What’s in a name? In the case of Golfs, Mustangs and even Eighty-sixes, a lot. But not so for the Koleos. Not in Malaysia at least.

Locally, the French SUV bears a little-known nameplate for a brand that has always been struggling to pique the interest of the many worshippers of Japanese cars among us. But the inability of the general public to match the Koleos’s name to a car isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Not when the second generation presents a golden opportunity to start anew.

Despite the continued use of a label that didn’t stick, the new Renault Koleos looks and feels extremely fresh in concept, with little reference to its chubby predecessor that failed to outdo the Honda CR-V on the catwalk for all its Parisian quirks. Those quirks have evolved into fashion-forward design cues and lines so bold that they’re drawing comparisons with Europe’s finest SUVs, Audi Q7 included. And to think that it is technically a Nissan underneath.

A product of Carlos Ghosn’s Renault-Nissan Alliance, the new Renault Koleos is underpinned by the Common Module Family-CD (CMF-CD) platform shared with the Nissan X-Trail. The Japanese SUV’s dampers and 2,705mm wheelbase are part of the package, as is the 2.5-litre QR25DE engine hooked up to the familiar X-Tronic CVT that’s specified for the Malaysian market.

However, the only items vaguely resembling something that came from the Nissan parts bin are the Koleos’s door handles, with every other inch of its exterior uniquely penned in accordance with Renault’s new design language put in place by renowned Dutch designer Laurens van den Acker. The Senior VP of Renault Corporate Design once led the team responsible for Mazda’s range of ‘Nagare’ concept cars which was spearheaded by the Mazda Furai prototype infamously set on fire by TopGear in 2008. Like the Nagare (minus the sixth-degree burn), the new Koleos is an effective visual statement. And its beauty isn’t merely skin deep.

Wrap your fingers around the Nissan door handles and pull it away to transform the subject of your view from the silhouette of an Audi-esque SUV to a cabin with a hint of Volvo thanks to an attention-grabbing 8.7-inch touchscreen embedded into the centre of the dash similar to that of the new XC90. The boys at Renault must be fuming at our third party associations by now, but we treat them as compliments to a car dressed up to a standard beyond what’s expected of its RM173k price tag, inside and out.

So what of the way it drives?

Off the bat, the Koleos exhibits an extra dot of eagerness over the 2.5-litre Nissan X-Trail on which it is based. That’s because, unlike its Japanese cousin, the Renault forgoes the heavy 4x4 machinery in favour of front-wheel drive, which is perfectly sufficient for the daily grind. The total weight difference is only 1kg to the Koleos’s advantage, but the powertrain just feels a touch more refined at higher revs despite having access to the same 168 horses that mobilise the X-Trail. An eco-driven CVT and natural aspiration create the occasional need to rally the engine past 4,000rpm (it redlines at 6,000rpm) for both, but the Renault feels notably calmer than its sister SUV when pressured.

The suspension borrowed from the X-Trail, made up of MacPherson struts up front and multi-links in the rear, is supple enough, but you can’t escape bodyroll around fast-entered corners in an SUV that measures nearly 1.7 metres vertically. Adding weight in the rear might help keep the Koleos more planted, and there’s an abundance of space to accommodate it since the Koleos is a strict five-seater compared to its seven-seat cousin from the east – folding all seats down makes way for 1,690 litres of cargo volume, 170 litres more than the X-Trail’s maximum load.

Speaking of origins, the Renault Koleos’s Asian DNA goes beyond the Nissan-exchangeable parts within its big blue frame. Malaysian-spec stock is CBU imports hailing from Renault-Samsung’s plant in Busan, Korea. We have no complaints with the Korean workmanship, as all of the Koleos’s unique visual elements and integrated tech features are moulded together with German-rivalling build quality.

Our continued benchmarking of the Koleos against other makes including sister company Nissan is all to its benefit because it highlights the big Renault’s unique recipe that packages the best of east and west into one of the 21st Century’s favourite body styles, the SUV. If you’re a believer of Japanese reliability who has been secretly admiring the beautiful kinks and curves of European rides, now is the time to come out of the closet. In doing so, you’ll find that the Renault Koleos is blessed with continental charm, proven Nissan underpinnings, and is as feature-packed and practical as SUVs get for its price. A great all-rounder, really.

Who says you can’t have your gâteau and eat it?

Specs
Engine: 2,488cc, 4-cylinder DOHC, 168bhp, 226Nm
Economy: 8.1L/100km
Performance: NA
Weight: 1,615kg
Price: RM172,800

VERDICT: 8/10
Advanced styling and tech make it easy to mistake the Renault Koleos for a premium SUV costing twice its price. Performance is decent, but the prospect of Japanese reliability is a bigger draw.