Renault Trafic Crew van lobs

The Renault Trafic Crew has been launched in Australia, doubling the number of seats in the commercial van from three to six.

Based on the long-wheelbase Renault Trafic van, the Trafic Crew is now the range-topping medium van in the range, and is priced from $42,990.

At the time of writing Renault Australia was also offering a $44,990 drive-away, no-more-to-pay deal.

As well as the obvious extra row of seats – there are six pews in total, each with three-point seatbelts – the Renault Trafic crew comes with front and side airbags (but none for second-row passengers), stability control, rear parking sensors, reversing camera plus dual glazed sliding side doors.

Bluetooth phone connectivity is standard but if you want to replace the 16-inch steel wheels with 17-inch alloys you'll need to fork out the extra cash for an option pack.

Two of the rear seats have 98 litres of storage underneath them -- enough for a small bag or lunchbox, and there are even armrests between the back seats for extra comfort.

Because of the extra seats the rear cargo area isn't as generous as standard three-seat models, reducing to 1.8 metres long -- down from 2.9 metres. However, the Trafic Crew retains its 1.7-metre width for wide loads, as well as the 1.2-tonne payload capacity and 2.0-tonne tow rating of the regular models.

Like the standard Trafic, it's powered exclusively by a 1.6-litre turbo-diesel engine (103kW/340Nm) hooked up to a manual gearbox, and consumes fuel at a very low rate of 6.2L/100km (claimed).

We've tested the Renault Trafic on several occasions and the engine is a doozie, with plenty of pulling power.

Service intervals are 12 months or 30,000km (whichever comes first) and, like the rest of the Renault commercial vehicle range, the Trafic Crew Van gets a three-year, 200,000km warranty. It's also backed up with three years' roadside assistance and capped-price servicing.

Renault Australia has had impressive sales success with its commercial vehicle range in recent times, its portfolio of four vehicles recording a 23 per cent rise in 2016 compared to the year prior.

Sales of the Kangoo went backwards somewhat but the Master van and Master bus recorded solid growth. Meanwhile, the Trafic van's popularity exploded in 2016, rising from 1070 units the previous year to 1730 in 2016, representing an increase of 62 per cent.

"The growth in Renault LCV [light commercial vehicle] deliveries reflects the continuing positive response to the product and financial appeal of the Kangoo, Trafic and Master variants, including the all-new 12-seater Master Bus,” said Lyndon Healey, Senior Model Line Manager for Renault LCV.

“In 2016, the Trafic model range grew at a significant level and actually exceeded deliveries of the old model from its last full year in 2014 (1643 vans), when it was sold in both manual and auto guises,” said Healey, who confirmed a new Trafic 'Sport' variant will also be added to the French van range by mid-year.