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NEWS
Renault to grow RWD Master range
Master LCV range will be joined in the New Year by another rear-wheel-drive variantRenault Australia's Master range of LCVs is set to expand, with the company revealing the range will be joined early next year by a mid-size Master van in a rear-wheel-drive format.
Also benefitting from a facelift announced by Renault in April, the new van is being brought to Australia to meet the needs of those seeking greater payload in a van with a 13-cubic-metre internal capacity.
Speaking at the recent premiere of the Sunliner 40, a limited-edition, high-end RV based on Renault's recently introduced Master motorhome cab/chassis, Renault Australia's LCV Model Line Manager, Lyndon Healey, said the new rear-wheel-drive van would feature a significantly higher payload than the existing equivalent front-wheel-drive model.
"We'll shortly increase our rear-wheel-drive range again," he said.
"There's been a lot of demand especially from refrigeration converters who want the volume of an L3 van but who want more payload. At the moment our L3 front-wheel-drive van has a 1.6-tonne payload, so we'll produce a vehicle with the same internal volume – 13 cubic metres – but it will have a payload of about 2500kg.
"After the conversion you'll be left with [a payload of] about 1.8 tonnes, whereas at the moment you're down around the 800-900kg mark, and that's just not enough for a lot of refrigerated converters."
While pricing will be confirmed closer to its release, the new Master variant is expected to go on sale in Australia in January 2015.
The newcomer will bring Renault Australia's rear-wheel-drive range of Master LCVs to five – the niche currently spans a high roof van, a single cab/chassis, a dual-cab/chassis, and the motorhome cab/chassis. It will invariably be powered by the 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel found in the rest of the Master range, which in Australia is only available in the one power format: 110kW/350Nm.
Renault Australia's LCV sales have surged in 2014, with the brand's commercial segment – comprising its Kangoo, Trafic and Master families – experiencing growth of 61 per cent to the end of August.
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Written byRod Chapman
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