FIRST DRIVE: We sample SA-bound Renault Arkana on French roads

Onion soup, salmon, escargot and rich meat dishes are prominent options found in the menus of the hundreds of eateries in Paris but cuisses de grenouilles (frogs’ legs) surprisingly less so.

I settled for a plate of rognon de boeuf (beef kidneys) at Café Bleu because it seemed the sort of comforting and austere dish that you want when lunching right in front of a French Gothic Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres that was built back in 1145.

Anyway, the kidneys were a slightly morose affair but what wasn’t as gloomy was the drive down to this quaint village of Chartres south of Paris at the wheel of the Renault Arkana.

The Arkana is a coupe-SUV for five with a similar façade to the current Clio, but larger. The swoopy styling fits right in with modern car trends, and the stylishly dressed tourists and Parisians who flock the cobbled surfaces of the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées.

But because Paris has some 2-million people and there are an estimated 38-million cars in the country, pollution is a real concern.

This is why the Arkana also comes with a hybrid derivative, the model that Renault SA wants to market in this country from 2024. At slower speeds on our way out of the city the car automatically selected full EV mode, and cruised silently to speeds beyond 60km/h before the electric motor yielded to the 1.5l four-cylinder petrol engine to propel the car while recharging the depleted batteries.

It also looks good blasting past drenched forests. On these open freeways which led us to Chartres, the Arkana hybrid system, which musters 140kW and 148Nm, powers the car from 0-100km/h in 10.8 seconds while braking regenerates the 1.2kWh battery. Fuel consumption average is claimed at 4.8l/100km.

The drive quality was luxuriant. I was able to adjust the seat for my preferred low-seat squab, high steering wheel position.

The ergonomics are decent too with all key functions an easy reach with logical placement. The view out back is stunted a bit due to the sloping roof line but the trio of mirrors do a good enough job to survey any action coming from behind.

The easy operation made driving from the left less troublesome, which also helped with confidence to rate the car's high speed cornering abilities. The front-wheel drive configuration returns ample front-end grip to play around in and the Arkana remains cushy and poised even in sections where the surfaces aren’t perfect.

The Arkana cabin is roomy, with wide and comfortable seats and not much claustrophobia for rear passengers. The boot is deep enough too but the large hatch isn’t electrically-operated.

The functions and luxuries in the test car were up to date. They included Android Auto and Apple CarPlay which were utilised substantially to navigate and to offer the musical company.

The dash design and décor is similar to the current Renault setups we have in SA, with a colourful screen display, though it looks a little dated compared to the larger one in the all-new, fully-electric Megane which we got to see at the Paris Motor Show.

As an early taste of what’s to come, local Renault loyalists are in for a visually powerful car with the Arkana, which will be the first electrified Renault to be sold in SA.