Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle 2019 Review

First introduced to Australia in early 2017, the 2019 Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle combines the hauling capacity of the brand's medium van with the flexibility of a dual-cab utility, thanks to second-row seating that boosts carrying capacity of up to six occupants.

Available only in a long-wheelbase format and powered by a 1.6-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo-diesel, that second row is no afterthought. All three rear passengers receive headrests and three-point seatbelts, while there are fold-down armrests either side of the centre seat and both sliding side doors have glazing with sliding windows and retractable blinds.

In Australia, the Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle could well steal some sales from the lucrative dual-cab utility segment, and with the model boasting payload and towing limits of 1118kg and 2000kg respectively, it certainly provides some food for thought.

On the downside, the front-drive Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle is no off-roader and the load bay is down to 1.7m in length from 2.9m, while the second-row makes do without any curtain airbags.

The Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle is priced at $48,190 drive-away, which includes optional side protectors worth $700.

The Crew variant of Renault's Trafic medium van is only offered in the one long-wheelbase format and with the sole drivetrain of a 1.6-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo-diesel (103kW/340Nm) with six-speed manual transmission.

The 'lifestyle' aspect of the Renault Crew Lifestyle on test adds niceties like a heated driver's seat, sliding door sun blinds, second-row LED reading lights and entrance lights, keyless entry and starting, climate control, 'wide view' blind-spot mirror, premium cloth upholstery, reclining rear seats, two second-row stereo speakers, 17-inch alloys, a colour-matched front bumper, side steps and premium dash trim, among others.

Service intervals are pegged at every 12 months or 30,000km, whichever comes first, while the first three scheduled services are capped at $549 each (plus coolant, brake fluid and accessory belt replacement as required).

Renault quotes an ADR Combined fuel economy figure of just 6.2L/100km, but over the course of this test – conducted while largely unladen both around town and on motorways – we averaged 8.0L/100km.

The Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle also comes with four years of complimentary roadside assistance.

For small business owners and tradies who need a vehicle that can also serve as family transport, or perhaps to cart fellow workers to a work site, the Renault Traffic Crew Lifestyle approaches its 'mixed use' role with some degree of finesse.

Like any dual-cab ute, a crew-cab van is an inherent compromise, but the flexibility offered by the Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle in carrying out both workhorse and family roles reasonably well will hold plenty of appeal for a portion of prospective buyers.

The Renault Traffic Crew Lifestyle can cart around a family of up to six with a decent degree of comfort, and especially once you consider all of its 'lifestyle' features.

There's a good amount of leg and head room in the second row while we like the option pack's reclining rear seats – the seat bases slide forward a bit, reducing leg room but relaxing the angle of the seat backs.

There's a storage tray beneath the second-row seating and even ISOFIX mounting points for baby capsules/child seats for the two outboard seats, further enhancing its family-friendly nature.

Cab storage forward of the load bay is healthy, with a large area storage beneath the twin front-passenger seat unit. The glovebox is large and there's a concealed dash-top tray on the passenger side plus a sizeable open centre tray for odds and ends, plus decent front door pockets, three cup holders, and a smartphone cradle.

However, family buyers may be put off by the absence of an ANCAP safety rating for the Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle. The Trafic has never been assessed by ANCAP in Australia and it scored three stars when last tested by NCAP in Europe, in 2015.

Having said that, the Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle comes standard with all the safety essentials like stability control (with traction control, load adaptive control and rollover mitigation) and antilock brakes, six airbags up front, a reversing camera, hill hold assist, rear parking sensors, daytime running lights, front fog lights with cornering function and automatic lights and wipers.

While there are no rear curtain airbags, there is at least a bulkhead to offer protection from shifting loads in the event of an accident.

You can have any transmission as long as it’s a six-speed manual. Renault has been slow to come to the auto party with its LCVs, although that will be addressed in the next Trafic update due here before the end of the year.

Of course, there's little point in purchasing a Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle if you want to head off-road come the weekend, as is the case for many 4WD dual-cab ute owners.

While every Trafic comes standard with Grip Xtend – an electronic aid that assists traction in slippery going, like on wet grass or a muddy dirt road – this van's native habitat is on sealed roads.

The Renault will also fall short compared to many dual-cab utes when it comes to towing. While the Trafic Crew Lifestyle's braked towing limit of 2000kg is still handy in its own right, it's still well under the 3500kg claims at the upper end of the Aussie ute market.

The 2019 Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle is available Australia-wide now, with the more utilitarian base model Trafic Crew on sale since its arrival in early 2017.

