At the Busan Motor Show (BIMOS 2024), Renault unveils, in a world premiere, its Grand Koleos. A rather chic SUV measuring 4.78 m long, 2 cm longer than the all-new BMW X3. When it comes to style, the Renault Grand Koleos is up to date, its appearance is, apart from the daytime lighting signature, in the vein of the latest in-house creations.
But it will not complement the Renault Austral (4.51 m), Renault Rafale (4.71 m) and Renault Espace (4.72 m). Because despite its “large” designation, this newcomer remains a strict 5-seater – with a 633-liter trunk – and will be aimed at Asian markets, mainly China and Korea. In these markets, it is important to offer space, a lot of space to the rear passengers, which is never possible with 7-seater vehicles of this size, for which the third row is to be reserved for young children.
A chassis of… Geely Monjaro
Moreover its underside is Chinese, the Renault Grand Koleos is not based on the group’s CMF technical platform but on the chassis of the Geely Monjaro, a model launched in the Middle Kingdom in 2023. The Geely Monjaro and the Renault Grand Koleos share the same silhouettes, the design of the stern (apart from the shield and lower tailgate flap) is also strictly identical for the two models. From some angles, there’s also a resemblance to a comparably sized Mazda CX-60.
The Renault was entitled to a redesigned side of the body at the level of the quarter panels and of course, we told you about it above, a specific snout. That of the Geely Monjaro really looks like that of a Volvo model. The Chinese manufacturer Geely, owner of the Swedish brand, also owns 34% of Renault Korea. On board, the Renault Grand Koleos uses the furniture of its cousin Geely, a large digital interface handled horizontally which has nothing to do with the “L” shaped one of the Renaults that we have at home.
Available in 4×2 and 4×4 and 245 hp E-Tech hybrid
Ditto under the hood, with 2-liter turbo gasoline engines of 211 hp in 4×2 and 4×4 calibrated for local use and a hybrid offer of 245 hp in two-wheel drive which would have been relevant for us, sandwiched between that of 200 hp and the future 300 hp plug-in hybrid. However, in order to be compatible with the other models in the local range (Arkana and QM6), the Renault Grand Koleos is available in the Esprit Alpine, Iconic and Techno finishes.
