• Screen-led interior
• High-quality materials
• Comfortable seats

How is the quality and layout?

The Renault Austral’s interior is very similar to the Megane E-Tech Electric’s, which is no bad thing. It’s a nice place to be, with comfortable seats, sturdy switchgear and plenty of soft-touch plastics. It seems like it’s built to stand the test of time – and its more than a match for sub-premium rivals such as the Peugeot 3008 and Volkswagen Tiguan.

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It’s quite ergonomic, too. Take the centre console. That lever in the middle of the cabin isn’t a gear selector – it’s a sliding forearm rest designed to make it easier to operate the touchscreen on bumpy roads. Every version of the Austral also comes with a head-up display, which means you don’t need to take your eyes off the road to check your speed and navigation instructions.

Infotainment and technology

There are two screens in the Austral’s cabin – a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and a 12-inch portrait infotainment system. They’re mated to the same panel, with the infotainment system angled slightly towards the driver to make it easier to operate on the move.

It’s a sharp unit. The graphics are high-definition and the menus are slick. The screen runs on Google’s Android Automotive infotainment software which gives you access to an app store packed with useful downloads and baked-in support for Google Maps and Google voice assistant. These work so well that they left us wondering why rival manufacturers bother developing their own systems.

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Our only complaint is the wireless smartphone charger. It’s only fitted as standard to the top spec Iconic Esprit Alpine model, which seems like an oversight to us because wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard on the cheapest version of the car. It also tended to make our tester’s phone overheat, which prevented it from charging.

Comfort

• Comfortable driving position
• Plenty of steering wheel adjustment
• Refined drive (mostly)

Our Austral test car was trimmed in Renault’s top-spec Iconic Esprit Alpine specification, which comes as standard with a pair of sports seats. They’re electrically adjustable and have a rather natty massage function for the driver’s seat, which helps relieve back pain on long journeys.

The seats have plenty of vertical adjustments, but we’d have liked to see a pivot function or an extendable squab for the seat base. Our testers thighs hovered above the seat base when his feet were on the pedals which grows tiresome on the motorway. Additional support for the driver’s legs would have made the driving position pretty much perfect.

Renault’s steering columns are always great – and the Austral is no different. They have loads of outward adjustment, which makes it easy for taller drivers to get comfortable behind the wheel. Because the wheel telescopes so far out of the dashboard, they can stretch out their arms and legs to a comfortable position.

The Austral is also quite refined, providing you don’t poke the throttle pedal too hard. Road and wind noise are well-suppressed and, at speeds up to 70mph, it can cruise around on silent electric power which is very serene. Go for an overtake, though, and the engine will shout at you through the firewall. The engine is also a little lumpy when ticking over – and when it’s being used to charge the battery pack, it ticks over at a higher rpm.