Renault Trafic Crew: Review

Renault has introduced its Trafic Crew albeit with no auto option. But it is a well-executed bona fide dual-cab van that ticks a lot of boxes for both commercial and recreational use. We took one away for a weekend to test its credentials for the latter…

Recently released by Renault is the Trafic Crew which, as it turns out, is not just a long-wheelbase van with a bench seat bolted in the back as we’ve seen from some manufacturers in the past.

Renault has gone to some lengths to make this a distinctive model in its own right with thoughtful touches for both the front and rear passengers which we’ll get to later. But as we found out on a 500-plus kilometre drive from south-east Melbourne to the border town of Echuca, the Trafic Crew is a genuine dual-purpose vehicle which can serve in equal parts as a city workhorse or family tourer.

On our trip we had three adults, all our gear for a weekend away, two sets of golf clubs (naturally), a big five-burner barbecue which we were transporting for my partner’s son, and a full-size car fridge. This load left a whole heap of space in the rear of the Trafic and got me to thinking of how much more room there was in the Renault than in a dual-cab ute.

But it’s not just in the cargo area that the Trafic Crew offers ample space; it’s in the passenger area as well.

The three individual rear seats are not the bolt-upright types with insufficient padding that you find in dual-cab utes, these are comfortable perches with arm rests, a little bit of backrest adjustment, heaps of legroom and a nice flat floor with a non-skid covering. The seats also have a trio of three-point seatbelts.

Our passenger was a big boy, over 190cm and thick-set to boot, and he said he was very comfortable in the back for the long hauls of nearly 300 kilometres each way.

The vehicle we had on test was equipped with the Lifestyle Pack as well as the optional two front seats (it comes standard with three front seats). This meant that we had the full gamut of luxury inclusions including 7-inch touchscreen with navigation, cloth seats all round (heated in the front), upgraded stereo with roof speakers in the rear, individual rear reading lights, opening windows in the rear sliding doors and sun blinds on the windows. It also includes 12-inch alloy wheels and colour coding to the front bumper and door rail.

The Lifestyle Pack adds $2990 to the standard price of $42,990 and the bronze metallic paint added another $800 bringing the price of our test unit to $46,780 (plus on-roads).

The bulkhead behind the rear seats is rated to Australian Standard AS4034 and we were told that even though it’s glazed offering good rear vision, it passes the so-called ‘fridge test’ which offers protection from a 50kg object travelling at 50km/h.

And while we’re on the subject of safety, the Trafic has six airbags up front. It hasn’t been tested by ANCAP as yet and while it has been tested by Euro NCAP, the results are not out and Renault was reluctant to discuss it until the results are published. What we can says is that Euro NCAP did test the 2015 version of the Trafic and rated three stars, and we’d expect this model to rate higher.

For this example we’ll use the Mazda BT-50/Ford Ranger. One of the things that I found interesting was that even though the Trafic Crew is based on the long wheelbase Trafic, the overall length of 5399mm is only slightly more than the Mazda/Ford which comes in at 5365mm.

In terms of payload the Mazda is quoted at 1096kg while the Trafic is 1118kg. Cargo length for the Trafic is longer at 1900mm (or 2300mm if you use the area under the rear seat that is usually under-seat storage) while the ute is 1549mm. The Trafic is also wider at 1662mm as opposed to 1560mm for the ute, and the Trafic is far higher in the cargo bay at 1387mm while the ute’s height will be determined by the type of canopy you choose (but it won’t be near that).

Where the ute wins is in towing capacity which is 3500kg while the Trafic is quoted at 2000kg. But if you don’t want to tow much or go off-road (there’s no 4WD available for the Trafic) the van has some distinct advantages.

The Trafic is powered by a twin-turbo 1.6-litre engine. It’s a modern 16-valve donk that puts out 103kW of power and a very respectable 340Nm of torque from a fairly low 1500rpm. Transmission is six-speed manual and while there’s no automatic, we were told at the launch that it is “on the way” and we will get one before the next update of the Trafic.

The engine pulls surprisingly hard from around 1500rpm through to peak power at 3500rpm where it starts to tail off. There is an Eco button on the dash that drops power and torque and effectively reduces fuel consumption by a claimed 10 per cent. We used it around town and the drop in power is noticeable but hardly affects performance in city traffic at all.

With the Eco button off, the Trafic fairly zips around and is great on the highway. The six-speed gearbox is slick in operation and the gears are well paced with no apparent ‘holes’.

From the driver’s seat, the vision is great. The high, upright seating position gives the driver a good view ahead while the big wing mirrors and the window in the bulkhead mean you have good rear vision as well. There is a reversing camera, but it’s in the rear-vision mirror and while it does work, it’s very small and hard to see. It’d be much better in the touchscreen.

There’s also a bit of a blind spot I noticed on the right around the sliding door but that may vary from driver to driver and how you set the mirrors.

The seats themselves are firm but comfortable and I didn’t have any trouble doing a couple of hundred kilometres on the trot.

One gripe is getting in and out especially on the passenger’s side up front. There really needs to be a hand hold or two to help with the step up. It’s not as bad for drivers as they can grab the steering wheel but the passenger really needs a bit of assistance.

Once aboard, I found the Trafic to be well equipped with auto lights and wipers, idle-stop, cruise control, and simple but effective gauges consisting of a big analogue tacho and fuel gauge flanking a digital speedo. Above is a trip computer giving all the usual data, which can be scrolled through with a button on the right-hand stalk.

Renault claims that the Trafic achieves a combined urban/highway economy figure of 6.2L/100km but we were ‘only’ able to get a figure of 7.7L/100km and that was mostly highway running. It’s still a pretty good figure from a partially laden LWB van.

So is the Renault Trafic Crew a worthy alternative to the evergreen dual-cab ute? Well, you might not get the machismo of a ute, and you might not get the accolades of your mates, but you will get a better ride, and a bigger and more secure cargo area. And the kids won’t whinge as much about being in the back, so all told, it could be considered as fair competition to the Aussie icon.