Following its most recent teaser last month, Renault has unveiled the Austral, its C-segment SUV replacement for the Kadjar that was launched in 2015 and given a facelift four years ago.
Built on the CMF-CD platform, the Austral measures 4.51 m long, 1.83 m wide and 1.62 m tall with a wheelbase of 2.67 m, which makes it 60 mm longer, 10 mm narrower and 20 mm taller than the Kadjar it replaces; employing this platform enables the use of a range of hybrid an mild-hybrid powertrains.
This yields a fixed-rear seat luggage compartment volume of 500 litres, or 430 litres in the E-Tech Hybrid, and 575 litres in sliding-rear seat configuration (555 litres for the E-Tech Hybrid). Ground clearance for the Austral is 170 mm.
According to Renault, aerodynamics improvements have had a “major impact” on the vehicle’s final style, while its headlamps and tail lamps are full-LED units. The light units incorporate up to seven beam modules that alter the throw of light, and these are offered in three versions: Pure LED Vision, Adaptive LED Vision and Matrix LED Vision with dynamic turn signals.
Headlining the Renault Austral powertrain line-up is a new E-Tech “full hybrid” configuration in 160 hp and 200 hp states of tune which combines a petrol combustion engine with two electric motors comprised of a traction motor and a high-voltage starter-generator, the latter tasked with starting the combustion engine and charging the battery. These are joined by the main hybrid drive battery and a smart multi-mode dog gearbox.
The combustion engine is a 1.2 litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine producing 96 kW (128 hp) and 205 Nm of torque, and is paired with a 50 kW (67 hp) and 205 Nm electric motor and a lithium-ion battery rated at 1.7 kWh and 400 V. Transmission is via a seven-speed gearbox, where two ratios are for electric mode and five ratios are for hybrid mode, says Renault.
Specified with these engines, the Austral is claimed to achieve the 80-120 km/h acceleration run in 5.9 seconds in 200 hp trim, or 6.8 seconds as the 160 hp version. Joining the full-hybrid powertrains is a 130 hp Mild Hybrid Advanced powertrain, comprised of a 1.2 litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine augmented by a 48-volt lithium-ion battery and starter motor.
This mild-hybrid powertrain is a Renault first, and features a balancing shaft that makes refinement comparable to that of a four-cylinder engine, according to Renault, and is paired with a manual transmission. Here, the mild-hybrid powertrain yields a fuel consumption rate of 5.3 l/100 km and CO2 emissions of 123 g/km.
Joining the range of three-cylinder powertrains is a 12-volt mild-hybrid, 1.3 litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that already serves in current Renault models, says the carmaker. This is available in 140 hp and 160 hp states of tune with 270 Nm of torque from 1,600 to 3,250 rpm, where both can be paired with X-Tronic automatic transmission or a manual gearbox for the 140 hp variant.
Rated at 6.2 l/100 km and 136 g/km for fuel consumption and CO2 emissions respectively, this 12-volt mild-hybrid gets an improved stop-start function that is joined by a Sailing Stop function on the automatic transmission variant. This enables the vehicle to regenerate energy when braking as well as switch the combustion engine off with decelerating, says Renault, thus improving fuel consumption and emissions while ensuring smoothness and comfort.
In terms of chassis, key features for the Austral include 4Control Advanced, which Renault’s third-generation four-wheel steering system. An actuator on the rear multi-arm axle now offers a greater opposite-steering angle of 5 degrees, over the 3.5 degrees previously offered by this system.
This enables the Austral to have a kerb-to-kerb turning circle of 10.1 m, according to Renault. Meanwhile at speeds of 50 km/h and upwards, the 4Control Advanced rear-axle steering system turns the rear wheels by up to 1 degree with the front wheels for added high-speed stability.
The 4Control Advanced setup augments the Multi-Sense suite of driving modes and configurable settings, ranging from driver parameters such as steering weight, engine and chassis responses to ambience, such as interior lighting, cabin temperature, instrument panel display configuration and colour settings. All together, drivers now have a choice of 13 Multi-Sense settings to choose from for a personalised setup.
There are a total of 32 ADAS in the Austral, which adds up to enabling Level 2 autonomous driving, says Renault. This is comprised of adaptive cruise control, Stop and Go and lane centring. Automatic speed adaptation offers a visual cue for the driver to adhere to the posted speed limit, while an eco-driving assistant helps the driver save fuel by anticipating road characteristics ahead and tells the driver to ease off the throttle.
Additional driver assistance systems in the Austral include a 360-degree around-view 3D camera, which the driver can manipulate to turn around or zoom in for a specific view. This also offers an overhead panoramic view both ahead of and behind the vehicle for easier parking.
Meanwhile, the Full Automated Park Assist helps with almost fully-automatic parking of the vehicle in angled, perpendicular or parallel lots; the driver simply has to monitor the surroundings and control the throttle, while the system handles braking, steering and gear selection.
The active safety suite is rounded up by lane departure warning, blind spot warning, lane keeping assist and emergency LKA, which guides the vehicle back into its lane if the system detects a risk of collision from an attempted overtake. Also included are rear AEB, rear cross traffic alert and occupant safe exit.
For passive safety, the Austral gets seven airbags, load-limiting seat belt pretensioners, and every seat gets an anti-whiplash headrest.
Infotainment on the Renault Austral comes courtesy of OpenR Link, which here runs on Android Automotive OS. The 12.3-inch fully digital driver instrumentation panel is joined by a 12-inch portrait-oriented infotainment screen, and integrates Google functionality such as Google Maps, Google Assistant, Google Play and more. Updates to the OpenR Link system are sent automatically over-the-air.
Audio output in the Renault Austral comes courtesy of Arkamys as standard, while a 12-speaker, 485-watt Harman Kardon setup can be optionally specified.
The Renault Austral will go on sale with six trim levels – Equilibre, Evolution, Techno, Techno Esprit Alpine, Iconic, and Iconic Esprit Alpine. Seven exterior colours are offered – Glacier White, Pearl White, Flame Red, Iron Blue, Diamond Black and Shale Grey, with the Esprit Alpine trim level also getting the Satin Shale Grey paint finish. The Austral is set to go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2022.
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