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Road Test
passion, exploration and family

We review the Renault Frendzy (2014) from price to economy and all its features

State-of-the-art ... the Frendzy concept blows away Kangoo's boring tag
 

FUNKY interior lighting, iPad controls, radio frequency cargo-load ID and a 37in LED display screen — this is the van of the future.

We’ve just had an exclusive first drive of Renault’s Frendzy concept which gives a glimpse of the styling and technology for the next generation Kangoo.

Despite being purely about function rather than foxiness, the Kangoo has been a major part of Renault, selling 1.5MILLION since 1997.

It’s a vital component of their commercial success as Europe’s No1-selling van firm, off-loading up to 350,000 vehicles a year. As Renault’s car sales have toiled in recent years, this side of their business has become even more crucial.

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The Frendzy is the fourth in a range of six concepts designed to introduce Renault’s new design language. We’ve already driven the DeZir sports car, Captur crossover and R-Space MPV. They were designed to represent passion, exploration and family, respectively — now the Frendzy is designed for work with Wisdom and Play concepts still to be revealed.

At 4,091mm long, 1,872mm wide and 1,743mm high, the zero-emissions Frendzy sits between Renault’s current Kangoo Compact and Kangoo vans. It is powered by a 59bhp electric motor and a lithium-ion battery.

This is White Van Man gone glam! The Kangoo has always looked like a dull Popemobile. Owners will be praying the next version looks like the Frendzy.

However, the cleverest part of the concept is that it has two personalities. It’s the perfect workhorse for Monday to Friday then, at the touch of a button, it can turn into a family car for weekends.

On the right side, it’s strictly business, with a sliding door for easy loading. Built into the door is a 37in digital screen, which, in theory, can display anything that’s loaded onto the iPad — or Blackberry Playbook tablet in this concept — docked next to the driver’s seat.

Big TV star ... Frendzy has huge billboard screen on side

It’s the ideal mobile billboard for the small business on the road.

But the Jekyll and Hyde character of the Frendzy is achieved by pressing a button in the back. That swivels the back seats up from the floor for rear passengers. It also changes the colour of the ambient lighting — green for work and orange for family. A pair of Vauxhall Meriva-style suicide-opening doors are on the opposite side to the LED screen and there’s even an integrated blackboard for the kids and another tablet built into the back of the driver’s seat.

The interior feels like a cross between a sauna and Starship Enterprise. The lighting beams from ovals sprouting out of the aluminium shell like some sort of exotic fruit.

Meanwhile, the floor is a wood veneer while the front and rear seats are made up of a leather and metal weave — they are more sculpture than chair and just about as comfortable.

The cockpit is pure drama, with a dazzling array of colours and digital displays that would bamboozle Captain Kirk. The dash wraps around the driver with the floating console which houses the tablet dock and simple gear selector while a pair of digital screens behind the wheel display all the car’s vital statistics.

With any van though, practicality is the acid test — and this Frendzy is very versatile. The front passenger seat hinges neatly forwards and flat to the dash, while the rear seats fold flush into the floor, creating 2,250litres of total loading space.

A split tailgate consists of a lower part, which drops down electrically, and a top part that lifts up to create a huge opening.

The boot floor is even magnetised to hold metal crates and boxes in place, while the roof is covered in a flexible material that can STRETCH should an object be slightly too high for the cargo area.

The Frendzy’s door sills have sensors that log the loading or unloading of packages equipped with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chips. That allows you to track exactly what’s on board via a tablet mounted at the front.

Axel Breun, Renault’s concept car design boss, admits all the technologies are feasible. He said: “The tablet is achievable now and the LED screen could easily be an option — but all are possible within three to five years.”

This is only a concept so it’s not built to take a tough trial on the secret test track in Paris. Three gentle pushes on the switchgear and a ‘D’ flashes up on the digital display to show that you are in Drive mode.

On the move it’s based on the Kangoo Zero Emissions (ZE), which has a range of about 100 miles and 80mph top speed. Renault have even worked with an acoustic firm to create a sound for their silent-running plug-in. Disappointingly, it just drones like a vacuum cleaner — making it seem like the fastest Dyson in the world!

But if Renault can bring this amount of functionality, versatility and style to their new vans they will certainly continue to Hoover up big sales.

White Van Man has gone space-age. The future of practicality is out of this world.

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