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Final examination
Page 42
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CM keeps you up to date on how its commercial fleet is coping with the demands placed on it by our dedicated team of testers.
Price: f10,690 Engine: 1.5-litre, 86hp Payload: 500kg Mileage: 13,221 Expenses: Replacing fuel, oil, air filters [first service] Faults: None Average mpg: 46.8
Such was the pull of the Renault Kangoo, that CM extended its presence on the long-term test fleet for six months longer than intended. Rut. with Christmas on the horizon, time for the Kangoo Compact is up, and we have to draw our final conclusions.
It took, with the benefit of hindsight, a while to get to grips with the Compact version of the Kangoo.
Its spec — a 2.3-metre wheelbase, 500kg payload, 2.3m3 load space, and 1,760kg payload — is 384mm shorter, 150kg less, 0.7m smaller, and 158kg lighter than the like-for-like normal Kangoo van.
And with sizable chunks of the country to conquer, the Euro-4 1.5-litre common-rail engine, delivering 86hp and 200Nm torque from 1,750rpm through a five-speed manual transmission, didn't really look up to the task.
Its design and appearance took a little convincing, too. After all, we'd just come to terms with the longestablished first series design. Plus, the French have a history of 'quirky' desi,gns — Renault's own track record includes the Renault 4 Fourgonnette, the Estafette and the revamped Trafic.
After being coaxed inside with the promise of more food, the Kangoo exhibited many of its strengths during the time we had it. Its narrow track makes it an ideal urban delivery vehicle. It can nip through narrow gaps in city traffic and park up in the narrowest space.
Driving position and handling is paramount for a role like that — the attention paid to help the driver use as much internal space as possible is impressive, and, on the road, the steering and handling belie its size.
Over the course of time, the loadspace has proved more than adequate, especially with the sliding roof hatch at the back of the van, allowing for any awkward loads, and, in our case, fence posts.
Its Achilles' heel, though, remains the very thing that CM ended up doing with it — conquering sizable chunks of the country.
After repeated trips from north to south, and hack again, we have to remain in agreement with Renault's belief that its core market is the city. It's not a vehicle for long-haul work.
There isn't enough space, variety in seating position and lateral movement around the driving position. It just feels lost dealing with larger traffic on A-roads, by-passes, dual carriageways, and motorways. • Kevin Swallow