Need to haul a load and potentially cart around the kids? The Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle has you covered. As this model is only available in a long-wheelbase format, the load bay is still relatively spacious. Renault quotes a load bay volume of 4.0 cubic metres and a maximum payload of 1118kg.

On the commercial front, we measured the load bay to be 1940mm long by 1650mm wide by 1400mm tall, with some space under the second-row seating increasing length to 2410mm for longer items. The load bay floor is 550mm off the deck and there's 1265mm between the wheel arches, so it will accommodate a standard Australian pallet, with forklift loading made all the easier because of the 50:50 barn doors that open to 180 degrees.

In the load bay you'll find six tie-down anchor points, a light, mid-height plastic wall protection and a 12-volt auxiliary socket.

The Renault Trafic family spans three short-wheelbase vans, each with a different output rating, plus a long-wheelbase van and the Trafic Crew and Trafic Crew Lifestyle. The Trafic serves as Renault's medium van, slotting in between the compact Renault Kangoo and the Renault Master large van.

To the end of August 2019, sales of the Renault Trafic had accounted for 1263 units and a 10.2 per cent slice of the medium van (2.5-3.5t GVM) category (VFACTS data). That sees the Trafic slot into fourth place behind Toyota's top-selling HiAce (32.2%), Hyundai's iLoad (23.6%) and Ford's Transit Custom (11.4%), and ahead of Volkswagen's Transporter (9.6%), LDV's G10 (7.3%), and the Mercedes-Benz Vito (2.3%).

Crew vans are also currently offered by Toyota, Hyundai, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz, with Ford to join the fray shortly with its Transit Custom DCiV (Dual Cab-in-Van).

Light commercials are built to handle a decent load and so LCV ride quality is never going to match that of a passenger car, but having said that the Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle acquits itself perfectly well in terms of performance and handling

With two adults and two kids on board (but an empty load bay), the Trafic Crew Lifestyle gets away from a standing start nicely, the 1.6-lite twin-turbo-diesel delivering good urge from below 2000rpm to north of 4000rpm. Redline is indicated at 5000rpm and at 100km/h in sixth the engine is spinning at 1800rpm.

The six-speed manual is beautifully refined and shifts cleanly, while the brakes offer a thoroughly competent level of power, progression and feel.

The dash, instrumentation and controls are all very Renault, which is to say the layout is both attractive and easy to navigate, if a little different from Japanese, American and other European marques. I like the large central speedo display, the dedicated audio controls integrated into the tilt-and-reach-adjustable steering wheel, and the easy-to-use cruise control and speed-limiter functions.

The fit and finish of the cab's interior plastics are pretty good by LCV standards, and – like the synthetic flooring – should prove durable and easy to clean.

The Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle's turning circle is an appreciable 13.2 metres – perhaps not so surprising given the front-drive format and its long wheelbase – but the ride isn't unduly harsh, even without a load, and the Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle displays commendably low levels of noise, vibration and harshness.

At a height of 1971mm the Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle should squeeze into most multi-story car parks but you can expect the odd twang from the antenna on height indicator rails, low signage and the like.

The nicely finished and sealed bulkhead is a big help, but it's really pretty quiet in the cab when underway save for a bit of road noise on coarse-chip surfaces and the odd (minor) creak or rattle. That bulkhead aids the efficiency of the climate control considerably, which is beneficial for second-row occupants especially, who make do with small sliding side windows and without dedicated HVAC venting.

There are no A-pillar grab handles to aid ingress or egress but the side steps help and second-row passengers get B-pillar grab handles. The back seat is really very roomy, nicely finished and surprisingly comfy.

Vision is generally excellent thanks to the fairly skinny A-pillars, the broad, expansive windscreen, and the side door glazing. The rear barn doors and headrests impinge on rear vision through the wide bulkhead window, but a reversing camera and rear parking sensors make negotiating tight spaces a relatively simple affair.

There's an unobtrusive idle-stop feature and an Eco mode, which helped me to an average fuel economy on this test of 8.0L/100km. With an 80-litre fuel tank, that's a safe range of over 900km. The Euro 5 engine doesn't have a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system, so there's no AdBlue requirement.

The Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle stacks up well against today's dual-cab utes in terms of comfort, practicality, load security and economy, and all at a comparable (or lower) price point. The second-row seating and appointments have been done well – this isn't just a regular van with a bench seat bolted down in the back.

If you can forego the street cred and potentially the off-road ability of a dual-cab ute, the Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle could well serve as a better, more practical and more cost-effective option.

How much does the 2019 Renault Trafic Crew Lifestyle cost?
Price: $48,190 drive away (as tested)
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 103kW/340Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel: 6.2L/100km (ADR Combined); 8.0L/100km (as tested)
CO2: 164g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: N/A