The Renault Rafale 4x4 300 Is The Joint-Most Powerful Renault Ever

What do you suppose is the most powerful road car to ever wear Renault badges? If you said the top Trophy version of the recently deceased Megane RS, then congratulations: you’re right. Except as of today, you’re only sort of right, because that car’s 296bhp output has just been matched by… a hybrid crossover.

It’s the new Rafale E-Tech 4x4 300 hp, the range-topping version of Renault’s large-ish ‘coupe’ SUV. Under the bonnet sits the 1.2-litre petrol three-cylinder from lesser Rafales, which has been given an uprated turbocharger, taking power to 150bhp and torque to 170lb ft. Working alongside it are not one, not two, but three electric motors – one driving the front wheels, one driving the rears, and a third acting as a 34bhp starter-generator motor for the engine.

It’s driven through Renault’s ‘multi-mode’ gearbox, which combines a regular four-speed auto with two ‘electric gears’ for a virtual six-speed ’box. The result of all this complicated-sounding hybridness is much easier to understand: a 0-62mph time of 6.4 seconds, which is reasonably swift if not quite on par with performance-biased Renaults of old. All-electric range is said to be 62 miles, with the car apparently capable of ‘up to’ 621 miles with a fully filled tank and juiced battery.

It’ll be available in two trim levels, both of which bear the name of Renault’s sporty Alpine sub-brand – Esprit Alpine and Atelier Alpine. The latter version is the range-topper, and gets a tricksy smart suspension system. It works in a similar way to DS’s Active Scan Suspension, using a camera at the top of the windscreen to scan the road ahead and prepare the suspension for the likes of speed bumps and potholes.

The Rafale E-Tech 4x4 300 is set to go on sale in the UK in autumn, with pricing to be announced next month. Like it or not, this is what reasonably fast cars with Renault badges look like now – hot hatches will now be the domain of Alpine, and they too will look quite different to what went before.