The Renault Kangoo is a family of vans built by

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

since 1997 across three generations. It is sold as a passenger

multi-purpose vehicle Minivan (sometimes called simply a van) is a car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows . The equivalent classification in Europe is MPV (multi-pu ...

or as a

light commercial vehicle A light commercial vehicle (LCV) in the European Union, Australia and New Zealand is a commercial carrier vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of no more than 3.5 metric tons (tonnes). The LCV designation is also occasionally used in both Cana ...

. For the European market, the Kangoo is manufactured at the MCA plant in

Maubeuge Maubeuge (; historical or ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. It is situated on both banks of the Sambre (here canalized), east of Valenciennes and ab ...

, France. The Kangoo was also marketed as a rebadged variant by

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

in Europe as the Nissan Kubistar (first generation), Nissan NV250 (second generation) and Nissan Townstar (third generation). In September 2012,

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

began marketing a rebadged variant of the second generation Kangoo as the Mercedes-Benz Citan, which is also marketed as Mercedes EQT and Mercedes T-Class for the current generation. , the electric variant, the Renault Kangoo Z.E., is Europe's top selling all-electric light commercial vehicle, with global sales of 48,821 units since its inception in 2011. __TOC__

First generation X76 (FC/KC; 1997)

The first-generation Kangoo was introduced in October 1997, and was facelifted in March 2003, with new front end nose styling, especially the

grille Grill or grille may refer to: Food * Barbecue grill, a device or surface used for cooking food, usually fuelled by gas or charcoal, or the part of a cooker that performs this function * Flattop grill, a cooking device often used in restaurants, ...

, standardised across the Renault range, with the Renault diamond mounted on a body colour panel in the centre of the grille and teardrop headlamps. The rear windows and seats of the Kangoo could be removed, producing the

panel van A panel van, also known as a delivery van (United Kingdom), blind van, car-derived van or sedan delivery (United States), is a small cargo vehicle with a passenger car chassis, typically with a single front bench seat and no side windows behind ...

Kangoo Express. The Kangoo became popular with mobility-impaired people and wheelchair users due to its height and accessibility and because it could be adapted to include mounting points for

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

s. The rear of the vehicle is cut to allow a ramp to be fitted. A pair of front tie downs are fitted (retractable seat belts with a solenoid release to allow them to be extended, passed around the wheelchair frame and then locked back when the solenoid is switched off and they retract); this stops the wheelchair from moving back. A pair of rear tie downs with the normal clamping buckles stop the wheelchair from moving forward. A normal, long seat belt is worn by the wheelchair user. Both the Kangoo and Kangoo Express were available in

four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...

versions. A lengthened version was also available, with an increased cargo area. A pickup version was sold in the Swedish market. In some countries, such as Malaysia, the Kangoo was assembled by

with third row seats. From July 2003, ''

Wallace and Gromit ''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British claymation comedy media franchise, franchise created by Nick Park and produced by Aardman Animations. The series centres on Wallace, a good-natured, eccentric, cheese-loving bachelor inventor, and Gromit, his ...

'' starred in adverts in the United Kingdom for the Kangoo. File:Renault Kangoo I rear 20090121.jpg, Kangoo (pre-facelift) File:Renault Kangoo front 20071212.jpg, Kangoo (first facelift) File:Renault Kangoo rear 20071212.jpg, Rear view File:Renault Kangoo Rapid Maxi Phase II 1,4.JPG, Grand Kangoo File:2008 Renault Kangoo Expression Automatic 1.6 Front.jpg, Kangoo (second facelift) File:2008 Renault Kangoo Expression Automatic 1.6 Rear.jpg, Rear view

Break'Up

The Kangoo Break'Up was a four-wheel drive

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle or show vehicle) is a car made to showcase new styling or new technology. Concept cars are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not ...

announced in August 2002 and previewed the facelift design due in 2003, together with a pick up-style rear. It was powered by a 1.6 L engine producing .

Kangoo Trekka 4x4

The 4WD version of the Kangoo was introduced in 2002, and was marketed under the model name Trekka. It should not be confused with the Skoda-powered New Zealand-built utility vehicle named

Trekka The Trekka was a light utility vehicle built on the basis of the Czech Škoda Octavia (1959-1971), Škoda Octavia, manufactured in New Zealand between 1966 and 1972. It is the only vehicle designed and manufactured in New Zealand to have entered ...

