Renault Austral review

Two points of interest here, the hybrid system and the four-wheel steering.

We explained the hybrid mechanism briefly on the Overview page. Now for how it feels. Mostly, it falls into the background. On light throttle the engine starts and stops far more often than you realise unless you're looking at the power flow dash graphic. It's near silent and very smooth.

A good dose of full throttle – up a motorway slip road or passing the derestriction sign, say – also feel natural. Engine revs rise through a gear then drop on an upshift. The 0-62mph is a respectable 8.4 seconds.

Does anything confuse it?

Only when you ask for power suddenly does it get into a muddle, pausing while it rearranges the sources and ratios, then clunking slightly as it forges ahead. You do have steering column paddles, but they affect only the degree of lift-off deceleration, not the acceleration gear.

Overall though, it feels as natural as any hybrid. And the quietness and rated economy are excellent. But of course, rated economy largely relates to mixed-speed driving. Again like any hybrid, on a steady-speed motorway where there's not much chance to recover energy, economy falls short of a diesel.

So how economical is it exactly?

Compared to Renault’s claimed 60.1mpg, we saw 52.9mpg on a 25ish-mile round route around the outskirts of London, a large proportion of which was spent in stop/start traffic. On a clean run you could probably do slightly better.

Renault tells us there’s up to 30 advanced driver assistance systems including the likes of lane departure warning, blind spot warning and lane keep assist, which we found worked smoothly without being too overbearing. And – so important, this – it's easy to find and fathom the switches that engage and disengage them.

What’s it like around town?

The four-wheel steering is a success. You gain a lot, not just in turning circle (10.1 metres with, 11.4 metres without) but in the way the rear follows the front to clear obstacles. In roundabouts and tight corners, agility is strong. On A-roads, it's calibrated to give fine stability, so it's very relaxing to bowl along.

It contains roll and body heave well, and grips gamely, but it's not about feedback or engagement. Because it's a family crossover. The ride isn't harsh but can get a little busy because the springs are taut and the wheels are big.