LAOIS MOTORING: New Renault Austral hopes to woo buyers with its premium look and feel

Renault have recently introduced a brand new SUV which in effect replaces the popular Kadjar. Like most in this class the new Austral is larger, better equipped than its predecessor  and boasts the latest in automotive technology.

The new Austral is available now and comes with one powertrain set up which is a self charging hybrid. Three trim leaves are available, the Techno, Techno Esprit Alpine and the  range topping Iconic Esprit Alpine.

All models come really very well kitted out so this new Austral is off to a good start. Prices start at €45,295 which is quite a bit more than the Kadjar it replaces but the Austral moves things up a gear with its more premium look and feel which Renault hope will woo buyers to part with their cash.

So has it any street cred?

Based on the same floor pan as the Nissan Qashqai the Austral is a good looking C-segment SUV but does not really break any new ground in terms of its style or exterior design.  The profile is pretty similar to many rivals but the new Austral does stand out with its new Renault badging and rather nicely designed front and rear light clusters.

What’s it like inside?

There is no doubt Renault have made a big effort here to make the interior feel much more up market. Higher quality materials are evident throughout though you can still find some less attractive hard plastics if you take closer look. The overall impression is though of a premium cabin, with nice deviated stitching to the seats and door trims as well as full configurable ambient lighting and a pretty nice dashboard layout.

It's all digital of course and again it is configurable to your taste. I liked it! The large head up display functions very well too with a better than most display which adds to the overall driver involvement.

The specification is really very good across all models and I can’t detail it all here but suffice to say you really will want for nothing in the new Austral.

Accommodation is excellent boasting loads of leg and headroom both front and rear a benefit of the longer wheelbase than in the Kadjar it replaces. The boot accessed via a large rear tailgate has about 455 litres of luggage space with the seats in place, not a best in class but adequate for a car of this size.

So what is under the bonnet?

The new Austral has in my opinion the best form of hybrid. The self charging version! Many people who buy PHEV’s never plug them in or do so infrequently therefore totally negating the benefits of hybrid power. With the new Austral you never have to bother it does all the work for you and in  practice I found it to be able to run on EV power a surprising amount of the time even driving at higher road speeds in out of town traffic.

The petrol 1.2 litre engines kicks in and out almost unnoticed and produces a healthy 200bhp. I found performance to be pretty good overall and on the fuel economy side it really impressed burning just 4.9 litres of petrol per 100km. 

Will I enjoy driving it?

The Austral is a pleasant car to drive. Its easy to manoeuvre around town ( four wheel steering is standard on the higher grade models which really benefits the turning circle) and its reasonably quiet and refined on the motorway. I say reasonably because I did feel there was more wind noise than I would have expected but otherwise its a nice refined motorway cruiser.

Hugh’s Verdict

In my opinion the biggest virtues of the new Austral are the fact that is a very efficient self charging hybrid and it really does offer a premium product.

I think the new Renault Austral will win buyers to the marque who want the practicalities of a C-segment SUV with a well specified quality package.