2023 Renault Austral Review | CarsIreland.ie

Sinead McCann reviews the Renault Austral for CarsIreland.ie
Renault's all new C-segment SUV looks set to make a splash on the family SUV market, but can it measure up to the much loved Kadjar it replaces?
Find a Renault Austral: www.carsireland.ie/used-cars/...
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[@MrZaragon62]

Great to see your lovely smile again Sinead, and a really nice, concise review. Renault cars have certainly improved over the last couple of years

[@robertadams1107]

Personally I think adding more controls to the steering column is a step back. It seems design teams are protecting their jobs by coming up with changes for the sake of it.

[@guvd9guv495]

Had the car for two months, still can’t get to grips with the wipers and the gear stick… lol 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@TheGOF]

Another fine review. Enjoyed seeing the countryside.

[@markbogdanovic8567]

I own it for a couple of months now and I absolutely love it. It has everything I need. What I don't like is the outside wind sound on the upper corners of the cabin when you go drive fast on the highway. I went with Austral after owning BMW X2 for 5 years, where this outside wind sounds were not present. Over all it is a great wheicle and worth the money. Interior design is just so infront of the other brands on the market. I love it. I reccomend it.

[@user-cy6vg7ji3i]

Thoroughly enjoyed a test drive in the Austral. Iconic Esprit Alpine now on order and should be ready to pick up in a couple of months 😊

[@emanuelferreira6875]

Missed you

[@michaelwei]

Thanks for the wonderful and comprehensive review of this SUV, I think this is perfect for me but I. wonder when is this coming to Vancouver, Canada. It has the perfect combination of digital and physical controls the dash is well laid out. The charging infrastructure is not ready for EVs here in Canada and finding a place to plug in is definitely a challenge especially if you live in an apartment. How is the charging situation in Ireland? Until they have the charging infrastructure set up, this is the perfect family SUV to buy. Perhaps I have to move to Dublin...

[@stevencampbell1150]

Great review Sinead, speaking as a current Kadjar owner I have a 1.6 diesel with almost 96 and half thousand miles on it and I was considering an Austral possibly next year, I say was because like any new model the Austral has quite a few software problems and it's for that reason I'm potentially going to pass on it potentially in favour of the sportline Octavia that you reviewed a few cars ago though having rang a local dealer in Northern Ireland where I live we don't get the Sportline Octavia until March and I would be looking for an ex demo model to hopefully save a bit of money on the list price. The software issues that I've read about with the Austral include an engine failure message which stops the car from going and can be fixed by a software update at the dealer's plus I've heard the boot on some models isn't made the best and so it leaks and where the boot lid is welded to make the shape again on some but not all cars is badly finished. Whilst the issues I speak of are all warranty related it's enough to make me think twice plus I'd prefer the auto shifter on the floor especially with the volume control on the steering wheel and your wipers and lights which I'm already used to as a Renault driver of many years but nonetheless I agree with your point of the steering wheel being very stalk heavy. I haven't driven one yet but despite the issues I mentioned I'm curious to see what they might be like although the boot is 30 - 40 litres smaller than the Kadjar's as it's 475 litres in the Kadjar.

[@radarsh1967]

100% with you on the stalks, I test drove the Megane E-Tech and there is no need for this nonsense. Not saying you go down the Tesla zero stalk road but one stalk on each side is perfect.

[@tolgaakyay]

Just test drove one and it's a brilliant car! Renault has definitely upped their game. We are not happy with the EV owning experience, that's why we are considering this.

[@borutsolina3569]

Its a nice car but for the price you can get a skoda kodiaq

[@newyorkcity76]

Ops I’m looking at you instead of car

[@Shadow-jo5yf]

Starting at €45.000😂😂 €48.000, oh my sides. Get out of that car tap the door panels, yep made out of soft drink cans, then there is that soft paint, = very easily dented+ scratched. Listen to all that wind and road noise as you drive. Oh don't forget that ever lasting condensation in the morning, very hard keep clear, might be something to do with poor insulation. Those wipers, yeah those clunky noisy wipers with it's common expensive wiper motor, which will break. Yeah we are getting ripped off alright.

[@guitarmuso1]

Just bought one in spain only 35000

[@andrewmcgonagle6290]

Had Iconic 3 weeks. Good concept that is terrible in practice. Car has many brilliant features, for example the lights are fantastic, as is the 4 wheel steer. BUT, all sorts of problems, engine revving it's nuts off for no reason, "gearbox" hunting for gears when cruising on the flat, lane departure taking control when it's not switched on (frightening). Even left me stuck in car park entrance, brakes jammed on because brake failure that cleared itself after 20 minutes. Car going in for checks, will keep you posted.

[@gazzalawson]

How did you get on? Considering this car but some worrying comments