The Renault Austral – a twin to the popular Nissan Qashqai – shapes as a natural fit in SUV-hungry Australia. However, the brand’s local boss says there are alternatives that could be better fits.
Speaking with CarExpert at the launch of the refreshed Arkana crossover coupe, Renault Australia general manager Glen Sealey said the Austral would be a great addition to the local range, but Australian customers don’t respond well to late arrivals.
“It could [come here], but one thing I know about Australians is we don’t like to get a car that has been launched in [overseas markets] years ago and we get the facelift. If we get it, we get it – so I’m quite conscious of that,” Mr Sealey said.
100s of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now.
Dacia Duster
“There are other offerings within the Renault brand – the Symbioz that’s just been launched [overseas] would be a good car for here. You’ve still got the Dacia range that we’re absolutely looking into – Duster and Bigster – so there’s a whole heap of options there.
“We’ve just got to be very cautious that any car we bring in today, has to have a model future that rolls into an NVES calculation,” Mr Sealey added.
The 2025 Renault Symbioz was revealed earlier this year for overseas markets like Europe and the UK. Despite being similarly sized to the Austral (4413mm v 4515mm), it’s built on an extended version of the Captur’s CMF-B compact architecture.
At launch, the only drivetrain available is an E-Tech Full Hybrid system comprising a 69kW 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, a 36kW traction motor, 18kW high-voltage starter generator, and a 1.2kWh battery pack.
Renault Symbioz 
These components work together through a “multi-mode clutchless dog box” with four gears for the petrol engine and two for the main electric motor, with a system power output of 107kW. Fuel economy is said to be a miserly 4.6L/100km according to the WLTP standard.
The Symbioz appears to be a more budget- and practicality-conscious offering compared to the more premium and tech-focused Austral.
It sports a boxier design aligned with the new Scenic E-Tech Electric, and a cabin design that looks like it has been lifted straight out of the smaller Captur. The frontal design is also pretty much all new Captur, too.
Key rivals include the Hyundai Kona and Toyota Corolla Cross, both of which sell in good numbers locally and offer hybrid drivetrains.
Renault Austral
The Renault Austral, meanwhile, is sold in Europe and the UK – meaning it’s available globally with right-hand drive, unlike the larger Espace which is basically Renault’s version of the new Nissan X-Trail.
In the UK, the Austral is solely offered with a 1.2-litre turbocharged hybrid system incorporating a small lithium-ion battery and a pair of electric motors for a system power output of 146kW.
Fuel use is as low as 4.7L/100km on the WLTP cycle and CO2 emissions are rated at 110g/km. That betters the Toyota RAV4 2WD Hybrid, which in the UK quotes up to 5.7L/100km and emissions of 129-132g/km on the same official test cycle.
Both the Austral and Symbioz serve as successors to the old Renault Kadjar, itself the French brand’s twin under the skin to the previous-generation Nissan Qashqai.
Renault Kadjar
The Spanish-built Kadjar was released in Australia in 2019, and was pulled from sale just over 12 months later. Renault sold 132 examples in 2019, with its first full year on sale netting 500 sales. The Qashqai, in contrast, registered 7057 sales in 2020.
While the Arkana serves as a niche offering in the small SUV market Down Under, Renault has been without a proper rival to the likes of the aforementioned Qashqai, Mazda CX-30, and Hyundai Kona since the Kadjar’s demise.
The small SUV segment is one of the most popular in Australia, accounting for 174,481 registrations in 2023, an increase of 21.5 per cent year on year.
So far this year, the coupe-styled Renault Arkana is only accounting for 0.3 per cent of the market, though that’s partly down to the changeover between the old model and the new facelifted range launching this month.
Renault Arkana
Austral or Symbioz? Which hybrid SUV from Renault would you like to see in Australia?
MORE: Everything Renault
