Renault Austral

FIRST DRIVE Successor to the Kadjar has some big boots to fill

- Sean Carson

 

THE new Renault Austral is a really important car for the French firm. However, as a follow-up to its successful Kadjar family SUV, you could say that the brand is facing the equivalent of the music industry's 'difficult second album'.

That's because it's launching in a sector where competitiveness has increased exponentially. There are the excellent Peugeot 3008 and Skoda Kodiaq to think about, while the Hyundai Tucson (Renault's number-one benchmark during the development of the Austral, incidentally), Kia Sportage, Nissan Qashqai, Ford Kuga and Toyota RAV4 all come with full hybrid power.

So does the Austral, of course. In fact, it's the only powertrain available in this new model, with the sharp-looking SUV featuring a 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that's supplemented by a small 1.7kWh battery and an electric motor for a total of 197bhp.

This E-Tech 200 powertrain allows for up to 80 per cent of city driving to be completed on electricity alone, Renault claims, and delivers "class-leading efficiency", with up to 60.1mpg possible and CO₂ emissions from as low as 105g/km. So far, so good, then.

The tech story is equally compelling, because all UK cars feature matrix LED headlights, a 9.3-inch head-up display, a 12.3-inch digital dash and a 12-inch screen that runs Google-powered infotainment.

This works superbly, with the voice control offering the usual intuitive level of integration we've come to expect of systems from the software giant. You can even control items in your home from your car using voice control.