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.
