2024 Renault Rafale Coupe-SUV Unveiled

Renault, the French automotive company, has recently unveiled its new coupe-SUV, the Rafale, targeted at international markets. Positioned as Renault's flagship SUV in the D-SUV segment, the Rafale shares its underpinnings with the Espace and Austral, utilizing Renault's CMF-CD platform. The SUV's design language has been overseen by Gilles Vidal, Renault's Design Director.

The Rafale will be Renault's new flagship for European markets.

The 2024 Renault Rafale measures 4,710mm in length, 1,860mm in width, and 1,610mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2,740mm, akin to the Renault Espace MPV. Moving to the design the Rafale features a sculpted front bumper with a prominent central air dam and angular vertically stacked light clusters on the outer edges. The prominent grille is flanked by angular LED headlamps. The rear of the SUV is characterized by Y-shaped taillights, a sharply raked rear windscreen, an integrated roof-mounted spoiler, and a sleek rear bumper. The Rafale sits on 20-inch alloy wheels fitted with 245mm tires.

Despite its coupe-like roofline, Renault says the Rafale maintains sufficient headroom for rear passengers. The spacious boot offers a capacity of 647 litres. Notably, the Rafale features a large Solarbay panoramic glass roof developed by Saint-Gobain, measuring 1,470 x 1,117 mm, which can be controlled using voice commands via Google Assistant.

The Rafale will be offered with E-Tech hybrid powertrains including a plug-in hybrid

The cabin itself follows a minimalist design theme in line with other newer Renault models. The centre console is dominated by a portrait-style touchscreen alongside a digital instrument cluster. A few physical switches sit below the touchscreen with little else to talk about on the centre console. The gear selector is moved to a stalk behind the steering.

Under the hood, the 2024 Renault Rafale will initially only be offered with the brand's E-Tech hybrid powertrain. This self-charging hybrid system consists of a 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, two electric motors, and a 2kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

Minimalist interior is in line with other new Renault models

Renault plans to introduce a plug-in hybrid variant of the Rafale, featuring a newly developed E-Tech 4x4 setup. This version will offer 296bhp of power, all-wheel drive capability with an additional motor on the rear axle, and updated rear-wheel steering, along with specific chassis tuning.

Written by Aaryan Sonsurkar