Updated Renault Kangoo Maxi van review – a big smart little van

It’s a strong contender in a very competitive sector of the business vans market

What’s hot

• The Renault Kangoo was always a cheeky looking little roustabout but the designers have added a stylish new front end for Phase 2. It really does look a treat, as you can see from the photos – and it’s not all for show either.
• The corners are swathed in black plastic, which means that when drivers add their own embellishments in the form of knocks and scrapes – as they inevitably will, especially if used in urban environments – they won’t show up as they would with colour-coded bumpers. And when they do they’ll be cheaper to repair.
• The Citan’s seats are pretty hard and Germanic, whereas the ones in the Kangoo are slightly softer and feel more comfortable at first touch.
  

  Well equipped with a 7″ touchscreen to drive an infotainment system with a TomTom sat nav, Bluetooth and other goodies all built in

• Our experience is that if you travel long distances – say more than 200 miles – the firmer seats are better for your back. This van, however, is more likely to be used for shorter trips, so we reckon the softer ones are the better option.
• The dash is different too. The Kangoo’s comes straight out of the Clio and is more stylish than the rather slablike Citan one.
• Being a Sport version, this van gets Renault’s R-Link system thrown in for free. It brings together all the van’s multi-media functions such as sat nav, radio, Bluetooth telephony and audio-streaming and offers a catalogue of apps that can be downloaded directly to the vehicle. All this is controlled by a seven-inch touchscreen.
• The unit includes a TomTom sat-nav, which we reckon is the best in the business.
• And look at fuel economy! Thanks to a bit of technological jiggery-pokery under the bonnet, this van is slated to return a tad over 60 miles per gallon. There’s an auto stop-start system and also an eco button which knocks down the power output slightly and gives around 10% better fuel economy. We tried playing with it on the move and couldn’t tell much difference between modes, so left it permanently on to save money.
• Mind you as we always point out, you are highly unlikely to achieve anywhere near the official figure on the open road as it’s been calculated with the van empty and on a rolling road, so there’s no wind resistance. We reckon a real-life figure in the low 50s is what you’ll actually get – even so, it’s not bad for a van of this size.
• Talking of size, the long wheelbase version will swallow four cubic metres in the rear. If you opt for the additional swivelling bulkhead and folding passenger seat at £275, loads of nine feet long (2.7m) can be accommodated. Fantastic for a compact van.
• Our review model was ply-lined in the rear. It costs about £200 to have that done but it is well worth it if you are going to be carrying any heavy or dirty cargo. Take the lining off when you sell it and your van will be worth about £500 more than a scuffed one.

Our only real moan is that ESC is an extra. Most van producers now include it as standard – and it’ll be a legal requirement this time next year

What’s not

• We’re going to climb on the old Business Vans safety soapbox here and once again bemoan the fact that Renault has chosen to leave Electronic Stability Control, which helps alleviate sideways skids, on the options list at £420. Why?
  It’s standard on the Citan and in fact standard on all vans from Ford, Iveco, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen. It’s also going to be a legal requirement on all vans after October next year. As it is reckoned to have saved thousands of lives already across Europe, we say it should be standard NOW. Come on Renault!
• On a more nit-picking note, the cigar lighter is situated right down on the floor behind the handbrake lever. If you don’t have one of the built-in sat nav units and you want to plug your own in, it means the wire gets all tangled up with the handbrake and dangles right across the dash. Damned annoying.
• On the road, the ride and handling are markedly improved over the Phase 1 Kangoo but we reckon the Kangoo is slightly noisier than the Citan – maybe it doesn’t have as much padding under the bonnet – and with five gears on offer this van desperately cries out for a sixth.
  The engine sounds too uncomfortable at motorway speeds. On a couple of occasions I accidentally tried changing up to a higher gear that wasn’t there.