First drive: Renault Captur

Brushing aside the not-so-successful Koleos, Renault's latest release is its first proper foray into the burgeoning SUV/Crossover market. The Captur is practical, robust and spacious - everything one looks for in a crossover vehicle - but what is it like on the road? AOL Cars flew to the chic coastal city of Biarritz to find out...

What is it?

This is the vehicle Renault hopes will attract nearly as many, if not as many punters as its best selling Clio. Picture the Captur as a Clio that has gobbled a few protein shakes and spent the past few weeks performing pull-ups - it's based on the same basic underpinnings as the aforementioned hatch back (and comes in front-wheel-drive only) but rides 10cm higher and measures around 6cm longer. It's surprisingly compact from the outside and customers used to driving smaller runarounds won't really notice the difference when it comes to squeezing it into tight parking spaces. Prices start at £12,495 but can quickly escalate to around £18,000 when options boxes are ticked.