Renault Koleos Gets Premium Continental Tyres

Renault Koleos Gets Premium Continental Tyres and Wheel Alignment at Pellon Tyres

After the absolute horror story of the Ford Transit tyre that came into our Halifax garage recently, it was rather nice to get back to one of those straightforward everyday tyre jobs that make up much of our working week at Pellon Tyre & Autocentre.

This time the vehicle was a Renault Koleos, a large SUV that you don’t actually see quite as often as some of its competitors here in the UK.

The customer required two new tyres, and there was certainly no drama involved with this job.

We supplied and fitted a pair of premium Continental PremiumContact 6 tyres, followed by a wheel alignment check and adjustment to make sure the new tyres had the best possible start to their working life.

The tyre specification fitted was:

255/55 R19 XL 103V Continental Premium Contact 6

Quite a substantial tyre and very much in keeping with the size and weight of a vehicle such as the Renault Koleos.

Back to a Nice Normal Tyre Job! Renault Koleos Gets Premium Continental Tyres

Sometimes working in a garage can produce two completely different jobs almost side by side.

One minute you’re staring in disbelief at a Ford Transit tyre with huge areas of tread completely missing and rusty steel cords hanging out.

Then along comes a well-maintained Renault Koleos simply requiring two quality replacement tyres.

That’s much more like it!

Most of our tyre work at Pellon is exactly like this.

Customers come in, we inspect their tyres, discuss the available choices and fit something appropriate for the vehicle and their budget.

In this particular case, the customer went for one of the premium names in the tyre industry – Continental.

A very good choice in my opinion.

The Renault Koleos – A Rather Unusual Sight on British Roads

The Renault Koleos has had quite an interesting history here in Britain.

Renault first used the Koleos name on an SUV that appeared during the early days of the crossover boom.

Unfortunately for Renault, the original Koleos never really captured the imagination of British motorists and disappeared from the UK market after only a relatively short period.

But Renault wasn’t finished with the name.

By the middle of the following decade, SUVs had become enormously popular.

Renault already had the small Captur and the larger Kadjar, so the company decided there was room at the top of the range for something bigger and more luxurious.

And so the Koleos returned.

The Koleos Returns to Britain: Renault Koleos Gets Premium Continental Tyres

The second-generation Renault Koleos arrived in Britain in 2017.

This time it was a much larger and more imposing vehicle.

Renault positioned it as its flagship SUV, sitting above the Kadjar in the range.

Underneath, there was plenty of proven engineering because the Koleos shared its basic platform with the Nissan X-Trail, thanks to the Renault-Nissan Alliance.

That wasn’t a bad starting point at all.

The Koleos was designed as a comfortable five-seat SUV rather than trying to squeeze in seven seats.

It offered plenty of room for passengers and luggage and had the raised driving position that British SUV buyers had increasingly come to enjoy.

For somebody driving around Halifax and Calderdale, I can certainly understand the attraction.

A Good Vehicle for Yorkshire Roads

Large SUVs are very much at home in our part of Yorkshire.

Around Halifax we’ve got everything from busy town-centre roads to steep hills and winding country lanes within a matter of minutes.

Head out towards places such as Hebden Bridge, Sowerby Bridge, Ripponden, Queensbury or the tops above Halifax, and road and weather conditions can change remarkably quickly.

A comfortable SUV such as the Koleos makes plenty of sense.

The higher seating position gives good visibility, and there’s plenty of room for the family, shopping, luggage or whatever else you’re carrying.

Some Koleos versions were also available with Renault’s All Mode 4×4-i system, allowing the driver to select between different drive modes according to conditions.

Renault itself described the Koleos as a genuine 4×4, with selectable 4×2, Auto and 4×4 Lock modes on suitably equipped versions.

Why Didn’t We See More Koleos Models? Renault Koleos Gets Premium Continental Tyres

The interesting thing is that despite being a spacious and comfortable SUV, the Koleos never became a particularly common sight on British roads.

Competition was fierce.

The large SUV market contained vehicles such as the Nissan X-Trail, Skoda Kodiaq, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento and Peugeot 5008.

There was also one important difference.

Many buyers shopping for a large SUV wanted seven seats.

The Koleos was a five-seater.

That probably didn’t help its chances.

UK sales remained modest, and Renault eventually withdrew the Koleos from its British new-car range in 2020, only around three years after its return.

That makes seeing one in our workshop today slightly more interesting.

Renault UK now lists the Koleos as no longer available as a new car, although naturally there are still plenty being driven and sold on the used market.

Two Continental PremiumContact 6 Tyres

Our Koleos customer had chosen an excellent tyre.

We fitted:

255/55 R19 XL 103V ContinentalPremium Contactt 6

Continental is one of the great names of the European tyre industry and is a brand we’ve known and trusted for many years at Pellon Tyres.

When somebody chooses a premium tyre, they’re paying for considerably more than the name written on the sidewall.

Major tyre manufacturers spend enormous sums developing tread compounds, internal construction and tread patterns.

