Presented in June 2023, the Renault Rafale, the new high-end model from the diamond brand, is now available to order and will hit our roads before next summer. Find out its price and all the information you need to know.
Only a few months left before a new Renault vehicle hits the roads. And it’s not just any car since the Rafale, presented at the Paris Air Show in June 2023, is intended to be the flagship of the diamond brand. The high-end SUV coupe has been available for order since February 13 with two equipment levels: Techno and Alpine. The manufacturer has set the entry price for the Rafale E-Tech full hybrid at 45,000 euros, in its Techno finish, while the Alpine finish, the most high-end, will be accessible from 49,000 euros. The first deliveries are expected before next summer. Furthermore, Renault confirms the release of a high-performance 300 horsepower E-Tech 4×4 version by the end of the year.
History will record that it was on June 18, 2023, as part of the Paris Air Show, that the Rafale responded to the call for the first time. The name’s nod to aeronautics is obvious, but did you know that before the well-known fighter plane, the Rafale was mainly a Renault plane released during the 1930s? Developed since the fall of 2020, the Rafale will have been entirely designed under the direction of designer Gilles Vidal, a defector from Peugeot during the summer of the same year. And it is precisely against the Peugeot 408, among others, that the new flagship of the Renault brand will have to impose itself on the increasingly competitive SUV market. Let’s go discover it.
Photos of the Renault Rafale
There is no point looking for similarities between the Rafale and its predecessors, the Austral and the Espace. Although also produced in the Palencia factory in Spain, the latest SUV from the French brand displays a new, more modern visual identity. With its very flat hood, its protruding edges, its very elaborate diamond grille (of different sizes!) and its tapered rectangular headlights – without forgetting the boomerang-shaped LED lights integrated into the shield already seen on the restyled Clio V -, The Rafale offers, by far, the most aggressive face of the Renault SUVs. Its front is also reminiscent of that of the Peugeot 3008 designed by a certain…Gilles Vidal.
At the back, there too the lines are marked. Like any self-respecting coupe, the stern is very vertical with a widely inclined rear window (at 17 degrees), which allowed the manufacturer to save on the rear window wiper. The spoiler, in the extension of the roof, and the small fin, at the end of the stern, bring an aerodynamic side to this SUV with a very sporty look. As on the front, the rear lights are very tapered and give the Rafale a sharp look. Finally, the name Rafale appears in the center of the tailgate in small letters and in rather harmonious calligraphy.
20 centimeters larger than the Austral, the Rafale measures 4m71 in length, just one centimeter less than the new Renault Espace. Wider (1m86) but lower (1m61) than its two “brothers”, the future high-end SUV from the diamond brand confirms its refined line when viewed in profile. The manufacturer indicates that the Rafale tires will be a little wider on the Rafale, which will be fitted with large 20-inch rims on the Esprit Alpine finish, one of the two offered with the Techno finish at the start of marketing.
It’s difficult to present the Renault Rafale without talking about its large panoramic roof. As on the Espace, the surface of the window on the future SUV measures no less than 1m2 but benefits from a new feature from Saint-Gobain. The manufacturer’s technology, a leader in its field, has been called SolarBay and makes it possible to opacify all or part of the surface of the window made up of liquid crystals and composed of nine segments. By activating a small button, or by simple voice command, the Renault Rafale user will be able to choose as they wish how to obscure the exterior light.
Unlike the exterior, the interior of the vehicle has many similarities with those of the Austral and the new Espace, particularly in terms of the layout of the furniture. Among the new features, we will still note the new graphic design of Renault’s OpenR Link multimedia system, the steering wheel with a slightly squarer shape, and the sporty seats with side reinforcements. And to give even more character to its high-end model, the French manufacturer has used new materials, such as black cork on the dashboard and the sliding handle on the central console for the Techno finish and natural slate. for the Esprit Alpine finish.
The engines of the Renault Rafale
No big surprises regarding the engine of the Techno and Esprit Alpine versions with some déjà vu at Renault, particularly on the Austral. The two models offered at the SUV’s launch in the middle of next year will in fact be equipped with the 200 hp hybrid E-Tech engine. But the manufacturer assures that a new plug-in hybrid engine (PHEV) will complete the offer at the end of the year, with the combination of the 3-cylinder 1.2 TCE and an electric motor installed at the rear of the vehicle. which will allow the SUV coupe to reach a power of 300 hp with all-wheel drive (4×4)!
When will the Renault Rafale be released?
Presented in June 2023, Renault’s newborn will arrive on the roads twelve months later since the diamond brand announces the first deliveries of the Rafale just before summer. Orders for the high-end SUV opened in mid-February.
What is the price of the Renault Rafale?
Designed in two finishes, Techno for the entry-level and Esprit Alpine for the high-end, the Renault Rafale will cost a little less than the first estimates suggested. The entry price of the new model from the diamond brand will be significantly below 50,000 euros, which is rather good news for potential buyers. The SUV in the Techno finish, without any options, will be available from 45,000 euros (or 430 euros/month for long-term rental, excluding insurance, with a first rent of 5,000 euros). For the crème de la crème, the Rafale Esprit Alpine, again without additional options, the ticket will start at 49,000 euros (470 euros/month for long-term rental, excluding insurance, with a first rent of 5,000 euros). We do not yet have a price indicator for the cost of the future 300 horsepower 4×4 version but the price should certainly increase by several thousand euros.