• Great value deal on this smart and practical hybrid crossover
• 1.6-litre hybrid drivetrain offers more than 60mpg
• £176 per month with £2,475 down

The Renault Symbioz – that’s “sam-bee-oz”, if you want to get all French about it – is Renault’s latest family SUV challenger, in a range full of family SUV challengers: the label also applies to the Scenic, Arkana, Austral, and Rafale, which might be a bit confusing for anyone walking into a Renault dealership right now.

Still, it’s a little more affordable than all of those, especially with this lease deal from Blue Chilli, through our parent site Carwow. You can put a Symbioz on the driveway for only £176.32 per month, after a modest downpayment of £2,475.80, provided you’re happy to stick to the 5,000-mile limit, and don’t mind that you’ll have to cover servicing costs yourself during the 24-month term.

So why might you want to pay that, and what separates the Symbioz from all those other Renault family models? Well, value is certainly one of the car’s strong points, and the reason for such a competitive deal – you may not find its closest rival, the Nissan Qashqai, for that kind of price.

The Symbioz has other things in its favour too. The simple range offers just a single 1.6-litre hybrid powertrain, with 143bhp and a 10.6-second 0-62mph time to its name, and in true hybrid style, efficiency is the name of the game. With no recourse to charging points (the Symbioz is a regular old hybrid, rather than a plug-in) Renault claims 60.1mpg combined, and it’s a figure you might even hit in the real world, based on our own time with the car. That’s very impressive for a car in this class.

That kind of economy means it almost doesn’t matter that the Symbioz is nothing special to drive – it’s quiet, comfortable and composed of course, but there’s little inspiration in the handling, and the 1.6-litre engine can make a bit of a din under hard acceleration. Back off, keep it slow, and the Symbioz is in its element.

The chunky, straightforward, well-built cabin is a point in the car’s favour, as is the Google-based infotainment system for the standard 10.4-inch portrait touchscreen. And Renault scores big points for it being so easy to customise your preferred combination of driver assistance features, and activate or deactivate them with a single button.

This Techno-spec car is technically the base model, but still comes with a host of safety features, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, parking sensors all round, 18-inch alloy wheels, adaptive cruise control, a rear-view parking camera, and LED headlights. What more could you need?

Our Deal of the Day selections are taken from our parent site Carwow. Prices and offers are subject to change, while terms and conditions apply.