Renault Austral Officially Unveiled, This Is What You Need to Know About It

From a styling standpoint, Renault has dubbed the design of this model to be "Sensual Tech," which is the company's current design language. You can recognize it by the C-shaped DRLs in the LED headlights, which can be had with a Matrix LED setup as optional equipment. You may also recognize the Renault-specific front grille, along with the new logo of the French marque.

The rear of the Austral also comes in a specific design to the brand, as it includes the taillight design seen on the new Megane, as well as the new logo of the company, and an otherwise normal design for an SUV.

The profile of Renault's latest compact SUV comes with a few muscular lines that go from the fenders to the doors, and vice versa for the rear, as well as piano black plastic body cladding.

The French manufacturer offers wheels that range from 17 to 20 inches in diameter, while the ground clearance starts is at 17 centimeters (6.69 inches) high. Customers will get to choose between seven exterior shades, while trim levels are six in total.

All the trim level names are new to Renault, which will bring a bit of confusion in the line-up. Things start with Equilibre and then move to Evolution, Techno, Techno Espirit Alpine, and you think that it is over.

Instead, Renault's Austral is also offered in the Iconic and Iconic Espirit Alpine trim levels. As you may have noticed if you are familiar with the Renault range, there is no RS Line, which was replaced by the Espirit Alpine designation. The latter means "Alpine spirit" in French.

The inside features a rather modern cockpit, with two big screens to convey information to the driver and handle the multimedia unit. The parking brake command has been repositioned from the center console to the left side of the dashboard, while the gear selector (for the automatic transmission models) is mounted on the steering column.

Renault's partners at Mercedes-Benz apply a similar layout to their vehicles, so this may be the reason behind the change.

The multimedia unit is entirely new, and is based entirely on Android, but will also work with iPhones, so do not worry about that. From a control perspective, Renault still offers a few buttons on the center console for key functions, while the steering wheel has ditched conventional buttons in favor of touch-sensitive controls.

Renault claims to have implemented superior quality materials and finishes on-board the Austral, while customers will be offered multiple upholstery models to choose from.

The trunk offers 430 liters (15.1 cu.ft.) of cargo volume for the full-hybrid model, 500 liters (17.65 cu.ft.) for the regular models, or up to 1.455 liters (51.38 cu.ft.) The latter is achieved if the rear seats are folded down. Moreover, the rear seats can also be moved forward and back, as they are fitted on rails.

From the perspective of the engine range, Renault offers the new Austral only with gasoline-powered engines, and there are three to choose from, all electrified in one way or another. The entry-level model comes with a four-cylinder 1.3-liter unit with a 12-volt micro-hybrid setup that offers 140 or 160 horsepower and can be had with a manual gearbox or an X-Tronic CVT unit.

There is also an all-new 1.2-liter motor, which is an inline-three-cylinder unit (not to be confused with the old 1.2-liter four-cylinder TCe), which has a 48-volt micro-hybrid setup and offers 130 metric horsepower. This model only comes with a manual gearbox, though.

The third option in the Renault Austral range is a full-hybrid setup that is based on a 1.2-liter gasoline unit, a starter-generator, a small, 1.7-kWh battery, and a multimode clutch-less gearbox. The latter setup is available in both 160 horsepower and 200 horsepower versions, and also features a 400-volt electrical network, as Renault notes.

While its digital world premiere was organized on March 8th, 2022, Renault's all-new Austral will debut in the last quarter of 2022. Pricing information is set to be revealed later.