Renault has now renewed its entire LCV line-up with the introduction of an all-new Trafic and new Master joining the new Kangoo in the range. And all of these come with a confidence-boosting five-year unlimited mileage warranty.
Production of Trafic, Renault’s medium-sized van has been taken back from Nissan’s plant in Barcelona to a Renault plant in France. Meanwhile, the new Master and Kangoo will continue to be manufactured in their current locations, which means that all Renault’s LCVs are now made in France.
Pricing has just been announced by Renault Ireland, with all-new Trafic starting from €21,995 and the new Master from €24,300.
The Trafic combines the strengths of its predecessor with a series of key improvements. In addition to its robust and dynamic new design, which features the Renault brand’s new styling cues, the Trafic is even bigger. And Renault boasts that this makes it more comfortable and practical than ever.
The front and rear overhangs have been extended by 10cm and 11cm respectively, while maximum load lengths of 3.75m and 4.15m for the L1 and L2 versions respectively establish a new benchmark for the market. At the same time, the bulkhead has been located 3cm further back in order to enhance comfort inside the extensively revised cabin.
Designed to serve as a mobile office, its cabin features a raft of bespoke equipment, including smartphone and tablet cradles, laptop computer storage, and a removable A4-size clipboard to simplify the lives of business customers.
The new Trafic is powered by the R9M engine which is available with either a single turbo (90 and 115hp variants ) or twin turbos (120 and 140hp variants ), the twin turbo Energy variants are fitted with Stop and Start and regenerative braking as standard.
Renault claims that the all-new Trafic combines performance with fuel efficiency and achieves 5.9 l/100km (47.9mpg combined ) with the Energy dCi 120 engine under the bonnet. This represents an improvement of 10 mpg compared to the previous best-selling dCi 115.
The Master, Renault’s larger van, also ranks highly in its segment. In addition to being the top seller in France, it enjoyed an 11.9 per cent share of the European market (fourth position ).
Renault says that the model’s renewal in 2014 seeks to reinforce its popularity and ensure that it continues to meet the needs of its customers. To help achieve that goal, its engine range features twin turbo technology, which combines extra horsepower (up to 165hp ) with lower fuel consumption (for a saving of 1.5 litres/100km ).
The new Master’s travelling comfort and safety credentials have been boosted, too, with the fitment of latest-generation ESC - incorporating GripXtend, Hill Start Assist, and Trailer Sway Control - as well as a wide view mirror, which eliminates the rear blind spot.
Last but not least, the new Master range now includes a rear-wheel drive L4 panel van version (H2 and H3 ) with single rear wheels, which Renault says was developed especially with express courier businesses in mind.
In addition to these new features, the latest version of the model comes with a redesigned, dynamic, and modern front end incorporating Renault’s latest brand identity.
