Renault Symbioz

Renault's latest take on the family crossover promises spaciousness, affordability and efficiency. Does it deliver? Renault boss Luca de Meo has a knack for populism when it comes to new models, and the new Renault Symbioz demonstrates that clearly.He is evidently very happy for the formerly alternative and once innovative volume car brand that he now runs to simply keep on bringing out the kind of cars that people are actually buying right now.The French firm has a number of models on sale in the UK across the well-worn B-segment (supermini), C-segment (compact) and D-segment (mid-size) – and many of them could loosely be described as SUVs.The Symbioz is one of those cars. It's a hybrid-powered, smaller sibling for the Austral, and between the two, Renault hopes to outnumber and outflank the likes of the Nissan Qashqai, Kia Sportage and Volkswagen Tiguan.Described by Renault's small car design chief as "more rational and less emotional", it has purely been conceived for families and fleets with an upright, boxy proportions, decent interior space and hybrid power. But does it live up to these credentials whilst truly differentiating itself from talented, wide-reaching competition?