Along with the newly launched updated Kiger, the freshened-up Captur will serve as replacement for the non-starting next generation Clio.
Renault South Africa has made good on its announcement at the end of last year by confirming that the facelift Captur will, officially, go on-sale next month.
New outside
Announced at the unveiling of the revised Kiger in Cape Town last week, the brand has since started teasing the reworked second generation Captur on its social media pages, though an official launch date hasn’t yet been set.
Unveiled globally in April last year, the extensive visual updates to the Captur include a slimmer new grille complete with Renault’s new diamond logo, a redesigned bumper, new LED headlights, restyled fog lamps and new air intakes above the numberplate.
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New at the rear are so-called transparent LED light clusters, an updated bumper, the new logo on the bootlid and an updated imitation diffuser.
Small changes inside
Inside, the tablet-inspired infotainment system has been enlarged from 9.3-inches to 10.4-inches, the leather upholstery option dropped entirely, and the 10.25-inch instrument cluster relieved of any analogue readouts.
Also gone are the imitation chrome decorative inserts and the type-A USB ports, replaced with type-C outlets.
Same powertrain likely
Up front, the Captur, which provides the base for the Mitsubishi ASX in Europe and Australia, offers a choice of hybrid and mild-hybrid powertrains, however, for South Africa, the current pre-facelift model’s non-electrified engine is likely to continue.
This means outputs of 113kW/270Nm from the 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol co-developed with Daimler, directed to the front wheels through a seven-speed EDC transmission.
SUVs in, Clio out
Once on-sale, the Captur will seemingly become the de facto replacement for the new generation Clio revealed back in September.
This, after a report from cars.co.za days after the Clio’s reveal, alleged that the go-ahead for South Africa had not been given after the forced delay of the facelift the previous generation.
Teased at the end of last year in anticipation of a second quarter market launch this year, the automaker attributed an “[unfavourable] currency rate” as the reason for ultimately deciding not to bring the revised Clio to market.
At the same time, the decision to “delay” the turbocharged version of the updated Kiger till next year could be seen as having been too deliberate to structure a better price in place of lower-rung derivatives of the Clio.
The opposite will therefore apply to the Captur, which will replace the mid-spec and flagship versions of the Clio, as well as its pre-facelift sibling in a dual role.
Currently priced from R489 999 to R509 999, expectations are that Renault could possibly expand the Captur range now that the Clio has been ruled-out.
Whereas the range-topping Kiger, the normally aspirated Techno AMT, carries a price tag of R254 999, the arrival of the turbo next year will see it breach R300 000, therefore leaving a considerable gap between it and the present most affordable Captur.
Stay tuned…
As it stands, nothing regarding pricing of the turbo Kiger or the facelift Captur has been confirmed. Therefore, expect matters to only be resolved next month.
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