Cars inspired by airplanes are nothing new, but the Renault Rafale is arguably the most famous.
It is named after the Caudron-Renault Rafale, a 1934 racing aircraft that emerged from Louis Renault’s fascination with aviation and speed.
The Rafale aircraft broke records and won multiple awards, and we imagine Renault would love to replicate that level of success with this new SUV coupe.
The Renault beast
That’s probably why it is equipped with a fully hybrid engine and underpinnings partly developed by sports car manufacturer Alpine.
Every Renault Rafale comes with the same E-Tech Full Hybrid 200 enginewhich combines a 1.2-liter turbocharged engine with two electric motors (one 50 kW, the other a small 25 kW engine starter) and a 2 kWh electric battery.
You will almost always start in electric mode and continue driving on electricity until you put your foot down or the battery dies. The engine and hybrid system together produce 197 hp and, thanks to the electrically assisted instantaneous power, the 0-100 km/h time is 8.9 seconds.
It’s really easy to make good progress and you have more than enough oomph to accelerate when overtaking or reaching highway speeds. The fully hybrid Rafale will be followed by a plug-in hybrid version (PHEV) with four-wheel drive and much more power (296 HP). The PHEV will be faster and can go further on electricity alone.
In the Rafale E-Tech Full Hybrid 200, the only thing that really lets down the feeling of good progress is the slight pause that occurs between you stepping on the accelerator and the automatic gearbox down a couple of gears. That said, the gearbox is fine when driving normally, shifting gears smoothly.
equipment
No matter which trim level you choose, the Renault Rafale’s sports seats are comfortable and offer plenty of back and side support.
Plus, the six-way power-adjustable seats, including lumbar support, make it really easy to find the perfect driving position. Once you’ve found it, you can save the settings via the infotainment touchscreen.
When it comes to screens, you will find a 12.3-inch digital driver display behind the steering wheel and a 12.0-inch portrait-oriented infotainment touchscreen that’s slightly angled toward the driver. Both look sharp and the Google-based infotainment system responds quickly to stimuli.
You get plenty of features, including standard DAB radio, Bluetooth, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring, a voice control function and integrated Google Maps satellite navigation.
Will Renault Rafale be sold in Colombia?is a car that has been requested by the Colombian public, however, Renault Sofasa has not commented.
The car would sell for over $200 million pesos In that case and it would be the most expensive vehicle in the country if it is marketed, currently the Koleos, which exceeds $160 million pesos, is the most expensive truck from the French manufacturer.
Read more: Renault: Where are the cars sold in Colombia assembled?
