In the domestic and overseas 7-seat large SUV category, the Renault Korea ‘Filante’ (FILANTE), which has emerged as a dark-horse ‘contender’, is truly a new option for a flagship.
Distinctively European sensuous lines and surfaces are applied throughout the bodywork, and mechanically it features a ‘hybrid (engine+motor) system’, delivering outstanding ‘art-and-technology harmony’. All units are built at the Renault Korea Busan plant.
Renault, flagship ‘Filante’
■ ‘Filante’, a shooting-star-like SUV with extreme scarcity value
Filante is a vehicle drawn up through collaboration between European and Korean designers, distinguished by excellent interior space design and finish. The so-called ‘flagship’ models that represent the top lineups within each automaker tend to emphasize expanded interior space, and ‘Filante’ is a representative case.
Breaking away from the old boxy, size-first approach, it proposes a ‘premium tech lounge’ where technology and emotion harmonize, and a crossover design that blurs the boundary between sedan and SUV, offering a ‘new paradigm of the flagship’.
For example, Filante, which generally belongs to the ‘E-segment’ size, yields an overall length of 4915㎜, width of 1890㎜, height of 1635㎜, and a wheelbase of 2820㎜, providing 320㎜ of knee room and 886㎜ of headroom (874㎜ with the panoramic glass roof applied). Even so, it forms smooth lines.
In addition, looking at the space layout finished with eco-friendly materials and the emphasis on curves, its character differs from typical 7-seat SUVs. Thanks to this, it is praised for standout ergonomic design and for bringing the ‘premium tech lounge’ concept into a production model.
Renault, flagship ‘Filante’
The headrest-integrated ‘First Class Lounge Seat’ with a wraparound structure provides class-leading comfort.
Applying ‘Active Noise Cancellation’ across all trims further enhances quietness.
The ‘panoramic glass roof’ with a surface area of 1.1㎡, among the largest in its class, delivers excellent openness, and double ‘silver (Ag)’ coating and a solar film help maintain a pleasant cabin despite external changes.
The ‘openR panorama screen’ in Filante is also a differentiator. As with the Grand Koleos, the excellence of advanced hardware-software integration again follows the same track here.
Based on five years of unlimited 5G data, it incorporates real-time Tmap Auto navigation, Web App services via the Naver Whale browser, cinema OTT, and FLO music streaming. This adds the feeling that it is ‘like a smartphone on wheels’.
■ There has never been an SUV like this before “This is..”
On top of this, new entertainment features such as ‘R:Racing’ and ‘R:Rush’ add a ‘fun factor’ for passengers on the move. The AI-based voice assistant ‘A.Dot Auto’ analyzes driving patterns to recommend destinations and control vehicle functions with tailored services.
Built on an ‘LLM (large language model)’, it enables natural conversation, and beyond infotainment functions such as calls, music, and navigation, major vehicle features including climate control and window operation can be controlled by voice.
In addition, the intelligent vehicle manual service ‘TIPS’ offers AI-based guidance for a wide range of questions that arise during vehicle use, enhancing user convenience.
Renault, flagship ‘Filante’
Filante also adopts a large suite of driving-assistance safety features, up to 34 in total.
For example, ‘Emergency Steering Assist (ESA)’, which automatically helps avoid danger when a vehicle or pedestrian posing a collision risk is detected within the lane at medium to high speeds of 6090㎞, is standard.
In addition, features that detect passengers or even ‘companion animals’ in the cabin after the vehicle is turned off and alert the driver, and a ‘rear-seat occupant alert (radar type)’ module that opens or closes windows according to cabin temperature, are standard across all trims.
Through this, Filante implements an occupant protection system that considers not only safety while driving but also post-drive situations.
Using five radars and one front camera, lane-centering assistance at the ‘Level 2 autonomous driving level’ is also installed as ‘standard rather than optional’. Another key selling point is that 18% of the body structure uses ultra-high-strength ‘hot press forming (forming with a high-temperature press)’ parts. When choosing a family SUV, body safety is the top attribute that cannot be compromised.
Beyond that, ‘Filante’ expands the user’s overall ‘onboard experience’, redefining the role of a flagship.
Equipped with both comfort and safety based on advanced technology, ‘Filante’ is expected to undergo full-fledged initial market evaluation starting in March. Under a new flagship option, this is the emergence of a watch-worthy leading contender among prospective buyers seeking midsize and larger SUVs, with ‘growth potential expected’.
Meanwhile, Filante disply vehicles have now reached showrooms nationwide, and cumulative contracts have already surpassed ‘5,000 units’. With reductions in the individual consumption tax and eco-friendly vehicle tax benefits applied, the price falls to as low as 43,319,000 KRW.
Its excellent real-world fuel economy is also drawing attention. With a hybrid powertrain delivering a combined maximum output of 247 horsepower, combined efficiency is 15.1㎞ per liter, but real-world economy is higher. A high-capacity 1.64㎾h lithium-ion battery allows up to 75% electric-mode driving in urban sections.
