Inside of the Renault Austral
Interior Rating
One of the better cabins in the family SUV class, the Austral borrows much inside from the Renault Megane E-Tech. It's pretty spacious, too.
Renault Austral 2024: Practicality
The Renault Austral is pretty close to a VW Tiguan in size, with external dimensions making it 4,510mm long, 1,843mm wide and 1,644mm tall with the roof bars. It's also bigger than the Nissan Qashqai in every dimension.
As a result you get a roomy cabin. Up front there's enough head- and legroom for those well over six foot to sit comfortably, although the centre console is broad and somewhat restricts your knee movements. The seats are comfortable, however, and there's plenty of adjustment for the driving position.
Renault claims class-leading rear legroom, and while we didn't have a tape measure to hand it certainly seems pretty generous for the mid-size SUV class. Aiding that is the sliding rear seat (this might be optional on basic UK specs) which allows you to juggle leg space and boot space depending on your needs. Headroom is a bit restricted by the panoramic sunroof option, however.
Fit the Renault Austral E-Tech Hybrid with a fixed rear bench and boot space is 430 litres. That's 70 litres down on the petrol models we don't get. However with the sliding rear bench you can increase the boot capacity to 555 litres.
General storage is pretty good, too, and helped by mounting the gear selector on the steering column. You get a flip-up split centre armrest with a deep cubby underneath, good-sized door bins and a pretty big glovebox, plus deep pockets in the back of the front seats.
The downside to having that column-mounted gearshift is you get three stalks mounted on the right-hand side of the wheel, including the wiper control and multimedia control. This isn't great ergonomically as until you get used to it you'll probably turn on the wipers instead of selecting reverse.
Renault Austral 2024: Quality and finish
We were impressed by the uplift in quality in the Megane E-Tech Electric, and things are no different in the Renault Austral. It's certainly a clear step on from the mediocre fit and finish in the old Kadjar.
There's a premium air and a feeling of solidity in the high-spec variants we've driven so far, with lots of soft-touch trim, no rattles or creaks and a finish that's right up there with Hyundai and Volkswagen alternatives. You even get classy touches such as open-pore wood veneer, Alcantara or Nappa leather if you spec correctly. We've yet to sample more basic versions, though.
Renault Austral 2024: Infotainment
The infotainment offerings were rarely a highlight in older Renaults, but the brand has bucked its ideas up for the latest models. The Renault Austral comes as standard with a 12-inch portrait-angled touchscreen and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, all linked in a neat gloss black glass bezel - like a Mercedes-Benz.
Even better, the infotainment itself uses software designed by Google, and we like it when car manufacturers stop wasting money designing their own inferior systems and go to tech companies that know what they're doing. The Austral's is bright and clear, with nice graphics, a responsive screen and up to 45 apps available.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard fitment, but you might not need to connect your phone because Google Maps is the standard in-built navigation. You also get a Google-based voice control function, which means works far better than most systems.
A novel touch in the Austral's cabin is a sliding handrest that moves back and forth in the centre console. It's designed for you to rest your wrist on while fiddling with the touchscreen, while it also houses the wireless phone charging pad and hides some storage areas.
The digital dial display gives you different display options including a Google Maps screen (a bit like an Audi), and a Tesla-style display which accurately shows the different types of vehicle around you for the active safety systems. On top of that you get an info-packed 9.3-inch head-up display. Renault claims it's the largest total surface area of displays on the market, and we can't disagree.
Four USB charging points feature throughout the cabin, while a 14-speaker sound system upgrade is available on the top trims.
Car seat chooser
Child seats that fit a Renault Austral
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