Renault has pulled the wraps off the facelifted Arkana, which benefits from a handful of relatively minor changes.
Starting up front, the crossover coupe wears the company’s new Nouvel’R logo. It’s joined by a revised grille with a “deliberately unstructured assortment of diamonds reverberating around the one in the middle.”
Additional changes are limited, but the previous chrome accents have been replaced by Black, Satin Black or Deep Glossy Black flourishes. Customers will also find updated taillights, a new Midnight Blue color, and dark chrome badging as well as tailpipes.
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Besides the styling tweaks, the big news is the addition of a range-topping Esprit Alpine trim. It features a unique exterior with a Satin Grey front blade, Shale Grey badging, a rear spoiler, and 19-inch wheels.
The upgrades continue in the cabin with fancy seats consisting of imitation suede and bio-sourced materials. The chairs look rather classy and have blue contrast stitching as well as an Alpine logo on the backrest.
Elsewhere, there’s “slate-like” trim and blue stripes on the seat belts. The model also has a minimalist e-shifter as well as red, white and blue stitching on the doors and steering wheel.
Aside from the new range-topping variant, the trim structure has been simplified as there are only two other options known as Evolution and Techno. The former is better equipped as it now comes standard with GPS navigation and an improved 7-inch display. The Techno, on the other hand, has a body-color blade as well as the same wheels as the old R.S. Line and E-Tech Engineered.
Under the hood, there are a handful of options including a hybridized 1.3-liter four-cylinder turbo with outputs of 138 hp (103 kW / 140 PS) and 156 hp (116 kW / 158 PS). The latter enables the crossover to accelerate from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in 9.1 seconds, before hitting a top speed of 108 mph (174 km/h).
Customers can also get a more advanced hybrid powertrain that consists of a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, two electric motors, a 1.2 kWh battery, and a “smart multi-mode clutch-less dog box.” It produces 143 hp (107 kW / 145 PS) and enables the model to hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in 10.8 seconds.
While it’s slow as molasses, the E-Tech variant “can run on the electric motor alone for up to 80% of the time in cities, which cuts consumption by up to 40% compared to a standard petrol engine.” The company added the model has an estimated combined fuel consumption of 4.7 L/100 km (50 mpg US / 60.1 mpg UK), which is significantly less than the 5.8 L/100km (40.6 mpg US / 48.7 mpg UK) obtained by the mild-hybrid variants.
The facelifted Renault Arkana will be available to order this summer, although the exact timing will vary by country.