New Renault Filante luxury SUV to push brand upmarket

Renault will reveal its new range-topping Filante SUV on January 13 with the unenviable task of rivalling high-end cars from Genesis, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. 

The new model will be built in, and largely for, South Korea. Developed as part of Renault’s long-standing joint venture with Samsung, it’ll be built in the same Busan facility as the overseas-market Koleos SUV, a car that didn’t survive in Europe beyond its first two generations.

Few technical details of the Filante have been revealed so far, but the teaser images reveal it will have a long and relatively low silhouette, with an upright nose and large daytime running lights similar to those on the latest Clio. 

Described by Renault as a luxurious E-segment model, the Filante will probably be around five metres long, with a lavish interior offering lots of space in the second row, plus high-end materials and the firm’s latest infotainment displays. 

These Korean-built models don’t sit on a Renault platform, though. Instead they are based on a shared Geely architecture that was co-developed with Volvo, and is currently used by the popular XC40 SUV. 

The Filante should share this same architecture, as well as a range of four-cylinder petrol and hybrid powertrains currently offered in the smaller Koleos. There are no EV options on the cards, despite the platform being flexible enough to support it. 

But why produce a new flagship model that won’t be available in France, and by extension other European markets? Rather than aim for an area of the market with tiny sales figures here, the Filante can be optimised specifically for South Korea, where this larger class of car is still very popular. It’ll rival cars from brands like Genesis, BMW and Mercedes Benz, being marketed as a premium European rival. 

The new SUV is one of eight new models in Renault’s ‘International Game Plan’, and it will be joined by a glut of internationally focused models that aim to broaden the brand’s success outside Europe in the next 12 months. And while it won’t reach British showrooms, it will give us an insight into Renault’s future design language for future high-end European models. 

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