Renault Symbioz new for 2027

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Renault is planning to completely overhaul its Australian line-up with the debut of six new models by mid-2027, starting with the mild- and full-hybrid Symbioz – a spacious, Spanish-built SUV that straddles the small and medium segments, and shares much of its DNA with the smaller Captur SUV.

Riding on the same CMF-B platform as the facelifted Captur (not yet confirmed for Australia), the Symbioz shares the Captur’s striking new front-end with Renault’s latest design language, as well as its 2639mm wheelbase length, 1797mm width and 1567mm height.

But the Symbioz expands overall length to 4412mm (from 4228mm) for a class-leading 624 litres of boot space in European trim with its adjustable rear bench seat slid forward (or 492 litres with the rear seat slid back).

The Symbioz will also become Renault’s first ‘series-parallel’ hybrid offered in Australia – headlined by an 80kW/107Nm 1.8-litre petrol four-cylinder engine paired with a 36kW/205Nm electric motor and supported by a 1.4kWh battery pack.

During acceleration up to 60km/h, this powertrain uses the electric motor rather than the petrol engine, reducing fuel consumption by a claimed 40 percent in stop-start city driving. When braking, coasting or decelerating, the hybrid system recovers energy to replenish the battery.

In European form, the Symbioz Hybrid has a combined WLTP fuel-consumption figure of 4.6L/100km – a number that is likely to be lower when measured against Australia’s ADR81/02 standard. Renault Australia claims a WLTP driving range of up to 1000km.

The European Symbioz Hybrid manages 0-100km/h in a claimed 9.1 seconds.

The entry-level, mild-hybrid Symbioz features the same 1.3-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder as the facelifted Captur, offering outputs of 104kW/245Nm and transferring drive via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission to the front wheels.

Due here in the second half of 2026, Renault Australia is yet to announce pricing or confirm the Symbioz variant line-up and exact specification, but it has outlined key equipment highlights.

These include:

• A panoramic sunroof called ‘Solarbay’ which has an embedded filament (Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal or PDLC) that can be dimmed on demand
• Premium Harman Kardon audio with nine speakers including subwoofer
• Google built-in connected services
• 10.4-inch portrait infotainment screen
• 10.25-inch instrument cluster
• 18- or 19-inch alloy wheels

In terms of European driving dynamics, Renault claims the Symbioz offers well-calibrated safety technology, easy-to-use cabin controls and will stand out as a small SUV for people who don’t want to drive a ‘same-same’ vehicle.

It benefits from the chassis upgrades introduced to the Captur in 2024, including revised suspension geometry, retuned dampers and recalibrated electric power steering for “a more dynamic ride” with improved body control, enhancing its fun-to-drive appeal.