, which was marketed in the

Antipodes In geography, the antipode () of any spot on Earth is the point on Earth's surface diametrically opposite to it. A pair of points ''antipodal'' () to each other are situated such that a straight line connecting the two would pass through Ea ...

for several years circa 1970. The Kangoo Trekka's

all-wheel drive An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand. Types The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflects one axle with ...

system differed from the Renault Scénic RX4 in its inclusion of a

-sourced automatic torque coupling "ATC", a hydraulic coupling that would engage drive on all four wheels should the front wheels start to lose traction. This allowed the Kangoo Trekka to run in front-wheel drive in most conditions, thus saving fuel. Working in combination with the ATC, the Kangoo Trekka featured an electronically controlled "ASR" traction control system which could brake the front wheels to arrest traction loss. The suspension on the front had longer front struts with revised coil springs, lower suspension arms were revised to a cast steel item. The rear suspension was completely revised from the standard Kangoo torsion bar suspension beam axle to a fully independent coil-sprung system with wishbones. The rear differential was centrally mounted with two driveshafts transmitting power to the rear wheels. All this was carried on a subframe which increased the ground clearance and wheel travel. These changes gave the Kangoo Trekka a fording depth and 28 degree hill climbing capability. The Kangoo Trekka was marketed in the UK with a choice of two engines, the 1.6 L 16 valve petrol engine and the 1.9 L dCi common rail turbodiesel, both with a five speed manual gearbox. In 2005, these models were priced at £12,600 and £13,600 respectively. The diesel produced a peak torque of and achieved over on the combined (urban and extra urban) fuel consumption test. The petrol engine had a time of 14.3 seconds, and a combined fuel consumption of . The interior of the Kangoo Trekka was spartan. The rear bench seat could be folded forward to provide a loading area, with better access through the sliding side doors.

Argentina

The first-generation Kangoo was produced in Argentina from 1998 to 2018. The panel van production was launched in 1998, and the passenger model in 2001. It received a first facelift in 2008. A second facelift internally codenamed VLL ("Very Long Life") was unveiled in 2013 exclusively for the Argentine market, featuring styling cues from Renault's then-current design language. It was discontinued in 2018 to make way for its replacement, based on the Dokker, after 374 591 units had been produced in Argentina for the local market, and some other Latin America countries (

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Engines

The Kangoo and Kangoo Express was/is available with a choice of multiple engines: Some LPG and

CNG Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in c ...

variants of petrol engines have also been produced.

Nissan Kubistar

badge-engineered In the automotive industry, rebadging (also known as badge engineering, an intentionally ironic misnomer in that little or no actual engineering takes place) is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. ...

version of the Kangoo panel van was sold as the Nissan Kubistar in many European markets from 2003 to 2009. Nissan applied the "X76" model code to the Kubistar. File:2005 Nissan Kubistar 70 SE DCi 1.5 Front (1).jpg, Front view File:2005 Nissan Kubistar 70 SE DCi 1.5 Rear (1).jpg, Rear view

Electric

Cleanova II is a hybrid electric drive train system, used in a vehicle based on Renault Kangoo, with two electric versions: full electric vehicle (FEV) and

plug-in hybrid A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or simply plug-in hybrid is a type of hybrid electric vehicle equipped with a rechargeable battery pack that can be directly replenished via a charging cable plugged into an external electric power so ...

vehicle (PHEV).

Second generation X61 (FW/KW; 2007)

The second-generation Kangoo are based on the Scénic and manufactured in Maubeuge. Sales began in May 2007. A seven-seat version, which is longer by 40 cm, became available from July 2012. They are also sold by

as the Mercedes-Benz Citan, with a revised front design, being launched in September 2012. In February 2012,

retired the Kangoo MPV,

Espace Espace may refer to: *ESPACE, a complexity class in computational complexity theory *Espace musique, a Canadian radio service *Espace 2, a Swiss radio station *Radio Espace, a French radio station *Espace Group, a French media company *Group Espace ...

, Laguna, Modus, and

Wind Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...

lines in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. A facelifted version of both the van and the passenger versions was available from the beginning of 2013. In November 2018, it was announced that Nissan would rebadge the Kangoo, turning it into the NV250. The Nissan NV250 launched in December 2019 and is currently sold in the United Kingdom.

Body styles

The Kangoo is available in three wheelbase configurations: the Kangoo Express, the Kangoo Compact with a shorter wheelbase, and the Kangoo Express Maxi with a longer wheelbase – all three offered in passenger variants. The short wheelbase version was sold as the Kangoo Be Bop between 2009 and 2012. The payload of the Kangoo Express and Express Maxi is between and depending on version and market, while the Kangoo Compact with its short wheelbase has a reduced payload of . The Kangoo Express Maxi has up to of usable floor length. File:Renault Kangoo rear 20080415.jpg, Rear view File:2016 Renault Kangoo (X61 Series II) van (2017-01-30) 01.jpg, Renault Kangoo (facelift) File:2016 Renault Kangoo (X61 Series II) van (2017-01-30) 02.jpg, Renault Kangoo (facelift) File:Nissan NV250 IMG 2192.jpg, Nissan NV250 File:Nissan NV250 IMG 2190.jpg, Rear view

Kangoo Be Bop

Following the 2007 ''Renault Kangoo Compact Concept'', the ''Renault Kangoo Be Bop'' was presented at

2008 Paris Motor Show The 2008 Paris Motor Show took place from 4 October to 19 October 2008, in Paris expo Porte de Versailles. This edition of the Paris Motor Show featured a high number of hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs), that led a blogger with ''The New York T ...

