside in sometimes pitch darkness, the halogen headlights do a good and a decent enough job, but you simply cannot beat Xenon for brightness.

We love our Koleos, it wears the badge ‘OURS’ in French proudly and the wife certainly loves it to bits. Sure it will not beat a fancy BMW X5 for handling or a LandRover for offroad capability, it is practical, with a distinct French design and flair which we identify with.

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 01:00:33 +0000

I bought a 2009 manufactured Privilege a year ago (came with the beige interior, which I love, black is passe, boring and hot, unfortunately black now standard on all Koleoses) and very happy with the car, no reliability issues other than a crazy ambient temperature display (I work with instruments and can’t abide inaccuracy). Handling and comfort is great. I dislike the display colour (orange) and the cruise/stereo controls are annoying at first. I had a very pleasnt surprise at first service- it cost only $193!! This makes up for the poorer fuel economy compared the previous diesel SUV, which had outrageous servicing costs. On the subject of economy, I felt it was quite poor over first 10,000km or so, couldn’t get anywhere near the quoted figures (9.5 mean, 8 hwy) and that was on 95RON. Dealer suggested I try 98 (ha ha, that’s 16-18 cpl dearer than ULP in my town) and to be perverse, I tried 91 and economy improved! Anyway, it’s approaching acceptable with a few kms up, such as mean of 10l/100km over 1500kms on a trip to Sydney- with a roofbox and moderate load (and much of outback NSW is 110km/hr zone).

My wife chose Koleos after initially being taken by Tiguan. Koleos has much nicer interior (at least on ’09 model), a full-sized spare wheel (unlike the stupid dinky space-saver on VW) and much bigger boot. We have the sunroof (which I hate) because trade for this car from dealer on previous car was a deal-maker. Would have preferred the better headlights, but the HIDs are in reality, special order only. We got Pearl White which is a nice colour for this model, but would have preferred silver or brown (Sienna- no longer available) as our 2nd car is also white (and we live in a country town where everyone gets white!).

I find the reversing sensors useful with the very high gutters in my town (tail in, 45 degree). The speedo is 7.5% optimistic (pathetic) while odometer is very close (important in a lease car). The Bose stereo is fabulous. The storage solutions are very good, as is seat folding and the rear window blinds. We removed the ashtray and rear cargo blind- the latter is really stupid, gets in the way of any load and if you do load up, there’s nowhere to put it! So it’s in a spare bedroom until we sell the car… So, a few negatives, but overall a great car (far better handling and comfort compared to previous SsangYong) and certainly different to its cousin the X-Trail which is ugly as sin (better room in the boxy back, though).

By: Pete

Pete — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 20:45:21 +0000

I also recently purchased a Koleos Dynamique diesel 6 sp manual almost a month ago, and am suitably impressed.
I initially wasnt looking at these as we were looking at the Ford Escape, however I noticed demonstrator models for not much more, so we thought we would test drive one to see what they were like. Anyhow, as many above have said, the interior, family-friendly features and ride won us over immediately.
After some intense web searching, I managed to locate a diesel manual demonstrator at my budget – but it was in Brisbane (I am in Sydney). Anyhow, a Jetstar flight, combined with the extremely helpful staff picking me up at the airport from Bryan Byrt (thanks Cory) – it was an easy and simple transaction. To top it off they supplied the car with a full tank of Diesel, and I was on my way back home in no time. It was a great introduction to the car, and I found the speed limiter to be license-saving on the many 80km/h ‘roadwork’ areas along the Pacific Hwy (where there appears to be little ‘work’ going on, save the Policeman with the speed trap).
The 11 1/2 hr trip was on a 35-40 degree day, and I was very comfortable with the climate set to 22, my tunes supplied from my phone (via an aux cord).
Standout features that were highlighted during the introductory trip:
The ride was very good for the entire trip.
The seats are well padded, but not too spongy, well suited for long trips.
The cruise control/speed limiter works well with the on-wheel adjustment nice and logical (Cory explained the ‘O’ means off, the ‘R’ means Resume, although its probably something French)
When cruise/speed limiter is on the display changes (as mentioned above), but you can still check the other computer settings by toggling with the stalk button
The cooled glovebox (which is huge btw) was fantastic – I pulled into a Supermarket and threw in 4 600ml bottles of water – kept me supplied for cold drinks for the trip down.
The leather-wrapped steering wheel with the additional padding at 10/2 o’clock feels fantastic in the hands, and telescopic/tilt adjustment meant I could get it just right for me.
The auto-wipers and lights turning themselves on (and off) is a great touch (surprisingly useful)
The interior dash/control illumination for me is spot-on and quite classy. The orange illumination is uniform and easy on the eye – I didn’t find it distracting out on the country roads, and it is easy to read. (Personally, I find blue illumination too stark and distracting)

I haven’t yet had a chance to test out the 4wd capabilities, we will some day when we take it camping, but that will be another story.

So, after a full day of driving, consumption was approx 7 litres/100km for the trip (temperature was 33 at Brisbane when I left in the morning, and was above 35 for the majority of the trip with A/C on).
Apart from the 1000km first day trip, we have driven it around Sydney for 2000km where fuel consumption has been approx 8.5 l/100km.
We love our new Koleos!

By: John

John — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 23:45:28 +0000

We have had our koleos (2wd diesel auto with leather pack) for just over a year and have done 26,000- trouble free km’s. Average fuel consumprion is in the high 7′s and we have just done a 3,000 km run up into NSW from Vic and got 7.5 so we are quite happy with that. I too neither understand nor agree with earlier posts about soggy handling as we think it is great on the relatively poor roads in the rural areas we travel on.
we have no warranty issues at all. there are some quirky things with it though such as when you select cruise control the dash display only shows the selected speed and not the normal dash display. Just a French thing I guess. The leather is also pretty ordinary quality in fact I think it may be fake leather. And the radio controls are too fiddly (again a typical French thing) but these are only minor complaints and we are very happy with our koleos. It is much under-rated in the category.
We upgraded from an Xtrail and in our opionion the Koleos is streets ahead.

By: Jez

Jez — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 11:33:32 +0000

I bought a Koleos Privilege about a year ago, it is a good car except that it has major electonic fault issues that have caused my vehicle to shut down whilst driving on motorways numerous times, extremely dangerous. I have already had one part repaired with no sympathy from Renault or the service dealers representing Renault and I am about to get the vehicle looked at again for the same fault. I will not buy a Renault again.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 08:59:59 +0000

I’ve had a Koleos for a year and its a great car. Only issue is rear legroom space. It has so many features that you only start to appreciate when you drive one for a while. My wife who has a Mazda MX7 much prefers the Renault.

As for off road – I use it on my farm and on dirt roads and its handles rough corrugated roads comfortably.

Don’t overlook the safety rating either. I’ve been in the unfortunate situation of having a major accident in a Koleos. I was literally wrapped up in airbags and although I had to be cut out of the car, which was a write off, I hardly had a scratch on me. So my current Koleos is actually my second. I put the fact that I’m still alive down to the safety features of the car.

A great car

By: Simonsez

Simonsez — Wed, 26 May 2010 10:36:31 +0000

Took delivery of a Koleos Dynamique 2wd on Tuesday and continue to be impressed by all aspects of this vehicle. Have to wonder what Paul’s expectations were in relation to handling as it seems perfectly ok to me. It’s certainly not something that you’d take to a track day but driven with its’ intended design parameters in mind there isn’t a problem at all.
I’d been looking for a very long time prior to purchase and the Koleos was by far the most cost effective solution to my needs.