Four cool things we love about the new Renault Arkana

The swoopy Renault Arkana has arrived in Australia, bringing with it coupe-like styling and some pretty cool features.

While not a direct replacement for the brand’s small Kadjar SUV, the Arkana slots into Renault’s line-up of SUVs in between the city-sized Captur and the mid-sized Koleos.

Pricing starts at $33,990 plus on-road costs for the entry-level Zen model, and will top out at $40,990 with the sportier-styled RS Line variant when it arrives early in 2022.

You can read all the details on the Arkana’s pricing and specification here, but in the meantime, having just taken delivery of our week-long test car, here are some pretty cool features we've found in and on the new Renault Arkana.

Look, we’ve not always been fans of the recent phenomenon known as SUV coupes. Setting aside that by definition a coupe has two doors, the idea that a high-riding SUV can be deemed a ‘coupe’ simply by dint of the fact that its roof line slopes away towards the rear, always left us a little cold.

But, looking at the Renault Arkana in the metal, we have to admit that its coupe styling works. Whereas some SUVs (not naming names) manage to look a little fat and bloated, like a slightly overweight cyclist crammed into a suit full of lycra, the Arkana’s proportions simply work. And work well.

Possibly, that’s down to the Arkana’s small-SUV stature, which simply lends itself to the coupe-SUV phenomenon.

Styling is subjective, of course, but to our eyes, the Arkana is a pretty SUV ‘coupe’ with nice proportions and just the right amount of swagger from that sloping roof line. Nicely matched with 17-inch alloys, the Arkana’s stance on the road, on first impressions, feels just right.

Another feature not exclusive to Renault, but in terms of ergonomics and a simple user experience, the portrait-style infotainment screen available from the mid-spec Arkana Intens and up is a delight.

It’s often confounded us why more carmakers don’t use this layout, the portrait screen mirroring our everyday lived experience outside of cars. When was the last time you saw anyone using a smartphone in landscape format? Exactly.

Portrait screens. There should be more of them. They’re better to look at and more intuitive to use. What’s not to like?

Again, Renault isn’t the first carmaker to provide a boot with a floor that lifts up to reveal another storage area capable of hiding objects away from prying eyes. But, visually at least, the Arkana’s is generously proportioned and practical.

Measuring in at 96cm by 96cm square and with a depth of 17cm, the second boot compartment looks capable of holding plenty of your stuff that you don’t want passers-by to spy when you duck into the shops. Nice.

This feature is definitely one we’d love to see in all cars. Maybe I’m just a cranky old bastard, but I sometimes find the clickety-click clickety-click clickety-click noise the indicator makes when engaged inside the cabin infuriatingly loud.

Citroën is one culprit, and Ford too, the sound of indicators clicking away like a woodpecker pecking the inside of my skull. Others here at Drive agree with me, while talking on the phone to people while driving (safely of course) sometimes elicits ‘Are those your indicators making that sound? S*** that’s loud!’. And it is.

But, hooray for Renault, which has solved this problem with variable indicator sounds. Don’t like how loud the blinkers are blinking in the cabin? You can turn them down via the car’s settings in the infotainment screen.

The default setting is ‘High', also known as annoyingly loud, but users can also select ‘Middle’ that cranks the volume down to a nice level. Or, if you want quieter still, ‘Low’ mode dulls the blinking down to an almost imperceptible clickety-click that, we imagine, would be almost inaudible once on the move. Perfect.

Of course, the downside is we often use that clicking sound as a reminder our indicators are in fact on. And not being able to hear them could mean we drive off blissfully unaware our orange lights are flashing and indicating a direction of travel we have no intention of taking, thereby inciting reactions from fellow road users from mild annoyance to outright road rage. Hmmm, maybe the ‘Middle’ setting is the way to go.

We’re not sure if Renault is the first carmaker to offer this feature, but it’s certainly the first time we’ve come across it. A big thumbs up.

Stay tuned for our full review of the new Renault Arkana on Drive in the coming days.