. This long model, with only three doors, is equipped with a sliding glass roof at the rear, 4 seats and a two-tone body. Judged expensive and unpractical, the Kangoo Be Bop was a commercial failure, and only 1,400 units were produced between 2009 and 2011. File:Renault Kangoo Compact Concept (front quarter).jpg File:Renault Kangoo Compact Concept (rear quarter).jpg Renault Kangoo be bop 1.6 16V (II) – Frontansicht, 2. April 2011, Düsseldorf.jpg, Renault Kangoo be bop 1.6 16V (II) – Heckansicht, 2. April 2011, Düsseldorf.jpg, Renault Kangoo be-bop Diamantschwarz Heck.JPG,

Kangoo Express Compact

Renault Kangoo II Rapid Compact Basis dCi 70 eco² Arktisweiß.JPG Renault Kangoo II Rapid Compact Basis dCi 70 eco² Arktisweiß Heck.JPG Renault Kangoo II Express Compact side.jpg

Kangoo Express

Renault Kangoo II Rapid Phase I dCi.JPG Renault Kangoo II Rapid Phase I dCi Heck.JPG

Kangoo Express Maxi

Eddie Stobart MW10TWE (8627732835).jpg Eddie Stobart MW10ZHF (8644417159).jpg Eddie Stobart MT60HVW (8626972975).jpg

Grand Kangoo

A 7-seater version of the Kangoo, named Grand Kangoo, has been on the market since July 2012.

Engines

Kangoo Z.E.

;History As part of its Z.E.

electric car An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is a passenger car, passenger automobile that is propelled by an electric motor, electric traction motor, using electrical energy as the primary source of propulsion. The term normally refers to a p ...

initiative, Renault has developed the Kangoo Z.E. model that is manufactured at its Maubeuge plant. A prototype was shown at the September 2010 International Commercial Vehicles Show in Hanover, Germany, and the electric van was released for retail sales in October 2011. In November 2011, the Kangoo Z.E. was voted '' International Van of the Year'' for 2012. It was also elected ''Electric Vehicle of the Year'' in 2012 and 2013 by GreenFleet. It was introduced to Mexico on 15 October 2020. In 2021, the next-generation electric Kangoo was introduced as the Kangoo E-Tech electric, based on the Renault–Nissan CMF-C/D platform. ;Sales A total of 3,652 Kangoo Z.E. utility vans were registered in France through December 2012, ''14 units were registered in 2010 and 768 in 2011.'' and, with 2,869 units delivered in 2012, the electric van became the top selling

plug-in electric vehicle A plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is any road vehicle that can utilize an external source of electricity (such as a wall socket that connects to the power grid) via an detachable power cable to store electrical energy within its onboard rechar ...

in the country. During 2011, the Kangoo Z.E. sold 991 units in Europe, and cumulative sales in the region reached 6,658 units sold in the region through December 2012, with global sales of 6,665 units. ''Click on "Ventes mensuelles (décembre 2012) (xls, 294 Ko)" to download the files for 2012 sales, and open the tab "Sales by Model" for 2011 and 2012 sales.'' Worldwide cumulative sales passed the 10,000 mark by the start of September 2013, representing about 10% of overall Kangoo van global sales. The Kangoo Z.E. is the leader of the small all electric van segment, and the best selling electric vehicle in France, with 9,125 units registered through June 2014. ''A total of 2,869 units sold in 2012.'' ''A total of 4,174 units were sold in France in 2013.'' The vehicle was updated in 2017. The Kangoo Z.E. is Europe's top-selling all-electric light commercial vehicle, with global sales of 48,821 units since its inception through December 2019. ''See pp. 24 and 39. Since the launch of the Renault electric program, the Group has sold more than 252,000 electric vehicles in Europe and more than 273,550 electric vehicles worldwide. Since inception, a total of 181,893 Zoe cars, 48,821 Kangoo Z.E. electric vans and 29,118 Twitzy quadricycles have been sold globally through December 2019.'' ;Drivetrain The Kangoo Z.E. has the same dimensions as the

internal combustion An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...

model. It uses a

synchronous electric motor A synchronous electric motor is an AC electric motor in which, at steady state, the rotation of the shaft is synchronized with the frequency of the supply current; the rotation period is exactly equal to an integer number of AC cycles. Synch ...

with rotor coil. Its peak power is at 10,500 rpm, while maximum torque is . Its top speed is capped electronically to . The vehicle is powered by a 22 kWh

lithium-ion battery A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, energ ...

pack that delivers a combined cycle

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

of NEDC which varies depending on factors such as type of road, ambient temperature, speed or driving style. Maximum charging power is limited to 3.7 kW (AC). The Kangoo Z.E. Power+, released in 2017, includes four changes: a new battery, a new motor, a new charger, and a

heat pump A heat pump is a device that uses electricity to transfer heat from a colder place to a warmer place. Specifically, the heat pump transfers thermal energy using a heat pump and refrigeration cycle, cooling the cool space and warming the warm s ...

