Renault Trafic lauded

Renault's next-gen Trafic has clinched another accolade in Europe, claiming the title of Best Medium Van in Britain's WhatVan? Awards 2015

The awards keep coming for the next generation of Renault's Trafic light commercial vehicle, with the model recently scooping Best Medium Van in the annual awards held by acclaimed British LCV magazine, WhatVan?, along with the publication's 'Innovation Award'.

The accolades come just weeks after the latest Trafic – which went on sale in Britain in September – scooped the Argus Trophy 2015 in France.

The WhatVan? Awards saw the Trafic defeat all comers in five of seven judging criteria, triumphing across the fields of environmental footprint, available associated services, travelling comfort, operating costs and 'jury's favourite'.

The Innovation Award was given to the Trafic for its Wide View Mirror, which is built into the passenger vanity mirror and minimises the vehicle's blind spot.

Manufactured in France at Renault's Sandouville plant, the new Trafic is available in Europe with a choice of four turbo-diesel powerplants, two of them being new twin turbos. The renewed model boasts a redesigned cabin and a load bay optimised with a number of practical features.

A total of 270 variants are available in Europe across van, crew-cab, platform-cab and people-carrier formats, with the largest Trafic packing in 8.6 cubic metres of storage space.

According to Paul Barker, editor of WhatVan?, the new Trafic stood out on several fronts.

"The new Renault Trafic plays host to a series of innovations designed to make it the most user-friendly van in its class for those using it as a working environment," he said.

"It's a clever vehicle that also features class-leading refinement and excellent new engines, making for an appealing all-round package."

Renault has been Europe's top-selling LCV brand for 16 consecutive years and sales of the French manufacturer's vans are currently up a massive 45 per cent in the UK.

Renault's LCV sales are also surging in Australia: to the end of November, sales of the brand's Kangoo and Trafic lines were up 75.0 per cent, while sales of its larger Master LCV platform were up 40.7 per cent (FCAI data).

Renault Australia LCV Model Line Manager, Lyndon Healey, says the European titles bode well for the local arrival of the Trafic, which is slated for the second quarter of 2015.

"The awards underscore what we already know from our evaluation of the new Trafic: it is a medium-sized van that has the potential to reset the segment benchmark for van owners and operators in Australia," he said.

"From driver comfort to performance, ease of driving and the availability of some very attractive and user-friendly features, the all-new Renault Trafic is sure to be the van to beat."

Local pricing and specification details for the new Renault Trafic will be released closer to the model's arrival.

Renault Trafic lauded

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