All-new Renault Austral family SUV brings with it a new name, full-hybrid system, plus ever more connected tech. But is that enough to better rivals?...
On sale November | Price from £35,000 (est)
Sometimes it’s refreshing to just have a massive clearout. You know, throw away all the clothes you don’t wear, or give away whatever superfluous tat you may have accumulated over the years to a charity shop and just start afresh. And it could well be a similar story that explains the arrival of the new Renault Austral.
You see, this new family SUV sweeps aside the familiar Renault Kadjar. Its name that means ‘southern’, reflecting that the factory in Palencia, Spain in which it’s made, is some distance away from Renault’s native France.
The Austral also moves away from a petrol-only engine line-up; in the UK at least, it’ll only be offered in hybrid flavour, using a system called E Tech. This isn’t to be confused with the all-electric Megane E Tech’s power set-up, instead it combines a petrol engine and an electric motor the same way as its Kia Sportage rival does.
Unlike that car, though, it won’t offer a plug-in hybrid version; Renault’s internal studies determined that few people would utilise a plug-in properly, so the brand decided that making one would have been a waste of resources. But does this lack of choice hamstring the Austral in the face of varied rivals?
What’s it like to drive?
A look at the figures shows the Austral to sit right in the middle of the family SUV landscape when it comes to performance. With a total power output (petrol and electric) of 199bhp and a 0-62mph time of 8.4sec, the Austral lags behind the brawnier Kia Sportage hybrid but will show a clean pair of heels to the Ford Kuga hybrid.
That’s somewhat impressive, considering that the Kuga has a huge 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated engine; the Austral’s turbocharged 1.2-litre packs more punch. It also comes with a sizeable 2kWh battery pack to power the hybrid system’s electric motor; that’s bigger than the batteries used by rivals, including the 1.49kWh unit in the Sportage, and should allow you to run on electric power at urban trundling speeds for longer.
The Austral will always set off from stationary under electric power and can (in theory) go without invoking the petrol engine until you approach motorway speeds. This depends on you being gentle enough with the accelerator pedal, though, as well as there being sufficient charge in the battery. Most of the time, though, after a firm surge of initial electric acceleration, you’ll notice the engine kicking in to provide more power to keep up with traffic.
Unfortunately, when you need a quick blast of power on the move, such as when overtaking or merging on to the motorway, the Austral’s gearbox an incredibly long time to kick down a gear, leaving a huge gap between you asking for power and the car actually gaining speed. The Sportage hybrid is far more immediate in such situations.
The steering seems nicely weighted and is pleasingly accurate as far as family SUVs go, but the Austral goes one step further by offering the option of four-wheel steer (4Control in Renault-speak). This drastically reduces the turning circle to 10.1m (the much smaller Captur needs 11.1m), making the Austral easy to manoeuvre around urban traffic.
That doesn’t turn the Austral into something that’s fun to hurl into corners, though. This is still a tall car with fairly soft suspension, so it rolls around to a greater degree than firmer and better handling rivals, such as the Seat Ateca and Cupra Formentor. Also, you need to be measured with the steering of 4Control models at speed, because if you’re a bit hamfisted, it can lurch disconcertingly when you change direction. Moderate your inputs, though, and it behaves far more predictably; you need turn the wheel only gently when tackling a twisting country road.
As we’ve already mentioned, the Austral’s suspension is softer than rivals’, and this gives it a more compliant ride at speed, although we’d suggest you avoid the large 20in wheels because they transmit impacts from pot holes and rough roads at low speed. The smaller 18in wheels should resolve this issue, and should also kick up even less road noise than the already reasonably quiet 20in items. Otherwise, there’s a bit of wind noise around the chunky mirrors, and a three-cylinder thrum when the engine bursts into life.
What’s it like inside?
If you love large screens, you’ll no doubt take a liking to the Austral. You’re presented with a 12.3in digital instrument cluster that’s flanked by a 12.0in portrait-oriented infotainment screen. The latter is so large that a moveable hand rest is provided to help anchor your palm when operating the screen, although you’d need hands with a greater span than Nosferatu’s to be able to reach the top of it.
Of course, with the help of a Google-based voice control system, you don’t have to touch the screen itself. You can verbally command the Austral to adjust the air-con, program the sat-nav, or even change the driving mode should you desire. In fact doing this might be preferable, since the screen itself can be a little slow to switch between menus and some of the smaller icons are hard to decipher on the move. Mercifully, you do get some physical controls at the very bottom of the screen for various climate functions, and the knurled toggles that control them look rather smart.
The same compliment can be used to describe the rest of the interior, which has plenty of soft-touch finishes, with cheaper plastics well hidden from the driver’s line of sight. The plastics used in the rear are mostly of the hard variety, but the same is true when speaking of rivals.
The driver’s seat has plenty of adjustment, and there’s plenty of head and leg room up front for six-foot tall occupants. In the rear, there’s more leg room than in the back of a Sportage, the latter car helped by its sliding rear bench. Head and shoulder room isn’t as generous, mind, so three will be a squeeze. Likewise, the boot in the Austral is smaller on paper than that of the equivalent hybrid Sportage.
Keyword: 2022 Renault Austral review: price, specs and release date