Renault’s new large hybrid SUV caught

As a car manufacturer you still do good business with SUVs, so it is not surprising that Renault happily continues to bet on high-legged models. The Austral is still very young, the first electric Mégane is a crossover and the new and now Austral-based Espace is more than ever an SUV. Are there more high-legged models from Renault on the way? Certainly. For example, there will be an electric R4-like and the Scénic will incarnate as a fully electric SUV. But the SUV cake is not over yet. Renault will launch a new SUV in 2024 that will be a step above the Austral. That new model can already be seen quite clearly on these spy plates.

Renault’s earlier teaser plate

The officially unnamed new large Renault is likely to be on Renault-Nissan’s CMF-CD platform, a base that will house highly electrified powertrains, but not fully electric. In any case, count on hybrid and mild hybrid versions. This test model is packaged in a special way. We see optical similarities with the Austral, but also with the first test copies of the electric new Scénic. Yet this new test model actually shares little to no visible parts with those cars.

Just like the facelifted Renault Clio and the upcoming Scénic, the large SUV with a sharply sloping roofline will have the new Renault front, including hook-shaped LED daytime running lights. What will the big Renault be called? That’s just the question. It is possible that Renault simply calls it Austral Coupé, although it is not inconceivable that Renault will put a completely different name on it to distance it from the Austral. Would Renault pull an old name out of mothballs for that? Vel Satis, or Avantime perhaps? We already know that Renault Korea Motors will design, develop and manufacture the car in South Korea.