For the few of you that don’t know, the Renault Trafic is an LCV produced by the French automaker since 1980. Since its release, Renault has sold over 2.4 million Trafic vehicles in more than 50 countries around the world and for many years the Trafic ranks among the three best-selling light-duty vans in Europe (Medium Van segment).
Renault Trafic has been thoughtfully designed to give you the freedom and flexibility in how you run your business, while remaining comfortable and practical. With a modern and dynamic road presence, adopting Renault’s signature front-end C-shaped LED lights and chrome accents, the Trafic is more than just a light commercial vehicle, it’s a grunty and adaptable van that oozes Euro class.
Dimensionally, the Trafic casts a substantial and yet usable silhouette. Its 5.08m (MWB) or 5.48m (LWB) length, 2.28m width and near 2m height, offers a noticeable road presence and plenty of impactful signage space. However, more importantly, whether it’s people or merchandise, the Renault Trafic can take care of every load.
With a long load length of up to 2.93m and usable cargo space of up to 6.6m3 (upto 1,243kg payload), it can transport all kinds of materials, tools, and large or bulky items. The wide sliding doors and lift-up tailgate (or rear barn doors option) open up to 180°, making it easier to access the loading area and with its multiple configurations and anchorage points, the Trafic offers all sorts of practicality to make your working life easier.
Under the bonnet is a powerful 2L turbocharged diesel engine mated to a six-speed Electronic Dual Clutch (EDC), together they provide 125kW of power at 3,500 revs and an impressive 380Nm of torque from as low as 1,500rpm. EURO 5 emissions means that claimed gases are 199g and for those watching the bottom line, efficiency sits at 7.5L/100km. It’ll even tow upto 1.63-tonnes.
The interior of Trafic has been designed to make your daily van feel like a daily driver and it really does. High-quality and durable finishes throughout the cabin deliver a premium feel, and with more than 84L of storage in the cabin, you’re able to take your business with you. What’s more, to make life even easier, you can fold down the centre seat and the cab and it converts into a mobile office, a perfect place for work documents or to place your laptop or mobile device. It’s all very ‘inspector gadget-like’.
While on the matter of gadgets, the well-equipped Trafic comes with a 4.2-inch instrument cluster and an eight-inch EASY LINK multimedia system that connects with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, all while charging your device on the wireless smartphone charger. There’s also voice activation allowing you to power through your workday and stay focused on the road ahead.
In business, keeping staff and gear safe is paramount and here the Trafic excels. It boasts a wide range of advanced driver assistance systems and safety devices including Blind Spot Warning, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning, and the Autonomous Emergency Braking System allow you to travel with confidence. However I must say that the lane departure warning system sounds like an impatient teacher drumming their fingers on a desk, but this can be switched off.
On the up-side, you can also park confidently with available front, side, and rear parking sensors and rearview camera which will warn you of approaching objects with an audible and visual signal. And to top off the Trafic’s safety credentials, it was recently awarded Gold from Euro NCAP!
And for those whose business takes them off the beaten track, the Trafic also comes with Grip X-tend. To meet occasional demands for enhanced traction and to help you deal with poor driving conditions, Renault has developed new extended grip technology. This technology improves the adaptability of your utility vehicle on difficult roads, such as unpaved or muddy tracks. The onboard computer recovers data from the wheels to optimise the vehicle’s performance. When grip is lost, it adapts engine power to each wheel to improve the grip and manoeuvrability of the vehicle.
The ‘key’ is more of a pager (remember them) sized card and the Trafic comes with keyless entry and push button start. As mentioned before, the engine is powerful and gets the van up to treble digits in a surprisingly quick rate while the steering feel is pleasantly heavy, plus with glass fitted to every side, visibility all round is great.
The Renault Trafic van is an ideal combination of premium comfort, practicality and safety, it’s powerful under foot, yet frugal on the wallet, and its adaptability makes it a great option for those with ‘above the norm’ needs.
