MOTORS: Renault have got a trick up their sleeves
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In case you haven’t noticed, our roads are becoming quite crowded. Space is tight, especially in town and it can be difficult to find somewhere to squeeze into and then get out of again without having to perform 101-point turns.
To make things easier, Renault have got a trick up their sleeves in their new Austral, which replaces the family SUV, the Kadjar.
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It’s four-wheel-steering which they call 4Control and came on the top-of-the-range Iconic Esprit Alpine test car. At speeds up to 30mph, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the front wheels to reduce the turning circle by more than a metre to just over 10 metres – even less than a small hatchback such as the Clio.
That means you should be able to manoeuvre more easily in tight spots. It’s a slightly strange sensation if you’re used to a conventional set-up, especially as the steering itself in the Austral is light anyway.
Above 30mph on the open road, the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the front wheels to improve road handling and safety.
The innovation was one reason the car won the Family SUV category at the Scottish Car of the Year Awards last year.
The test car came with huge 20-inch Daytona alloy wheels although they added to road noise but the suspension coped well with the questionable state of some of our roads.
There are three trims and the top two come with a lovely massage function on the driver’s seat so you can enjoy lumbar, relaxing or dynamic modes as the miles slip by.
The multi-sense button on the steering wheel lets you switch between four driving modes according to your mood or what you want from the car.
That steering wheel is a busy place with loads of buttons on and behind the wheel itself. I’ve never liked Renault’s design of the audio volume controls – and sometimes cruise control – hidden behind the wheel but I assume it’s something owners would get the hang of with regular use.
In the Austral, the gearchange is on a stalk above and behind the wiper control, similar to what you find in a Mercedes and although it is unconventional, it becomes familiar with use. However, it makes the steering wheel area a pretty congested place.
The new car is advanced on the technical front and the full hybrid powertrain delivers what Renault claim is “class-leading efficiency” so you should be able to get around 60 miles out of every gallon and a CO2 level of only 110g/km which is impressive for such a big car.
They believe up to 80 per cent of city driving can be done on electricity alone, depending on the conditions.
The top-level test car was packed with equipment including a 12-speaker Harmon Kardon audio system, 360-degree camera, panoramic glass sunroof, head-up display and LED lights all round which account for the £40,000-plus price tag.
Regenerative braking, which can be adjusted by the paddles behind the wheel, helps keep the battery topped up and whenever the back-up power allows, the car runs in EV mode, especially when moving off and in stop-start traffic.
The interior is very smart, especially round the dashboard area where the 12.3-inch driver information display merges seamlessly into the 12-inch multimedia touchscreen which controls the countless functions and settings.
Thankfully there’s a row of push buttons for regularly-used systems.
At night in the test car, the interior comes alive with some discreet lighting flashes of blue across the dash and door trim which gives the interior a superior finish.
The car feels big inside with stacks of head and legroom front and rear and there seem to be storage and cubbyholes in every available spot along with USB-C ports all round along with a wireless phone charging pad sitting on a sliding centre console panel.
