Renault Kangoo 1.9 D Authentique

It's easy to get dewy eyed with nostalgia when remembering the Renault 4. Tough as old boots, about as sophisticated as a thumb in the eye and with styling more akin to a henhouse than a car, it had a certain peasant charm. The Renault Kangoo has taken the basic ingredients and given them a new twist. Based on a van but with additional fenestration, the Kangoo offers cheap and cheerful transport with good luggage capacity. It was fair to assume that as long as you didn't expect sophistication you wouldn't be disappointed. But does a used Kangoo offer anything over, say, a marginally older family estate? In a rapidly growing sector where mere appliance of the word 'lifestyle' is a means to bump up the prices, the unpretentious Kangoo entered near the bottom and aimed to stay there. With its commercial vehicle basis, development costs were minimised. Along with its rival, the Citroen Berlingo Multispace, the Kangoo inhabited a niche pioneered by miniature glazed Suzuki vans of the past. Parents will love it, as there's precious little for kids to snap off or rip up.