. The new battery has a capacity of 33 kWh for a

of according to the NEDC cycle. The new R60 traction motor produces the same peak power , but was developed by Renault, based on the R90 motor found in

Renault Zoe The Renault Zoe (stylized ZOE), known as Renault Zoe E-Tech Electric since 2021, is a five-door supermini electric car produced by the French manufacturer Renault. Renault originally unveiled, under the Zoe name, a number of different concept ...

. Charging power has doubled to 7 kW, and the heat pump provides a more efficient method of heating the cabin.

Third generation XFK (FFK/KFK; 2020)

The third-generation Kangoo was revealed on 12 November 2020, alongside the lower-spec, separate model called

Express Express, The Expresss or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * ''The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid * The Expre ...

. It is based on an all-new CMF-CD platform developed by

and

. Production started late 2020 and sales early 2021. A rebadged version called the Nissan Townstar was revealed in September 2021 to replace the NV200 and NV250 in various markets. In Europe, the electric Nissan e-NV200 will be replaced by a Townstar EV based on the Kangoo E-Tech Electric. In 2024, the Kangoo was slightly updated with Renault's latest logo. File:Renault Kangoo III 1X7A1518.jpg, Rear view File:Renault Kangoo III Rapid IMG 6292.jpg, Renault Kangoo van File:Renault Kangoo III Rapid IMG 6601.jpg, Renault Kangoo van File:Renault Kangoo III Automesse Ludwigsburg 2022 1X7A5952.jpg, Interior File:Nissan Townstar Kombi 1.3 DIG-T 130 Tekna – f 25042024.jpg, Nissan Townstar (front) File:Nissan Townstar Kombi 1.3 DIG-T 130 Tekna – h 25042024.jpg, Nissan Townstar (rear) File:Nissan Townstar Automesse Ludwigsburg 2022 1X7A5992.jpg, Nissan Townstar (interior)

Engines

Dimensions

;Notes

Kangoo E-Tech Electric

Renault Kangoo III E-Tech Automesse Ludwigsburg 2023 1X7A0092

The third generation Renault Kangoo was previewed by the Renault Kangoo Z.E. concept presented on 23 April 2019, which was said to be 80% representative of the production model. The Kangoo Z.E. concept (2019) is an

electric vehicle An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...

and has no pillar at the leading edge of the sliding side door to facilitate access, like the Frendzy concept. A prototype of the production electric Kangoo, renamed to Kangoo Van E-Tech Electric, was first shown in March 2021. It was officially introduced in November 2021 to succeed the prior electric Kangoo Z.E., which was based on the second-generation Kangoo and had been produced since 2011. Production was scheduled to start in 2022. Renault Kangoo III Rapid E-Tech 1X7A6132

Renault Kangoo III Rapid E-Tech 1X7A6132

The 100% electric production panel van model entered production in June 2022. It is offered in two lengths, with cargo volume of or . The passenger version was launched in October 2022 at the

2022 Paris Motor Show The 2022 Paris Motor Show (in French ''Mondial de l'automobile de Paris'' or ''Mondial de l'Auto'') is an international auto show, which was held from October 18 to October 23, 2022, at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, in Paris, France. It is ...

. The Kangoo E-Tech is equipped with a traction motor that delivers and , drawing from a 45 kW-hr battery which gives the vehicle an estimated range of under the WLTP mixed driving cycle. So equipped, the van accelerates from in 11.6 seconds and has a top speed of . There is a limited-power Eco mode, which reduces output to and maximum speed to . The standard onboard charger is limited to 11 kW (AC); as an option, the vehicle can be fitted with a charger that allows input power up to 80 kW (DC) or 22 kW (AC).

Safety

Euro NCAP

The Townstar in its standard European market configuration received 4 stars from

Euro NCAP The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme (i.e. a New Car Assessment Program) based in Leuven, Belgium. Formed in 1996, the first results were released in February ...

in 2021 with its results borrowed from the Kangoo.

Production

Nissan NV250

Third-generation model

References

External links

Renault Kangoo website
{{Authority control Kangoo Production electric cars Cars introduced in 1997 2000s cars 2010s cars 2020s cars Vans Front-wheel-drive vehicles Electric cars Electric vans Plug-in hybrid vehicles Euro NCAP small MPVs Cars of Argentina