Renault Kangoo van long-term test: report 5

The car Renault Kangoo Advance Panel Van ML19 dCi 115 Run by Max Edleston, photographer

Why it's here The Kangoo is our reigning champion in the small van market, but how will it fare as a photographer’s apprentice?

Needs to Have space for all our snapper’s photography gear, be comfortable on big journeys, and function as a mobile office when needed

Mileage 12,750 List price £26,785 Target Price £26,785 Price as tested £29,735 Test economy 49.8 mpg Official fuel economy 50.4mpg

3 July 2023 – Seeing things clearly

If you were to ask me what the biggest difference in driving a small van like my Renault Kangoo compared with a regular  car is, I'd say it's the absence of a rear-view mirror.

You see, with a bulkhead stretching across the width of my van behind the front seats, a mirror would be rendered useless. Fortunately, my van comes with a camera in place of that mirror – albeit one that's only used to help me park.

The camera quality itself is decent, but I do have one complaint. See, like most such systems, it places guidelines onto the infotainment screen along with the image to show me where I'm likely to end up on my current trajectory. Trouble is, these guides can be slow to update, meaning last-minute parking adjustments have become normal.

The housing where the mirror would usually be remains up front, too, and it's rather bulky, taking up a good portion of the windscreen's real estate. I'm aware that this probably also contains a multitude of sensors to aid the Kangoo's driver assistance systems, but it looks a bit odd with no mirror.

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