Renault’s new flagship SUV leaked

Renault next Space has been leaked ahead of its March 28 reveal, which will serve as the brand’s new flagship SUV.

Autospy has published an image of what appears to be an owner’s manual, detailing how to access the third row.

They indicate the Espace will measure 4720mm in length, 1830mm in width and 1645mm in height with a wheelbase of 2740mm.

Compared to Renault’s current flagship SUV, the Koleos, it’s 47mm longer on a 35mm longer wheelbase but 13mm narrower and 22mm lower.

Leaked images show the ability to add six car seats which based on European safety standards allow children to sit in the front passenger seat provided the airbags are disabled.

No boot capacity figures are available yet, but Renault has confirmed the Espace’s interior will measure 2.48m in length.

The Espace will be offered in five- or seven-seat configurations.

The company recently revealed the Espace’s available panoramic glass roof, which it claims is larger than any on the market. It measures 1.33m long and 84cm wide.

Renault earlier this year teased a video of the new Espace, which received a major redesign for its 40th anniversary.

Since its launch in 1984, the Espace has been a people mover, although in its latest generation it received some crossover design cues.

As for the new model, it now looks very similar to the stretched version of the Austral crossover.

The brand has confirmed the Espace will use the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance CMF-C/D architecture that underpins the Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan Trail and Renault Austral.

The outgoing Espace also uses the CMF-C/D architecture.

The upcoming Espace and Austral share a similar side profile with the headlights and taillights looking almost identical.

A longer, flatter roofline is evident on the Espace to make room for a third row of seats.

Currently, Renault only produces the Espace in left-hand drive, but it is unclear whether the new model will be produced for the right-hand drive market.

Renault Australia has not confirmed a local launch for the model, but said it “could do well”.

It also confirmed the Koleos will continue locally for 2024 “and after that we don’t know”. The Koleos is built in Korea, and Renault Korea Motors plans to launch a range of medium to large SUVs for that market and export markets.

One of these could prove to be a successor to the Koleos. The new model will use a platform from Geely following the Chinese carmaker’s acquisition of a third of Renault Korea Motors.

In March last year Renault released the latest Austral, which at this stage is not confirmed for Australia.

At the time of Austral’s reveal in March last year, a spokesperson for the brand’s local distributor said “we will put our hands on any right-hand drive product and then evaluate it for our market”.

The brand currently offers the Captur, Arkana and Koleos SUVs and the Kangoo, Trafic and Master vans in its local lineup, with the Megane RS hot hatch due out this year.

The new Megane E-Tech Electric will join the range later this year.