For its new Kangoo, Renault gives priority to professionals. To benefit from an electric Combispace E-Tech version, and a fortiori from a long variant capable of accommodating seven passengers, it will therefore be necessary to be patient, while the Maubeuge plant is ramping up.
At 4.49 m long, the new Kangoo is already much larger than its predecessor. But that will not prevent Renault from offering an extended version. This time, we will reach 4.91 m, barely 9 cm less than a Trafic L1H1. We are now far from the format of the very first generation, which measured just 4 m in 1997… ie 5 cm less than a current Clio! However, it is not yet clear exactly how the Diamond intends to distribute these additional 42 cm between the wheelbase and the rear overhang. Our illustration has thus played on both fronts in an attempt to maintain a rather balanced aesthetic.
TO READ. Renault Kangoo: the saga of the most fun of utility vehicles
No seven-seater Kangoo for two years
Initially, this XXL variation will be reserved for professionals only, under the number L2. To see it open to families, and thus accommodate up to seven passengers, the Losange revealed to us that we would have to wait until 2023. Blame it on the gradual ramp-up of the Maubeuge plant in northern France, where this third generation is manufactured. Those in a hurry will therefore have to turn to the new Volkswagen Caddy or to the quartet composed of Peugeot Rifter, Citroën Berlingo, Opel Combo and Toyota Proace City Verso. All are already available in two lengths and with a seven-seater option.
Electricity opens up to families
The four twins of the Stellantis group are also preparing to receive the reinforcement of an electric motor this fall. An alternative which is still on the program of their competitor Renault, a pioneer of “connected” utilities. The electric Kangoo 3 E-Tech should therefore be marketed at the end of the year, in a Van version to begin with. As a bonus, while the previous generation reserved this choice only for companies, this will no longer be the case this time. In 2022, the combispace will also be able to receive this 102 hp (75 kW) electromotor., powered by a 44 kWh battery. On paper, these characteristics are lower than the 136 hp and 50 kWh claimed by the competitors of Stellantis. But these rivals only achieve such power in Sport mode, and their useful capacity is limited to 46.2 kWh. Their autonomy therefore promises to be close, or even less in winter, because the Kangoo will be the only one equipped with a heat pump, with its Mercedes EQT and Nissan NV250 clones.
TO READ. Comparison test: the 2021 Renault Kangoo challenges the Citroën Berlingo
