Styling
Without being notably daring or outlandish, the Austral is effectively handsome and a much sharper confection than the blobby, somewhat anonymous Kadjar it replaced. Features like a contrast roof and those recurve, C-shaped light signatures at both ends of the SUV give the Austral some clear visual definition, although we remain to be convinced about using the signature corporate emblem of
Alpine as a logo for another car's trim line; probably no different to the tricolour-stripe-and-capital-M that a certain Bavarian manufacturer uses on M Sport cars, in a way, but as Alpine is considered an entirely separate marque to Renault these days, it's still unusual to see that stylised 'A' sitting on the front wing of a family SUV. Perhaps the biggest compliment we can pay the Austral is that it doesn't look boring and forgettable in metallic Shadow Grey (£1,250), instead possessing strong kerb appeal that will doubtless win over buyers in Renault's UK dealerships. Good start.
Interior
Renault is churning out some very classy cabins these days and the Austral's is no exception to this rule. Indubitably helped by the upmarket Techno Esprit Alpine spec of our test car, the main fascia has plenty of topographical relief due to the design of the dash, which is then clothed in tasteful Alcantara studded with contrast-finish blue stitching. The seats are lovely and plush, and the Renault's tech armoury of the 12-inch OpenR infotainment screen, a crisp and configurable 12.3-inch instrument cluster, and a superb 9.3-inch head-up display is all neatly integrated into the wider passenger compartment as a whole. Sensibly, physical climate controls are retained beneath the central display, although the textured and angled 'wrist rest' beneath these buttons (which sits between the hazard-warning switch and the door locking) is a bit too flimsy and flexible for our liking. That's about the only black mark, though, because the build quality and materials used elsewhere in the Renault SUV generally look and feel exemplary.
Practicality
If a 487-litre boot doesn't look great for this class of vehicle (you normally need about 550 litres to compete, by current standards), bear in mind that this is the
minimum the Austral offers as its rear seats slide forwards and backwards. You can therefore decide if you want more legroom for rear passengers or a bigger cargo bay as required, which is a nice touch. Accessing the boot is via means of a standard powered tailgate on this trim grade, while further impressive flourishes include what looks like, at first glance, a mushroom-shaped gear-shifter on the transmission tunnel. But no; the selector is actually on a crooked lever sitting high on the steering column. Instead, that central item is another arm/hand rest, because it smoothly slides the tray on which the wireless smartphone charging pad sits forwards and backwards along the tunnel. Position this ledge all the way back, and the cupholders plus electrical ports for devices are uncovered towards the front of the Austral, whereas slid completely forwards the tray reveals a large, deep cubby for various paraphernalia beneath.
Performance
The Austral uses a development of Renault's E-Tech hybrid gear, and very accomplished it is too. This is because in the Austral, it's not based on a normally aspirated 1.6, as it is in the smaller models like the
Clio and Captur, but in fact has a sweet 1.2-litre, three-cylinder turbo petrol at its core. This inherently gives the combustion part of the Austral's make-up more torque (205Nm, to be precise, and that's what the entire drivetrain serves up in the smaller Renault E-Techs), which is only bolstered by the torque of the e-motors. Renault says the 200hp, 1.65-tonne SUV has a 0-62mph time of 8.4 seconds, but if anything the Austral E-Tech feels even punchier than that - and when you do experience the 1.2 bit of the powertrain, it sounds nice and feels strong, rather than coarse and strained as that 1.6 does in the Clio and Captur.
All of which throws the crazy F1-inspired 'dog' 'box into ever-starker relief. Again, in this newer E-Tech drivetrain, Renault has clearly improved the refinement of this transmission from the 145hp 1.6-litre application, but it's still not without flaws. It's comprised of four ratios and two electric motors, making it a six-speed (of sorts), yet you'll encounter what feels like a flat spot in the engine at about 48-56mph with anything more than half-throttle openings as the gearbox clearly does something complex to keep drive flowing to the wheels; it doesn't quite manage to do it without interrupting the power delivery, though, and it's a marked pause in the acceleration proceedings. You can also catch the gearbox out with regards the slickness of its shifts by suddenly altering how much throttle you've applied as it's going through a change, and in the end you wonder why Renault didn't just accompany the E-Tech engine with a more straightforward seven-speed dual-clutcher and drop the e-motors in that instead.
Back on the positives, the economy of this powertrain is fine too; we only drove on local, stop-and-go roads (with lots of acceleration and braking phases) for nearly 170 miles the Renault was on test, giving back 38.1mpg in the process - but a short trip up a dual carriageway at a constant 70mph got us much closer to the official 60.1mpg figure, while owners report that their Austral E-Techs are highly efficient in everyday use. So that's pleasing news, eh?
Ride & Handling
Attractive 20-inch 'Daytona' alloy wheels are part of the standard kit on the Austral E-Tech Hybrid Techno Esprit Alpine, but thankfully they don't ruin the ride quality and composure of the SUV. In fact, it's largely excellent, providing superb low-speed manners and a solid stability when travelling at high velocity. About the only time it seems to struggle is if you're heading down a tree-lined country route, where repeated, high-frequency bumps in the road can catch the Renault's suspension out and make for a bobbly ride. But it isn't often you encounter these conditions (unless you live in or near a significant forest, like Sherwood or, um, New) so broadly speaking, the Austral is very comfortable to travel in.
It also handles sweetly for a car of this class, a surprisingly communicative chassis and good steering combining to make threading the SUV down back lanes more fun than it strictly needs to be. Now, don't misconstrue us, this isn't like some shrunken-down
Porsche Macan that's going to thrill and delight you on deserted roads. But even taking that into consideration, we'd have to say that while it is not out-and-out brilliant dynamically, the Austral is nevertheless one of the more enjoyable vehicles of this type to drive and something which fits in with Renault's long-held reputation for knowing how to a set up a car - any car - for a keener driver. You wouldn't get half as much reward being at the wheel of a Qashqai, for instance.
Value
There are just three trim levels - Techno, Techno Esprit Alpine and then Iconic Esprit Alpine, with this car being the middle of the bunch - and the one full-hybrid drivetrain available for the Austral at the time of writing, and it's a very simple £2,000 (bang on) price walk from spec to spec as you go up the tree, starting with the £34,695 Techno and going from there. Our test TEA (!) model had just the metallic paint option, which meant a bounteous standard specification is on offer to the Austral buyer: namely, 20-inch wheels, the powered boot, the carbon-effect fabric and Alcantara upholstery, the sliding rear bench, tinted rear windows, an adjustable boot floor, keyless entry and go, dual-zone climate control, heated front seats and a heated steering wheel too, adaptive cruise, wireless smartphone charging, all the screens (including Google Built-in) and a six-speaker Arkamys sound system are all fitted to the Techno Esprit Alpine from the factory. As is a long list of advanced driver assist safety (ADAS) systems too, which you can easily configure in the Perso menu and then switch into your preferred settings using two presses of a 'car-in-a-circle' button to the right of the steering wheel - a boon.
All of which seems more than acceptable for an Austral like this, which comes in at less than £38,000 as optioned.
Verdict
A big improvement on its Kadjar predecessor, and far more memorable too, the Renault Austral feels like a significantly more premium product in the C-segment SUV class than anything the French company has put out before. It has some tough competition in this sector, most notably from the Korean brands, but the Austral has more than enough in its locker to succeed, while it's also not even outlandishly expensive for what it is. If only Renault would fit the E-Tech running gear with a better gearbox than this, we'd potentially be giving the Austral another half-star. It's a very, very likeable thing all round, in our opinion, and it deserves a good slice of showroom success as a result.
