RENAULT AUSTRAL E-TECH ICONIC

How will unusually motivated new family SUV perform on UK roads in top-rung form? 

- MATT PRIOR

The Austral is Renault's new C-segment SUV, replacing the Kadjar and arriving in British showrooms imminently.

Renault learned from the Mégane that its customers like simplicity, and this is a market overflowing with rivals, including the big-selling (and related) Nissan Qashqai, so there are only three variants, all with the same powertrain, priced from £34,695 to £39,495. Our test car is the top-end Iconic Esprit Alpine.

The powertrain is pretty complex and, unlike the platform, is bespoke to Renault in general and, at the moment, this Renault in particular.

It's a hybrid comprising a 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine and two electric motors, with a combined maximum of 197bhp.

The way it operates isn't unlike the latest Hondas, in that most of the time the main motor is doing the driving. With 67bhp and two gear ratios, it sits between the engine's transmission and the wheels.

The engine makes 129bhp and has an integrated starter-generator attached to it that makes 20bhp. Its transmission has five forward ratios via a dog clutch.