Although the QQ would be adequate for our needs, we have been holding out for the XT in Tecna trim (full faux leather) to appear since February. During that time the QQ Tekna trim has been and gone, which we regret now not ordering.
The Austral is indeed on our radar aswell but – considering Nissan and Renaults 50/50 partnership, Renault as the French do, have chosen to go their own way on everything bar sharing the platform. Renault therefore have chosen to use a completely different powertrain and how it drives the wheels and the choice of a terribly over complcated electronic controlled dog box automatic gearbox. Although this dog box setup is seen in the failed Arkana hybrid, with its overly slow to decide what powertrain it should use Renault has claimed to have solved this problem by using a 1.2 powerplant rather than the 1.6 seen in the Arkan and other Renault hybrids. Yes its better than better in the Austral but, every review or video you watch mentions the problem still exists, though alot will depend on how you drive to whether you notice it or not. From what I understand the rather ooutdated torsion beam rear suspension is also present in front wheel drive Qashqui’s, so @Mike 700 can give his review here.
Considering the Autral has 10bhp more than the Qashqui, it takes an additional 0.5s (8.4) to reach 60, video’s suggest it arround 9s, which can partly be down to that dog box. The Qahqui E-power has 330Nm of torque, whils’t reports say the the Austral has 205Nm, which I’m not totally convinced with given its hybrid.
The interior is is flashy especially with its Android Automotive system and its ambient lighting, if not somewhat overly dark interior materials, the weird thrust controller in the centre console that does nothing is weird. On paper the 61mpg are indeed excellent, although reporsts say its more like 53mpg, which is not too disimilar to the Qahqui. Oh and the matrix lights are appealing and it looks more modern than the Qashqui.
The Austral is a car I like but, there is perhaps more resevations than I would have say with other brands and Renaults build quality and reliabilty ratings of the not so distance past I’m unsure with.
My honest answer after all that rambling is I don’t know lol.
