Renault Master van unveiled

Renault is aiming for a bigger slice of the light commercial vehicle market in Australia with the release of the all-new, much improved Master large van.

Aiming to grab some market share from other premium European vans in the 3.5-tonne GVM segment, including Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Volkswagen Crafter, the Master van is available in medium and long wheelbase versions, only with mid-height roof, offering up to 12.5 cubic metres of loadspace and 1645kg payload.

One of the biggest improvements is the new Euro 5 compliant 2.3-litre dCi turbodiesel engine, which outputs 107kW at 3500rpm and 350Nm between 1550-2750rpm – 19kW and 50Nm up on the previous model.

Buyers have a choice of a six-speed manual transmission or the Quickshift robotised manual transmission, which operates in auto or manual mode. Apart from an increase in performance, the new engine with Quickshift transmission offers improved fuel economy (8.5L/100km), meaning it can travel for up to 1230km on a single, 105 litre tank of fuel.

Externally, the new Master has been given a bold new exterior design, while hardworking drivers will appreciate the much improved interior design and layout, which includes more storage spaces and a fixed steel bulkhead behind the driver for whisper quiet NVH levels.

A revised windscreen, larger side windows, massive side mirrors and a more elevated driving position have also improved all-round driving visibility for the driver.

The ‘mobile office’ includes three comfortable seats including a centre seat backrest that folds down to form a table with swivelling desktop big enough for a laptop and paperwork.

The impressive list of standard equipment includes rear parking sensors, six-way adjustable driver’s seat, electric windows and side mirrors, air-con, trip computer, CD/MP3 radio with Bluetooth audio streaming and telephony, glovebox cooler, plus rear and side-opening doors that open wide enough to load a pallet.

Safety has not been ignored with driver and passenger airbags, anti-skid brakes and stability control fitted as standard.

Priced from $43,990 for the medium wheel base manual variant to $47,490 for the long-wheelbase Quickshift, the Renault van is also available with a number of options including a $1490 Premium pack, which includes a reversing camera and sat nav. There’s also a $1890 Safety and Security pack that adds driver head and thorax side airbags amongst other items.

The new Renault Master has been available in Europe since April 2010, and clocked up 100,000 sales in its first 13 months.

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