Renault Master E-Tech Reviews

The funky Renault Duster SUV has only just started arriving in Australia but the company has admitted initial supply will be tight.

Renault is currently experiencing a sales slide in Australia, though it claims to have a slew of new products coming soon, which may turn this around.

This feature was once a mainstay in luxury cars and a huge selling point for mainstream vehicles … not anymore. Renault is the latest brand to ditch leather from all its cars by the end of the year.

It’s been over five years now since COVID lockdowns started and in some way it feels like a lifetime ago. For a lot of people buying new cars during this period, however, there were long wait times. COVID lockdowns were a key reason for this, but another major reason for delays was the global shortage of semiconductors.

Renault Australia has simplified its Master van line-up to just two variants but it's offering a driveaway deal to ABN holders which will see them get on the road from $57,990. 

Taiwanese cars built in Japan? Foxconn eyes off historic Nissan factory as potential joint-venture.

Which Mitsubishi do you wish would make a comeback? Pajero? Lancer?  Well, Mitsubishi is currently undertaking a massive overhaul of its Australian line-up with several new models to come to fill the gaps. So while they're at it we’ve put together our wishlist of cars they really should really revive or bring here. The changes to the Australian Design rules (ADRs) in March this year meant Mitsubishi had to axe three vehicles from its local lineup.  These were the ASX small SUV, the bigger Eclipse Cross SUV and the Pajero Sport off-roader. This leaves Mitsubishi with just two cars on sale in Australia — the Triton ute and Outlander mid-sized SUV. Meanwhile Toyota has 23 models on sale.Now we're not suggesting that Mitsubishi needs another 21 models, Ford is managing just fine on pretty much the Ranger, Everest and Mustang, but I definitely think there are some essentials the brand could use and a few dream cars while we're at it.Probably the most obvious model Mitsubishi needs right now is the Pajero. Yep once-upon-a-1990s the Toyota Prado and Mitsubishi Pajero wrestled for dominance all over Australia, from the outback to suburbia. The Pajero eventually lost the battle and was axed by Mitsubishi in 2020 … or so we thought! Imagine the comeback. Just when the new generation Prado had arrived and was still gloating, the Pajero could make its return. Sure the Pajero Sport is coming back in 2026, but that’s a Ford Everest rival. The beauty is Mitsubishi could easily plonk another, posher-looking SUV body on the ladder frame and call it the Pajero. And they’ve already got the badges made up. You just just take the “Sport” bit off. Think of the savings.Next on our wish list is not really a car that would sell in high numbers, but it'd be the halo car in many ways the brand needs so badly right now —  a reborn Lancer, and yes, with an Evolution grade as well. Or maybe just a standalone Lancer Evo XI. I think we’re up to XI, I can't remember but I tested the very final one in 2015.Back in the final glory days of Ford Falcon versus Holden Commodore there were two other tribes going to war: Subaru WRX v Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. These days the WRX lives on, but it looks so lonely without the Lancer EVO to play with.Finally, and given the number of grey imports we see of this car, Mitsubishi needs to add the Delica people mover to its Aussie line-up. What’s not to like about a high-riding all-wheel drive six-seater van?A sixth-generation of the people mover is expected in the next two years and whether it looks anything like the futuristic and silly Delica concept Mitsubishi revealed at the 2023 Tokyo Motorshow is yet to be seen.A wishlist for Mitsubishi could go one forever, who wouldn’t want to see the Colt come back, or the Cordia Turbo? Or the 3000GT?In reality the ASX will be back and so too will the Pajero Sport, and that might be all Mitsubishi needs as it faces bigger problems.  Challenges like how on Earth will it adapt to a rapidly changing market that’s been inundated with excellent electric vehicles from brands which hardly existed five years ago. Currently Mitsubishi doesn’t even sell one purely electric vehicle in Australia at all.

A new Renault model, sold under the Dacia brand overseas, is coming to Australia with hybrid options, manual gearbox availability and pricing kicking off well below $40,000.The 2026 Renault Duster is now available to order starting from $31,990, before on-road costs, with first deliveries of the small SUV expected to start this month.There are 4x2 and 4x4 versions of the Duster, the latter being more expensive and coming with a mild-hybrid powertrain and manual gearbox. Renault says its “tall suspension and generous off-road clearance” means the Duster is more off-road capable than rivals.The entry-level variant of the Duster is the Evolution, starting from the aforementioned $31,990, before on-roads, with a 4x2 drivetrain layout. It utilises a 1.3-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.The 1.3-litre engine makes 113kW and 270Nm, driving only the front wheels.The Evolution can also be had in 4x4, with a turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder mild-hybrid petrol engine that makes less power and torque: 96kW and 230Nm.It puts power to all four wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox, but is claimed to be more efficient (5.7L/100km versus the 4x2’s 6.5L).The 4x4 drivetrain costs a little more, $36,490, but comes with the same standard equipment including dual-zone air-conditioning, a 10.1-inch multimedia touchscreen and 7.0-inch driver display, wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless phone charger, USB-C charging ports and a 12-volt socket.Stepping up to the higher-spec Techno variant brings more kit, though its drivetrain options are the same as the Evolution. Pricing starts at $36,990 for the Techno 4x2 and bumps up slightly to $37,990 for the 4x4, though that version isn’t expected to land until December this year.The Techno adds features like more ‘premium’ cloth upholstery, tinted rear windows, auto proximity lock and unlock, auto high-beams and 18-inch wheels to replace the base variant’s 17s.It also adds some safety features not available on the Evolution like blind-spot monitoring, front parking sensors and surround-view parking cameras.Other standard safety features for both models include pedestrian and cyclist detection for AEB, a safe follow-distance warning, lane-keep and departure warning, driver attention monitoring, tyre pressure monitoring and an ADAS shortcut button for advanced driver assist settings.Renault Australia says the “Duster will initially arrive in limited numbers” due to demand overseas.Renault Australia General Manager Glen Sealey said, “Demand for this vehicle in Europe is very strong, so Australia will receive an initial allocation before shipments ramp up next year.“We ordered as many cars as we could this year, and we are now working closely with the factory to improve our allocation moving forward,” he said.

Renault Duster locked in for an imminent Australian launch

The current-generation Renault Koleos has been on sale in Australia for over nine years now and it seems it will be sticking around for another year as another minor tweak has been made.