The six reasons why this "Made in Spain" hybrid SUV is one of our favourites

It is one of the most recent additions to the mid-size SUV segment, and it has arrived to crown itself as one of the revelations of the category. Something the Renault Kadjar never managed to achieve at any point, and which the new Renault Austral has successfully replaced. It is available from 30,000 euros with a 140 CV petrol engine and mild hybridisation, and from around 38,500 euros (rounded) in the 200 CV E-TECH Hybrid version, all with the DGT ECO label.

And during the test days I lived with the Renault Austral driving it in all kinds of situations, I can tell you that I liked it a lot, convincing me more and more with every kilometre that it could well be my next car. Of course, I am talking about the full hybrid version of 200 CV and with the top-of-the-range trim, the iconic esprit alpine, which exceeds 42,000 euros list price. But there is no need to spend that much: you can have it in techno trim for a little over 38,000 euros. And in any case, as we will see later, the prices of the Renault Austral are very competitive against its rivals.

Mind you, the cars it competes with also have class. There are the Kia Sportage, the Hyundai Tucson, the Volkswagen Tiguan, the Peugeot 3008, the Citroën C5 Aircross, the Honda CR-V, the Nissan Qashqai… Compared with all of them, the Austral is not the one that offers the most space for occupants or luggage. Nor is it the benchmark for finish quality or comfort. But it has plenty of arguments to make it, overall, slip into the “top 3” you would draw up if you are looking for an SUV of this size and price range, whatever your list of priorities. These are the main ones.

In today’s world, for many users, and rightly so, having a good multimedia system in their vehicle matters as much as performance or consumption. And in this respect, Renault has done very well with its Open R-Link debuted on the Mégane E-TECH electric. It is not just a matter of it being easy to connect your phone, or that compatibility with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay works well. It is about the overall driving experience the system offers, whether you control it by voice commands or through the menus, which are intuitive and always very fluid to use.

The instrument cluster screen is 12.3 inches, and 12 inches for the multimedia system, which is positioned vertically, forming a sort of inverted “L” between the two. The system uses Android Automotive OS, which integrates everyday apps for everyone such as Google Search or Google Maps, and it works really well. If you are familiar with using a tablet, this Renault multimedia system is very similar.

The instrument cluster screen also offers a lot of information, with three distinct zones and the option to choose what you want to see in some of them. In the central part, for example, you can display the navigation map, a virtual representation of the car on the road showing how the driver assistance systems are working, or even the movement of the wheels on each axle when four-wheel steering is fitted.

4. A hybrid engine that consumes like a diesel

And we come to one of the truly strong points of the Austral E-TECH: its hybrid propulsion system. Above all because of the low consumption it achieves, although it could be somewhat “finer” in some operating phases. I was later able to try this same engine at the presentation of the new Renault Espace, and some improvement is already noticeable, although the brand’s engineers admit they are still working on the software to refine it to the maximum. In any case, it is not something that weighs against it enough to spoil the good balance between general ease of use, performance and consumption.

Because closing 1,600 km of testing with an average of 7 l/100 km is quite a bit less than what we have achieved with other non-plug-in hybrid SUVs in this category, which hover around a litre more per 100 km. And the Austral achieves this thanks to the way the hybrid system works, which is able to drive the vehicle for long periods on electric motor alone, and at high speeds for what is usual in this type of car, which move without burning petrol mainly during manoeuvres and at low speed. On the motorway you can see the “EV” light on the cluster even at 120 km/h if conditions allow, although Renault says the speed at which the Austral can move in electric mode is up to 80 km/h.

If you set your mind to it, in ECO mode and driving efficiently it is easy to get close to 6 l/100 km, figures only within reach of SUVs with a turbodiesel engine. And let us not forget that under your right foot you have 200 CV that feels very “elastic”, thanks to the combined thrust of the small 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo engine, which produces 131 CV, and the 68 CV and, this is the important part, the 205 Nm “instant” torque of the electric motor, which is always responsible for initiating movement and assisting the combustion engine. A second 34 CV electric motor takes care of recharging the battery while driving -which is why it recovers charge so quickly- and is also part of the Austral’s sophisticated gearbox. We could say its job in this case is to synchronise the operation between the transmission itself and the combustion and electric motors that drive the wheels.

As long as the battery has sufficient charge, performance matches the advertised power, without needing to resort to “Sport” mode, which is not especially sporty anyway. Given the way the engine works and the car’s general feel, the Austral invites relaxed and efficient driving. And the paddles on the steering wheel help, allowing anticipatory driving and reducing how often you need to use the brakes. What feels a little strange to me, and I stress that they assure me at Renault they are aware of it and working on it, is how the system manages things when the petrol engine decides it is better to run at a steady state so the second electric motor can charge the battery, rather than letting the car coast.

