Renault Rafale is a very interesting French crossover that draws attention to itself with an aggressive design that is not characteristic of the Renault brand. In order to emphasize the uniqueness of the car, a unique name was chosen, which aviation enthusiasts have heard. Yes, there is such an exclusively French Dassault Rafale fighter introduced in the eighties. However, the very name of "Rafale" goes back to even older times, when Darius and Girėnas flew across the Atlantic. In 1934, the "Caudron-Renault" division presented the "Caudron-Renault C.460 Rafale" racing plane at the Le Bourget air show, which later in the thirties even broke several speed records by flying at a speed of 445 km/h. And although the four-wheel version of the Renault Rafale will certainly not break speed records, the French company hopes to break sales records. Indeed, it makes sense to expect this, because the Renault Rafale has all the necessary ingredients for success - it is a fairly compact car, a high-clearance crossover, extremely practical and seems to have a great body design unlike the recently introduced Renault Arkana or Austral SUVs. Indeed, the Rafale's body design is quite different from other Renault models and is remarkably similar to its biggest competitor, the Peugeot 408 model. Hmm, the two cars look like twin brothers. There is an easy explanation for this - the new Renault Rafale is the first mass-produced car that adheres to the new visual language created by the design director Gilles Vidal, who moved from Peugeot in 2020. I wonder if this design style will be adapted for other Renault models as well? Yes, this style would replace the one used since 2015 when the Renault Talisman model appeared. On the other hand, Renault Rafale does not have unique features that could outline a new direction in the company's design development. The highlight of the car is the three-dimensional front grille, which consists of small diamond-shaped plates arranged at various angles, the lower part of which is painted in different colors. They provide an optical illusion as they give a different view of the grille when viewed from different angles. The interior design of the Rafale is almost identical to that of its sister models, Austral and Espace. The differences are limited mainly to a more sporty decor. The Solarbay sunroof is one of the Rafale's most impressive interior features - the voice-activated smart glass roof offers four sunroof settings: full light, full dark, light front and dark rear, and dark front and light rear. Although the Rafale only has two rows of seats, it is built on the same platform as the seven-seater Renault Espace model. These two quite different cars are almost identical in length (4710mm), only the sporty Rafale is 17mm wider (1860mm) and 35mm lower (1610mm). Thanks to the long wheelbase, rear seat passengers have an incredible amount of legroom, but the seats cannot be adjusted longitudinally. The backrest is split into three parts in a 40:20:40 ratio, and the massive center armrest has USB ports and swiveling cup holders that can be converted into gadget holders. The capacity of the luggage compartment is 647 liters including the lower part. The main power plant of the car is exactly the same as that of the Espace model: the system named "E-Tech" consists of a small 130 hp three-cylinder 1.2-liter turbo gasoline engine connected to a clutchless gearbox. Through this box, two electric motors with a total of 70 hp are connected to the internal combustion engine, so the maximum power of the system reaches 200 hp. The gearbox combines four internal combustion engine modes with two electric motor modes to provide 15 different engine power combinations. These options are automatically selected by the gearbox transmission: for example fully electric, fully petrol, dynamic when the engine and electric motors work together, e-drive when the electric motors turn the wheels and the petrol engine charges the battery and regenerative mode. The car is driven only by the front wheels, but the Rafale can only start moving with the help of an electric motor. A gasoline engine cannot idle and can only be started after starting to drive. Renault claims that this design increases the efficiency of the hybrid system and reduces fuel consumption. The car also has all-wheel drive and can tilt the rear wheels up to five degrees. At speeds up to 50 km/h, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the front wheels, improving maneuverability, and at speeds above 50 km/h, they turn in the same direction as the front wheels to an angle of one degree.