Thinking about buying a Renault Austral

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pch
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2018 10:22 am
Location: Dublin, Ireland

Post by pch »

Hi everyone!
Currently have a Renault Kadjar and a member on those forums (Although have to say this seems much better.)

Thinking about changing next year and high on my list is now the Renault Austral.

blueBerry
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Oct 02, 2022 5:17 pm

Post by blueBerry »

Hi all,
I also currently have Renault Kadjar, now it is 7 years old and I am thinking of the replacement. Renault Austral would be a natural choice, but starting price is set rather high, comparing to its predecessor. We'll see if the market conditions change sooner or later.
zeczyguy
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2023 5:51 pm

Post by zeczyguy »

unless you can afford the difference , the Iconic, the mid range has miles less extras for very little money. well overpriced in my opinion
Mr rugby
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2023 9:36 pm

Post by Mr rugby »

Hello Team,
Austral Hunt Experience.
I am about to replace my current 2020 Qashqai with the Austral mid spec. Being a new model, i found mid spec reviews were in short supply unless you wanted the top Iconic model which seemed to be the one that Renault was loaning out to the press.

If you don't want the 4 wheel steering set up there's no point watching reviews about the category you don't want.
Dealers always seem to have the top model for demo but I eventually found a dealer with the mid version I wanted.
First impressions were positive,.. top tech ,comfy, electric heated seats and massage function,spacious, attractive to look at and a wrap around dashboard screen instead of a computer tablet stuck on the top of a dashboard. I hated them, they always looked like a last minute add on.

When you tour showrooms you see how much manufacturers start to copy each other. So it was nice to see a change to wrap around dash screens taking place. You watch, over the next few years they will all have wrap around screens as they copy each other again. The drive was quite firm when compared to my 2020 Qashqai probably down to the large wheels and shallow-ish tyres.
There was always a cushion type ride in the Qashqai has reported by my wife with a dodgy back.

I was a little disappointed in the few color choices available for this range but there's never the perfect car, a compromise or two generally has to be made.
A new 'YT' review from a few days ago, again on the top model ( iron blue ), was critical of the engine/gearbox function being quite coarse under acceleration with a mind of it's own. It seems the gear change Mechanism has adopted the older Dog clutch system of engagement and the complication of switching between engine assistance and electric drive is not as fluid as some cars he said..
I found it ok on our test drive but I hate the sound of a 3 cylinder engine. I always feel they sound like there's a
miss-fire being an old fashioned 4 cylinder petrol head mechanic type of guy. Again compromise in favor of function

What do current owners think ?

It's surprising how many reviews incorrectly identify the model range names. Example,The headline of a review may state,
"Techno Esprit Alpine test", then once the review starts the sunroof is shown together with the 4 wheel steer logo and Harmon sound system. which is on the Iconic range not mid and base spec versions. I recently watched a review from a very well known car dealership network who only appeared to publish positive/suspension reviews from the model range. I commented on the video with reference to the base and mid range models being a firmer set up and it wasn't published. I asked why ? as it was a fair point being mentioned by other testers. I never had a reply. that's when I realized they only published 7 positives with no further additions to date..strange.
It seems the author can choose what gets published.

On another note, a fairly local dealer who I had arranged a mid spec test drive with, upon arrival at the dealership he said my test drive had not been booked in, he then said they did not have a mid spec model to view on site, only for me to spot that an Austral parked 3 meters from his desk in the showroom was in fact the mid spec version i wanted, though he repeatedly said it was the top spec iconic version.
He later apologized for his error after I pointed out the spec to him......MMMMMM
His business card said he was a sales MANAGER.,,,,,,,,,suffice to say I did not purchase there.

So that's been my experience of Renault hunting over the past few months. This will be my first Renault for many years since owning a first generation Scenic years ago. Lets see what the future brings.

Goodbye for now and i am sure we will chat soon.

mr rugby.
From Southern Wales.
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