Rent Renault Symbol 2021 in Dubai

If the cheapest sensible automatic four-door in Dubai is what you're after, the Renault Symbol 2021 is on the shortlist, and we rent it from age 18 when most of the market won't talk to you until 21. It's an economy-class sedan that exists to do the dull jobs cheaply: airport runs, the school gate, groceries, the odd cross-town meeting, all on a fuel bill that barely registers. The 1.6-litre engine makes 102 hp through a four-speed automatic, so it's unhurried rather than quick, and the cabin won't impress anyone. What it does have is a big boot and miserly running costs. This page is about whether that honest trade suits your week.

Running costs, the actual selling point

The Symbol sips fuel, and that's the number that earns it a spot. Real combined economy lands around 15.6 km per litre, and a gentle week of city driving sees close to that. With a 50-litre tank, you get a usable range near 700 km between fills. For most renters doing the school run, mall trips and a meeting or two, that means one fill-up early in the week and forgetting the petrol station after. Lean on Sheikh Zayed Road at speed all week and economy drops, but even then this stays one of the cheapest cars in the fleet to keep moving. Add the rent-from-18 option and the low daily rate, and the Symbol is built around spending as little as possible.

What the engine will do

The 1.6-litre four makes 102 hp paired to an old-school four-speed automatic driving the front wheels. Those are modest numbers and you feel them. Pulling away is fine, merging is fine, and a hard overtake is where the car runs out of enthusiasm. Around town none of that matters. The four-speed box is smooth at low speed and a little busy at highway pace, but it never strands you in traffic the way a fiddly manual would. Expect roughly 11 seconds to 100 km/h and a top speed near 183, which is plenty for getting around Dubai and honest about the rest.

Spec at a glance

The boot, and who it suits

For an economy car the 510-litre boot is generous, and it's the second reason to pick a Symbol. In practice it swallows two large suitcases and a couple of soft bags with the parcel shelf still in place, more than most cars in this class manage. For a DXB or DWC pickup with a full family's luggage, that's the difference between everything fitting cleanly and stacking cases on the back seat. Drop the rear bench and you've a long, flat load space for a flat-pack run or a big household shop. Two adults sit comfortably up front, and the back takes three kids or two adults for shorter trips.

Heat, parking and the smaller wins

A small cabin is quietly on your side in summer. There's less air to cool, so once the AC catches up it stays cold. Leave it baking in a mall car park at 45 degrees and the first minute is rough, like any car here: open the windows, dump the worst heat, then let the front vents do their work. There are no rear air vents, so back-seat passengers rely on cold air pushed from the front, which is fine for two kids on short hops but worth knowing if four adults are aboard for a longer drive.

Parking is easy. At 4,354 mm the Symbol slots into tight multi-storey bays and Marina spots that a bigger sedan has to circle twice for. Ground clearance of about 145 mm handles speed bumps and most mall ramps fine if you take the steepest at a sensible angle, though it's no kerb-hopper. The boxy shape and good visibility make the corners easy to place.

A couple of Dubai practicalities sit with you. Salik tolls run on your rental and pass to you, as do any RTA fines picked up during the hire, so drive to the limits and the gantries look after themselves. A child seat is required for under-fours, and the back seat takes one without a fuss.

Who should rent it, and who shouldn't

Rent the Symbol 2021 if you want the cheapest dependable automatic four-door in Dubai, and you value a low fuel bill and a real boot over polish. It's the right call for a couple, a small family, or anyone on regular airport runs who needs the cases to fit and the costs to stay down. The drive is plain and the cabin is basic, and that's the honest deal you accept for the rate.

Skip it if your week is mostly tight city-centre parking with no luggage, where a small hatchback is even easier to thread. Size up to a larger sedan or a crossover if you carry four adults on the highway often, want stronger overtaking pull on the E11, or expect rear AC vents and a quieter cabin at speed. The Symbol knows exactly what it's for. Ask it to be more than cheap, roomy, reliable transport and it'll let you down.