If you google "Koleos" and "Sulayem", you'll find a short film on YouTube from last year. It involves Mohammed bin Sulayem, our very own rally racing legend and head of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE, behind the wheel of the then-introduced Renault Koleos, taking it up and down soft sand dunes south of Dubai. This, of course, was before Sulayem's infamous crash of a Renault Formula One car at the Dubai Autodrome.
Try another google search with "Koleos" and "Ski Dubai", and you'll watch the same crossover drive up the man-made ski hill in the Mall of the Emirates. You'll also see Nelson Piquet there doing donuts with his Renault F1 car on the snow. This, of course, was before Piquet was unceremoniously dumped from F1 for purposely crashing his Renault at last year's Singapore Grand Prix.
What does all this mean? Apart from it being a dire warning to any race car drivers not to buy this car, it's also Renault's attempt at showing other potential consumers the off-road chops of its first crossover SUV.
The French car maker borrowed some 4x4 technology from its sister company, Nissan, when designing this little off-roader. It also has good ground clearance, skid plates, short overhangs at the front and rear, a hill descent feature and a locking transmission to help it on its mission of off-road usefulness, and in the hands of bin Sulayem, it actually does a convincing job of being a decent off-roader.
But the Koleos is not the kind of vehicle that will spend much of its time off the tarmac. This is a people mover first and foremost, meant for families who want some room for passengers and cargo with decent fuel economy. And in that respect, it - again - certainly does the job.
It's a crowded market for smaller crossovers, so this Renault had better be good right off the dealer lot.But you also have to stand out from the crowd, and I'm not sure the Koleos does it enough. Oh, yes, it's not a bad-looking car; you might even call it muscular looking. But it's not really distinctive enough from the Hyundai, Ford and Toyota crossovers to draw that immediate and intense consumer interest.
Inside is a clean and well put-together cabin. It may not be the most creative design, but it's a pleasant place to spend a commute and full of good, high-quality materials. The dual sunroof really goes a long way in brightening up the space.
For cargo, the rear seats fold flat, and the rear door is a clamshell, two-part design, which is not only handy in tight spots but makes for a nice place for a tailgate party. But while it has 450L of cargo space, it's sister ship, the Nissan X-Trail, (on which the Koleos is based) boasts more than 600L.
Power comes from a 2.5L inline four cylinder that puts out 170hp. I could call this adequate at best, especially accelerating from lower speeds. On the motorway, though, there is more than enough power to keep up with UAE traffic.
The engine is mated to a still relatively unconventional continuously variable transmission (CVT). You can't really call it a gearbox, because it has no gears, per se. With a belt and variable pulleys, it theoretically stays in the right gear ratio at all times; better for fuel economy and performance.
The only problem I have with it is a characteristic shared with all CVTs: when under heavy acceleration, the engine revs high - up to around 5,000 rpm in the Koleos - and stays there, with no shifting. It's a bit unnerving, but don't worry, it's working like it should.
So why does it have a shift mode that mimics a conventional gearbox, letting you shift into imaginary gears? The only possible reason is for its off-road performance, allowing you to better control the engine speed. Otherwise, why fake it?
The handling isn't what you could call sporty at all. Steering is vague and there is a fair amount of body roll around corners. But the general ride is comfortable for what a family would be looking for. Even at speed, it stays solid and cushy.
Overall, I liked the Koleos, especially for the price. It didn't exactly set my heart on fire, but it was a comfortable ride that gave me a feeling it was worth more than the sticker price.
I've given the Koleos back, but you won't find any video of me with it. Call me superstitious; I just don't want to tempt fate.
nvorano@thenational.ae
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
RESULT
Liverpool 4 Southampton 0
Jota (2', 32')
Thiago (37')
Van Dijk (52')
Man of the match: Diogo Jota (Liverpool)
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
West Asia rugby, season 2017/18 - Roll of Honour
Western Clubs Champions League - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons
West Asia Premiership - Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership Cup - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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