Renault Austral review: a new adventure begins

There has been a smart upswing at Renault in recent times with the French giant starting to produce largely convincing machines at every level of its endeavour, the latest of which we test this week, having concluded that it is the best thing that the company has made in a long time.

The new Renault Austral – more on the name in a moment – might not be the single most exciting car we’ve ever driven, but it is an exceedingly competent offering with an impressive hybrid powertrain, topline specification packages, excellent tech and typically French comfort levels.

It also looks very smart – and especially so in the ‘matte shadow grey’ paint job that adorned the tester – and while some might dismiss it as simply just another Qashqai pretender, I must say I got more from the car than the notion that it is merely an accomplished impressionist.

Now, the name. Renault insists that the ‘Austral’ handle is evocative ‘of the south,’ wide open spaces and ‘a promise of endless possibilities.’ I’m not sure does that mean it would like us to drive it on that endless barren wasteland that is the Nullarbor Plain, or what, but the name does adhere to the car a sense of adventure.

The Austral is the successor to the Kadjar and you would have to think it is the better of the two nametags. The latter, for some reason, always suggested to me a disease of a tropical nature – as in, “You gotta help me doc, I’ve caught a bad dose of Kadjar.” 

Whatever about the name, the Austral comes to us not long after the impressive Megane E-Tech EV and the not-as-impressive Arkana, but it comes in the shape of a self-charging hybrid and has a brand-new engine as well.

This system is based around a 1.2 litre three-cylinder engine – instead of a 1.6 litre normally aspirated unit as seen in the Arkana – but it is similar to the sibling Renault as it uses a complex dog box/electric motor arrangement and as a result you’ll have to put a bit of work in to ensure you’re using it properly and gaining maximum efficiency.

It is not as slick, say, as the Toyota CVT system, but then it doesn’t screech as much either and nor does it ‘moo’ in the same way as the system employed by Nissan in the new Qashqai. All told it is a decent compromise.

There’s nearly 200 bhp on offer from the system and while there is only a relatively small number of kWhs on offer, it kicks in and out as needed and will offer support right up to motorway speeds. It also offers useful regeneration as well.

That adds up to some decent numbers on paper – a 4.56 l/100 km (61.4 mpg) consumption rate and sub-110 g/km CO2 emissions rates, which betters most of its rivals, all of whom emit somewhere between 120 and 130 g/km. That makes this a tax-friendly purchase for company car types and greens generally.

On the road it delivers an 8.4 second 0-100 km/h time and a top speed of 180 km/h and the response when you get on the gas is as immediate as it is impressive.

But it is the refinement of what’s on offer that’s impressive because the usually normally easily identifiable thrummy sound of the three-pot is hardy audible at all.

It handles well enough, but is typically French in its relative soggy-ness – meaning there is a lot of in-corner lean – but it is quite stable even if you get a little too enthusiastic. The ride is fantastic on billiard table surfaces, but as we don’t have too many miles of those here, expect to live with an element of choppiness everywhere else.

Driver assistance technologies abound in the Austral – stuff like hands-free parking, 360-degree cameras, adaptive LED lights, adaptive cruise control and autonomous braking, which can actually feel a tad intrusive as it makes its presence felt on occasions when you least expect it.

All of that is fine and dandy, but it is the interior that will wow punters most because it is a lot more sophisticated in look and feel than most. 

Starting with the ‘thruppenny bit’ steering wheel and moving on to the dual 12” digital screens – one horizontal (for the instrumentation) and one vertical (for the infotainment system), the latter of which is canted towards the driver and which is excellent to use.

But, Renault has put something of a silly sliding handrest where you might usually expect to find the gear selector. That is actually – a la Mercedes – on the steering column and the handrest is more decorative than anything else. Truth is, it is bloody annoying – and unnecessary.

Interior roominess is good and especially so for rear seat passengers and the massive panoramic roof does not impinge on head room unless you’re LeBron James. Boot space is a little cramped at 430 litres by comparison with rivals.

Oh, and don’t get too excited by the ‘Alpine’ badging on the interior and exterior, as Renault is using its ownership of the performance brand simply to put a gloss on regular products – pretty much in the same way as Mercedes does with its AMG-Line models. The ‘esprit Alpine’ badging then is a specification thing and nothing to do with performance.

I liked this car and pretty much everything about it – from the look to the way it went about its business.

Sure, it is not something that will set your pulse racing from a performance viewpoint, but it is a very attractive and very practical beast which will find favour in many a driveway.

It might not be for the truly keen driver, but as a family car it pretty much excels and is as cheap to run and live with. The hybrid system is one of the better ones we’ve encountered and it does not – as is the case with so many such cars – spoil the driving experience.

As I said at the outset, it is actually one of the better products Renault has come up with lately and it is quite a deal better than the car which it replaces, which has to be good because the Kadjar (tropical disease, or otherwise) was not too bad in its own right.

Renault is definitely trending in the right direction with the Austral and it will be interesting to see if they come up with a full electric version of it If they do, it will at – or very close to -the top of the class.

For now, though, if you’re in the market for a hybrid crossover that’s economic, well equipped and quite spacious, then you should be looking at this one.