The aim is to balance several requirements, including:

Wet braking
Dry braking
Steering response
Stability
Comfort
Noise
Tyre life
High-speed performance

Getting all those characteristics into one tyre isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Improve one characteristic too much and you can sometimes compromise another.

That’s where the research and development carried out by companies such as Continental becomes important.

Continental – A Great European Tyre Name: Renault Koleos Gets Premium Continental Tyres

Continental has an incredibly long history.

The company was established in Hanover, Germany, in 1871, meaning the Continental name has been associated with rubber products and transport for more than 150 years.

Over the decades the company developed into one of the world’s major tyre manufacturers.

For those of us who have spent our lives in the tyre trade, Continental is simply one of those names that has always been there.

Michelin, Goodyear, Pirelli, Dunlop and Continental are names generations of motorists have recognised.

Technology has changed enormously during my own years in the tyre business, but the importance of fitting good-quality tyres hasn’t changed at all.

Why the PremiumContact 6 Suits a Koleos

A large SUV places considerable demands on its tyres.

Vehicles such as the Renault Koleos are heavier and taller than the traditional family saloons many of us grew up driving.

The tyre therefore plays an important part in keeping the vehicle stable and predictable.

That’s particularly relevant with a 255/55 R19 tyre.

At 255mm nominal section width, there’s a substantial amount of rubber involved, while the 19-inch wheel gives the Koleos its modern SUV appearance.

The XL marking means Extra Load, indicating a reinforced tyre designed to operate at a higher load capacity when correctly inflated.

The 103 is the load index, and the V is the speed rating.

Of course, the important thing from our point of view is always to fit the correct specification for the vehicle.

Premium Tyres and Yorkshire Weather: Renault Koleos Gets Premium Continental Tyres

Although we’ve had an unusually dry spell recently, anybody from Halifax knows that Yorkshire weather eventually remembers what it’s famous for!

Rain will return.

And when it does, good tyres become even more important.

Our local roads can quickly become wet and greasy, particularly after a long dry period when dirt, rubber and other contamination have accumulated on the road surface.

Throw in some of the steep descents around Calderdale and you soon appreciate why wet-weather braking matters.

The four small areas of tyre touching the road are ultimately what transfer your braking, steering and acceleration forces onto the tarmac.

That’s why I’ve always regarded tyres as one of the most important safety items on any vehicle.

Finishing the Job with Wheel Alignment

After fitting the two new Continental tyres, we finished the job with a wheel alignment.

This is something I always like to mention because there’s little point spending good money on premium tyres and then allowing poor alignment to scrub them away unnecessarily.

We see alignment problems regularly at Pellon.

Potholes are certainly one culprit.

Hitting a kerb can do it.

Worn steering or suspension components can affect tyre wear too.

Sometimes the driver won’t notice anything particularly wrong.

The steering wheel may feel reasonably straight, and the vehicle may appear to drive normally.

Meanwhile, the tyres can be wearing unevenly.

Eventually somebody looks at the inner edge and discovers considerably less tread than expected.

After what we’d just witnessed with the Transit, checking alignment certainly didn’t need much explaining!

Protecting the Investment in Premium Tyres: Renault Koleos Gets Premium Continental Tyres

A pair of Continental PremiumContact 6 tyres in this size represents a worthwhile investment in the vehicle.

Correct wheel alignment helps protect that investment.

When the wheels are pointing where the manufacturer intended, the tread has a much better chance of wearing evenly across its width.

That potentially means getting more useful mileage from the tyres as well as maintaining good handling.

We always say that wheel alignment isn’t simply about making a steering wheel straight.

It’s about helping the vehicle and tyres work properly together.

A Typical Day at Pellon Tyres in Halifax

This Renault Koleos job was nothing spectacular.

And that’s actually what I liked about it.

Two premium tyres fitted correctly.

Wheel alignment checked and adjusted.

Vehicle back to the customer.

Job done.

That’s everyday life in an independent garage such as ours.

We’ve been serving motorists around Halifax and Calderdale since 1989, and no two days are ever quite the same.

One vehicle can arrive with a tyre so badly destroyed that experienced tyre fitters stand around looking at it in disbelief.

The next one simply needs a pair of good-quality Continental tyres.

Thankfully, the Renault Koleos was very much the second type!

Quality Tyres Fitted Properly

Whatever tyres a customer chooses, our job is to make sure they’re suitable for the vehicle and fitted correctly.

Not everybody needs or wants a premium tyre, and we’re always happy to discuss different options.

But when somebody decides to fit a premium product such as the Continental PremiumContact 6, they’re choosing a tyre from one of the world’s most established manufacturers.

Combine that with correct pressures, regular tyre inspections and accurate wheel alignment and you’re giving those tyres every opportunity to perform properly and wear evenly.

So after yesterday’s shocking Ford Transit discovery, this Renault Koleos was a welcome return to normality at Pellon Tyres.

Two Continental PremiumContact 6 tyres, a wheel alignment and another customer safely back on the roads of Halifax and Calderdale.

Sometimes the ordinary jobs are the ones we’re happiest to see!

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