The upright built-in on-board monitor is its distinguishing feature.

We're talking about Renault's Easy-Link infotainment.

In the new Arkana, the large display with a diagonal of 9.3 inches comes as standard if you order one of the three upscale model variants.

If the bargain hunter chooses the cheapest arcana called Equilibre, the monitor is significantly smaller with a diagonal of 7 inches and is installed in landscape format.

The navigation is also missing here.

Meanwhile, Apple Carplay and Android Auto are included and of course a Bluetooth hands-free speaker.

Michael Spehr

Editor in the "Technology and Engine" department.

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We tested the large version with navigation in the Arkana, which also comes with a digital cockpit.

After taking a seat in the vehicle, the design appears coherent and clear.

A control lever behind the steering wheel for adjusting the radio volume and other functions cannot be seen at first glance.

Air conditioning, heated seats, door locks and other things all have their own physical controls, so you don't have to tap the screen for every little step.

If you want to start navigation, telephony and media playback, you can't do without your fingers.

However, there are only a few and large symbols for the individual menus.

So it is already indicated that Easy Link is more in the middle class, fine finesse of the upper class is missing.

After all, the sat nav comes from Tomtom and convinces with good real-time traffic information that is displayed clearly and precisely, both on the map and in summary with the calculated delay time.

Other Google services are also available.

Gasoline prices at gas stations are shown on the map and you can search for POIs online.

The wide mourning borders on all sides of the screen are striking and disturbing.

Information and menus are permanently displayed at the top and bottom edges, such as the outside temperature at the top and buttons at the bottom to switch between four different main screens or to call up a list of sub-menus directly.

The digital cockpit in front of the steering wheel has a diagonal of 10 inches and can be individually configured in terms of color and display.

The navigation instructions can also be displayed here.

Renault has significantly improved the voice control compared to the previous versions, and if you want to optimize the sound of the hi-fi system, choose the Bose sound package, which comes with it for an extra charge of 1200 euros, but not in the cheapest model variant.