Renault Master Bus: Review

Name: Renault Master Bus: Review
Brand: Renault

Renault’s Master Bus has gained a strong foothold in the small bus category with very strong year-to-date sales

It was just over a year ago that we were introduced to the
Renault Master Bus and we predicted that it would gain a bit of following in the 12-seat bus market – and it has.

The leader in the sector by a long margin is the Toyota Hiace which in year-to-date sales had accumulated 872 sales. This represented a 4.6 per cent drop over last year’s sales.

The Renault’s nearest European rival, the Mercedes Benz Sprinter Bus was up in sales by 41 per cent with 196 sales but the really big mover was, you guessed it, the Renault Master Bus which was up a whopping 180 per cent with 151 sales representing 12.1 per cent of the market.

The standard Renault Master Bus is priced at $59,990 which is the same as the Toyota offering and around five grand less than the Mercedes 313CDI. However, our test vehicle was fitted with the Premium Pack which retails for $3590 and adds auto lights and wipers, R-Link enhanced sat nav with a seven-inch touch screen, LED lights in the rear, curtains, reclining last-row seats, premium carpet and an electrically-operated sliding side door. Great value for sure.

This brings the price up to $63,580 plus on-road costs which is pretty good for a fully-equipped 12-seater bus.

The Master is powered by a 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel that puts out 111kW of power and 350Nm of torque. Transmission is a six-speed automated manual and drive is through the front wheels. Freeway driving returns around nine litres/100kms, while in the city you can expect to get somewhere in the 10s.

Comfortable interior

Climbing up into the bus, it was great to note the professional-looking Isringhausen driver’s seat -- great if you’re going to be spending long hours at the wheel. The left-hand side up front is taken care of by a double bench with a split back, the centre of which folds down to make a work station with drink holders and a shelf for pens, sunnies and the like.

The view from the driver’s seat is great with an expansive windscreen that’s tall as well as wide. The mirrors are great with a big mirror each side with a convex mirror underneath for a really good view aft.

Instrumentation is comprehensive with the usual gauges and a small screen for info such as distance to empty, cruise control speed, economy and the like.

Up near the central rear-vision mirror is the screen for the R-Link system which has multimedia, navigation, vehicle settings, telephone setup and a rear camera. It takes a bit of getting used to having the screen there rather than in the dash but once you’re familiar with it, it just takes a glance to the left and you have all your data at the ready.

Storage abounds in the Master with overhead storage units, in-dash pockets and a two-tier setup in the doors that includes pockets for drink bottles or even a thermos for your coffee.

Up front there are two 12-volt sockets as well as a couple of USB plugs and there are also USBs in the rear of the bus.

As mentioned, our test vehicle was fitted with an electric sliding door and this is operated via a switch on the dash. As the door slides, a step reveals itself from under the bus and this again retracts when the door closes – all very neat.

Entry and exit to the rear is very easy and aided by the tall roof and roomy door aperture so you don’t have to duck as you get in and out. Inside, there’s stacks of headroom and unless you are very tall, it’s easy to walk right through to the four reclining rear seats.

The rear passenger section of the bus is fully lined and carpeted making it a nice, quiet environment in which to travel, which I did ion a couple of occasions.

The seats themselves are roomy comfortable and feature three-point seatbelts, and there are big widows making for a bright and airy feeling. But if you do feel like a snooze or a bit of privacy, there are also the aforementioned curtains to all the seating positions.

LED lights adorn the roof for safety at night, and obviously, the rear is air-conditioned and heated.

Over the back, there are big barn doors that can fold right around the vehicle and the luggage room inside is cavernous. Renault quotes the luggage area as 3.5 cubic metres – or the equivalent to Renault Kangoo van.

On the road

The Renault Master Bus is a pretty big vehicle. It’s long at 6198mm, high at 2475mm and also pretty wide at 2070mm plus the big wing mirrors, but that said, it is easy to drive.

The commanding high driving position plus the excellent vision give you a good view all round. The six speed automated manual is smooth and gives a good range of gears.

A four-wheel disc brake setup provides stopping confidence and the Bus steers well too. One small gripe would be that all that size equates to a pretty big turning circle of 15.7 metres so you’re not going to get around that U-turn in one go on most occasions.

Fuel capacity is 100 litres which equates to around 900kms of range on a trip. Our real-life data for commuting as well as a 140km country tour returned 8.8 litres/100kms which, for a bus this size, is pretty good.

Out on the highway, the Master Bus cruises effortlessly. I found that with the cruise control set at 100km/h it sits just below 2000rpm in sixth gear and switches seamlessly down to fifth for hills then just as smoothly back to sixth. It’s a relaxing and quiet cruise and one that you could do easily for hours at a time.

Overall, we found the Master Bus to be a well thought-out, effective and capable vehicle. It’s big, comfortable and economical with plenty of luggage room and the added bonus of a 2500kg towing capacity.

Renault says that the Master Bus has service intervals of 12 month or 30,000kms and servicing is capped at $349 adding to its economical running costs. Warranty is three years or 200,000 kms.

Specifications:

Engine: Four-cylinder turbocharged intercooled direct injection diesel

Capacity: 2299cc

Bore x stroke: 85 x 101.3mm

Maximum power: 110kW at 3500rpm

Maximum torque: 350Nm at 1500rpm

Transmission: Six-speed automated manual

Configuration: 4x2 front-wheel drive

Kerb weight: 2638kg

Gross vehicle mass: 3890kg

Payload: 1252kg

Front axle load: 1850kg