K een follower of automotive affairs as I fancy myself to be, I’ve found the recent torrent of amorphously mid-market, varyingly electrified and quite same-ish Renault SUV crossovers frankly bewildering. I would challenge even the most dedicated Renaultiste to tell an Austral from a Rafale from an Arkana from a Megane E-Tech from a Scenic E-Tech from a Symbioz – the last of which I had the pleasure of covering a few hundred miles in. And when I say pleasure, I mean I actually liked it, much against my prejudices.
It’s a Renault, a brand I’ve never warmed to; it’s yet another SUV crossover thing; and it’s a hybrid, and thus a rather futile compromise that in most circumstances gives you the worst of both a traditional fossil-fuelled motor and a proper electric car propelled purely by battery power. Yet..
. I liked it. There was something about this unprepossessing, almost anonymous personal transport that just felt “right”; the sort of sensation that can make one less fussed about value for money, say, or the comparatively weak warranty.
A good deal of this feelgood factor is down to the interior, and specifically the Symbioz’s ease of operation. You don’t have to try too hard to get the best out of a Symbioz. The 10.
25” vertical touchscreen, for example, feels just the right size, and is perfectly angled towards the driver – who already has the advantage of unusually comfortable, fully heated faux-leather seats, which proved excellent during a long and .