The new Renault Austral E-Tech full hybrid is manufactured in Spain for the national and international market and has arrived to become one of the pillars to re-conquer the C segment. As Luca de Meo, general director of the The Renault group, the Austral, together with the 100% electric Arkana and Mégane E-TECH, are part of a new era dubbed “Renaulution”, a modern and advanced approach that aims to make the brand a benchmark in technology, clean energy and services.
With a truly striking, athletic exterior design, Renault has made a great effort -human and economic- to create a modern and technologically advanced cabin. An interior, as defined by those responsible for the brand, “high-tech”, refined and with the characteristic dignity of the family models that have marked the history of Renault.
interior of the austral
Austral is, therefore, an SUV with excellent arguments to succeed in Spain and in Europe, a benchmark in terms of technology, clean energy and services. In this sense, the OpenR screen is the jewel of an extremely welcoming cabin, a screen that combines the display of data in the instrument panel with multimedia navigation by integrating the best of Google services.
To the two large screens, the instrumentation screen and the center console screen, we must add the Head-up Display system, with a total of nearly 1,000 cm2 for an intuitive, immersive and connected driving experience.
MULTI-SENSE advanced
The MULTI-SENSE technology of the new Austral is of the latest generation and is capable of allowing true personalization of the driving experience and thus enhancing the sensations behind the wheel. That is, each route can be different. This MULTI-SENSE advanced technology is also an example of the good work of the Spanish engineers who have worked on the development of Austral at the Palencia plant.
With MULTI-SENSE technology, the driver chooses the driving mode that best suits him at all times, in each situation. A technology that even adapts to the driver’s mood. Adjustments are made via the OpenR display on the dashboard and a new dedicated button on the steering wheel.
Infographic of how the different driving modes affect the behavior of the Austral
In this way, the driver acts voluntarily on the hardness of the steering, the response of the engine, the lighting in the passenger compartment, the air conditioning or the color of the instrument panel.
There are three programmed modes, Eco, Comfort and Sport, which combine the best of these settings for purposes of efficiency, balance adapted to the most frequent situations and intensification of dynamic sensations, respectively. A fourth mode, called Perso, allows you to freely choose the customization of the settings. With the Extended Grip pack, two additional modes are offered: a snow mode (snow) and an all terrain mode (off-road). The driver can switch from one mode to another at any time, also by voice control via Google Assistant.
Likewise, Austral offers an unprecedented function to reduce consumption: the proactive recommendation to switch to Eco mode. Based on user habits and real-time analysis of driving conditions, the vehicle’s artificial intelligence suggests switching to Eco mode through a recommendation on the central screen.
E-Tech full hybrid
The new platform used by Austral is designed for electrification and to be able to equip different types of hybridization and mount, for example, the new E-Tech full hybrid engine, the mechanical star of the range.
In this way, the initial range of Austral has three mechanical gasoline hybrid options, two light hybrids (mild hybrid) of 140 or 160 CV and the new hybrid, E-Tech full hybrid, of 200 CV. All these versions carry the ECO environmental label. There are no diesel engines, nor 100% electric, nor plug-in hybrids. And the drive is always to the front wheels.
The lights inside the vehicle change depending on the activated driving mode
The E-Tech full hybrid technology has had the participation of Spanish engineers in the Valladolid plant where these engines are manufactured. Designed to offer driving pleasure and, at the same time, a low level of CO2 emissions, the new E-Tech full hybrid engine produces 200 HP and has the best consumption/performance ratio on the market.
It has a new 1.2-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine, with a turbo, of 130 HP of power, which is connected to two other electric motors. One of the electric motors helps to drive the car, providing power to reach 200 hp. The other electric motor acts as an electricity generator, for the starter motor, speed changes and battery recharging.
By default, Austral always starts in electric mode and the transitions are very smooth, without power drop, and the gasoline engine can always work in the optimal efficiency range. In addition, the E-Tech full hybrid system has 4 regeneration modes that are activated with the paddles on the steering wheel, which are not used to change. In town or downhill, maximum regeneration quickly charges the battery to be able to use electric mode and not pollute.