So you may find that you lift off the accelerator to let the car roll before reaching a roundabout, for example, and suddenly you notice the petrol engine revving up even though you are not accelerating. It only lasts a few seconds, during which the instantaneous consumption indicator shoots up, which is quite striking: remember you are not accelerating. Only in these situations is the noise or a slight vibration from the engine noticeable. The system clearly works well, as the low consumption figures achieved by the Austral demonstrate. But if these rough edges were smoothed out, not only would ride comfort improve, the official consumption figure would probably also drop by a tenth or so.

5. Dynamic behaviour: an SUV for every use

At least with the 20-inch wheels and low-profile tyres fitted as standard on this version (235/45), and with the option of four-wheel steering 4Control, which costs 1,500 euros, the Austral is a comfortable car on the motorway and very agile on mountain roads and in manoeuvres. I have not yet tried an Austral (or an Espace) with smaller wheels and conventional steering; but I would pay what the 4Control system costs, which also means more direct steering and a multi-link rear axle. That said, I believe that with the 19-inch wheels and 205/55-19 tyres of the techno trim, comfort would rise a notch without sacrificing agility.

Making comparisons, the Austral with this steering and these wheels sits a little closer to the sporty behaviour of a CUPRA Formentor than to the road isolation provided by a C5 Aircross, to cite two extremes, and it could satisfy those who want to enjoy both. The sharpness of the steering takes a little getting used to at first, as does the brake feel. But the Austral is an easy car to drive, in which you quickly feel at home behind the wheel, and which allows you both to travel calmly on the motorway and to indulge yourself on your favourite winding road. And if you are one of those who occasionally leaves the tarmac, the option of advanced traction control with All Season tyres is more than recommended.

6. Price and equipment of the Renault Austral

Renault offers the Austral E-TECH Hybrid in combination with the techno and iconic trim levels, and the combination of either with the iconic esprit Alpine pack. The prices according to the brand’s configurator are as follows, including the promotional discount, which amounts to nearly 1,200 euros:

• Austral E-TECH Hybrid techno: 38,509 euros
• Austral E-TECH Hybrid techno esprit Alpine: 39,479 euros
• Austral E-TECH Hybrid iconic: 41,419 euros
• Austral E-TECH Hybrid iconic esprit Alpine: 42,389 euros

These are competitive prices. For reference, one of the SUVs I would consider as the first alternative to the Austral, the 230 CV Kia Sportage HEV, is available from 38,000 euros in Drive trim, slightly less equipped than the techno Austral. The Hyundai Tucson HEV is also priced similarly, as is the Ford Kuga HEV. A Volkswagen Tiguan, which has no HEV version, already starts from this figure in the 130 CV 1.5 TSI petrol variant, so it is clearly more expensive than the Austral.

The best thing about the Austral is that it comes very well equipped as standard, and the options are not expensive. The techno version already includes keyless entry and start, the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, the R-Link multimedia system with its large 12-inch screen, 19-inch alloy wheels, Multisense system and Adaptive Vision LED headlights, among many other things.

Setting aside the purely decorative elements of the esprit Alpine mentioned above, for the 3,000 euros it costs to step up to the iconic you get, in addition to styling details including the 20-inch wheels, the following items, which you can optionally fit separately on the techno: assistance pack (650 euros); city pack with assisted parking and 360 camera (500 euros); safety pack with rear collision alert, exit warning and blind-spot detection (380 euros); automatic tailgate (450 euros), roof bars (250 euros); winter pack with heated steering wheel, windscreen and seats (315 euros).

As you can see, the possibility of starting from a techno trim and keeping only the options each customer wants makes it much easier to configure an Austral to suit each buyer’s tastes and budget. In both cases there are interesting additional options, such as the Extended Grip pack, which for 450 euros includes all-season tyres and advanced traction control, although this means fitting 18-inch wheels; four-wheel steering (1,500 euros); or the panoramic glass roof, which costs 900 euros on the techno and 750 euros on the iconic. Also available for the iconic is a Harman Kardon audio system (950 euros) that sounds wonderful, and a head-up display HUD (600 euros) with good-quality graphics and smooth operation, although in my view it is totally dispensable, given how easy it is to check the conventional instruments.

Renault Austral E-TECH Hybrid – Image gallery

Technical specifications of this car

CrossoverRenault Austral12 versions · from 33,620 €