The Renault Arkana demonstrates the manufacturer’s commitment to future mobility. For a number of reasons. To begin with the architecture of the car body, this clears the entry of the SUV-coupé bodywork into non-premium segments, proposing shapes that, until today, were reserved for models of the calibre of the BMW X6 and of competitors of a similar lineage. Secondly, the Arkana slots into the energy transition groove that is animating the brand to the cry of “Renaulution” and welcomes the E-Tech version into the range. The E-Tech is a hybrid capable of travelling up to 80% of the time in electric mode when it tackles urban routes and of travelling, again in the city, 3 completely zero-emissions kilometres. This is thanks to a 1.2 kWh battery and an electric motor that is paired with a 1.6 L petrol engine.
Projected forward, the car underlines, however, a link with the manufacturer’s past, and, more specifically, with the Renault 16 TX, which arrived at the beginning of the 1980s and upset the market with an elongated, hatch bodywork, almost like a station wagon, elegant lines, and quality features. It was something new, and was the first Renault to have 4 electric windows, production leather interiors, central locking, and electronic automatic transmission.
The Arkana was defined “subversive” and, slogan apart, is truly a unique model on the market, albeit there is – an irony of fate – a model with the same name produced and sold in Russia that is very similar in its look and totally different in its platform and architecture. Laurens van den Acker, head of Corporate Design Renault, uses these words to describe the Arkana: “It is original, able to combine the elegance of a sedan with the decisive lines of an SUV. It has athletic shapes and a strong personality, and it is a Renault for all intents and purposes thanks to the numerous common stylistic allusions to other models on sale”. The car highlights its double soul by offering two outfittings in the catalogue: Intens and R.S. Line: the first aimed more at elegance, the second with a sportier soul.
