Renault Kangoo van long-term test: report 3
The Kangoo has always stood for value in the small van sector, but does the latest version also offer car-like comfort and refinement? Our photographer is living with one to find out...
The car Renault Kangoo Advance Panel Van ML19 dCi 115 Run by Max Edleston, photographer
Why it's here The Kangoo is our reigning champion in the small van market, but how will it fare as a photographer’s apprentice?
Needs to Have space for all our snapper’s photography gear, be comfortable on big journeys, and function as a mobile office when needed
Mileage 9605 List price £26,785 Target Price £26,785 Price as tested £29,735 Test economy 49.7 mpg Official fuel economy 50.4mpg
18 May 2023 – Eco warrior
Over the past few weeks alone, I’ve racked up more than 1000 extra miles in my Renault Kangoo van. In most jobs, this sort of mileage would happen once in a blue moon, but for a What Car? photographer, this is what my journeys look like week in, week out.
Given my mega-mileage, then, you won’t be surprised to learn that fuel economy means a great deal to me, and that maximising how many miles I can get out of every tankful has become a sort of game – and one that, thanks to the Kangoo, I’m winning at.
You see, I’ve run economical cars and vans in the past, but I’m finding that the time spent between fill-ups in the Kangoo is longer than I've ever experienced previously. I’m comfortably managing upwards of 49mpg, and even more on trips that mainly involve motorway miles.
Helping this is the fact that, at the press of a button, I can put my van into Eco mode, which limits the engine’s revs to 4000rpm before it changes up a gear. That rather blunts the Kangoo’s performance on the motorway, but it’s still far from slow.
The Kangoo is also good at telling me just how green my driving is, thanks to a series of displays on the infotainment screen that show how much I’m accelerating and braking, and it also gives me tips on how to drive more smoothly. I’m pleased to say I’m slowly becoming a master of this; in time, I may even beat the Kangoo’s official fuel economy figure.
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