Renault Kangoo Van Range Car Review

Facts At A Glance MANUFACTURER: Renault MODEL: Kangoo BHP: 70bhp - 105bhp PAYLOAD CAPACITY: 519kg – 819kg LOAD VOLUME: 2.3m3 – 4.6m3 GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT: 1,755kg – 2,178kg LENGTH: 3,829mm – 4,597mm WIDTH: 1,829mm HEIGHT: 1,783mm – 1,836mm August 1st 2010

THE VAN THAT KANG

Our Rating: 7.1 / 10

Renault’s Kangoo van has developed a three-way personality. Is it enough for a striong performance in the compact van sector? Jonathan Crouch decides

Renault’s Kangoo van offers no fewer than three bodyshape sizes in a bid to cover all the bases in the compact van market. All three are well-built, pretty practical and pleasantly styled with an economy-focused engine range. If you’re buying in this sector, this is one of the models you need to consider.

These days, it’s no longer enough for a van maker like Renault to have one compact LCV in its model range: it needs several. The selection on offer must provide the company end-user with significantly more carrying capacity than the supermini-derived vans that until the turn of the century, were pretty much all this sector offered. Today, small vans must be purpose-built, the most compact kind designed to suit businesses prioritising urban manoeuvrability, while larger versions are sized no larger than an ordinary family hatchback, yet offer carrying capacity edging up towards the Transit or Renault Trafic-sized vans in the next class up.

The result of all that is the triple-header second generation Kangoo range we’re looking at here, first launched in 2007. There’s a shortened version called the Compact to contend with diminutive rivals like Citroen’s Nemo and Peugeot’s Bipper before you get into the full-fat Kangoo Van and Kangoo Van Maxi derivatives that take on models like VW’s Caddy, Citroen’s Berlingo and Peugeot’s Partner in the standard and lengthened versions you get with those vehicles. It all basically boils down to a three-way choice of wheelbase options but there are other differences and the overall effect is that Renault have three very different products with which to meet the needs of UK van customers.

The longer wheelbase of both the Kangoo Van and the even longer Kangoo Van Maxi model we tried helps in providing a more composed ride and handling package than the little Kangoo Compact, which bounces around far more. Compensation for customers of this smaller vehicle however, comes with a wonderfully tight turning circle of just 9.6m, which makes it superb in congested urban settings. That’s tighter than you’d find even on Renault’s Twingo citycar. All three Kangoo models have great forward visibility, courtesy of the extensive windscreen and truncated bonnet, while the well-weighted steering and positive gearchange also impress. Most smaller Kang

At the wheel of this Renault, you sit very upright, but quite comfortably thanks to the fact that both driver’s seat and steering wheel are height-adjustable, plus there are remote controls for the stereo on the steering column. On country roads, the wide track means that there’s actually a reasonable amount of grip, whilst in town, light electric power steering makes it easy to slot into tight spaces, although until you get used to the shape, judging the extremities of the car during parking manoeuvres can be slightly difficult as the bonnet slopes away from you. Performance is leisurely, with even the fastest diesel models taking around 13s to reach sixty from rest on the way to just over 100mph.

Most customers choose the 70bhp 1.5-litre dCi diesel that powers the Compact variant and most of the mid-range Kangoo Van derivatives, but at the top of the mid-sized range, there’s also the 85bhp dCi diesel unit also used in the biggest Kangoo Van Maxi. Like all Kangoos, it can haul a braked trailer grossing at 1,050kg but if you’re going to be doing that very often, we’d suggest you choose the range-topping Kangoo Van Maxi engine, a 105bhp version of this dCi unit putting out a useful 240Nm of torque. That means fewer gear changes for diesel drivers and a much more leisurely feel, especially when towing.

From the outside, this Kangoo looks relatively similar to the first generation model but slip inside and it’s clear that this is a far more modern proposition. Whichever bodystyle you choose - the 3.8 metre-long Compact, the 4.2 metre-long Van or the 4.6 metre-long Van Maxi - the cab is pretty much identical. Even on the largest Kangoo, because the windscreen is placed well forward of the driver, the impression is that you’re at the helm of a much bigger vehicle than you really are. Because the Kangoo doesn’t have a raised roof, even in this biggest Maxi guise, its overall height of just 1.82m means it’s compact enough to use in city centre car parks.

The basic dash