Renault has given its Master and Trafic van ranges a major update for the 2019 model year. You'll spot them pretty easily because the bluff, simple 'faces' of the old models have been replaced with a more distinctive slatted-grille effect, bigger headlights with LED daytime running signatures, and a bigger, more prominent Renault diamond badge.
iPad docking and more storage
For the Master, there's a new dashboard, too, with lots of storage areas, more high-tech-looking upholstery for the seats, an integrated sat-nav screen, and a new 3.5-inch TFT digital display in the instrument panel. There's 105 litres of storage up front, an iPad docking station, and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity for the touchscreen.
There are more safety and assistance systems, too, including parking assist, a rear-view camera that projects onto a screen where the rear-view mirror would normally be, blind spot warning, side wind assist, active emergency braking, and automatic lights and wipers.
Electric version for city deliveries
While the Master's 2.3-litre dCi diesel engine gets a power upgrade to 180hp and 400Nm of torque (it also gets improved fuel consumption and complies with the latest emissions standards) the bigger news is that there's also going to be an electric version.
Designed for short-hop urban deliveries, the Master ZE gets a 33kWh battery, powering a 76hp electric motor. It has a range of only 120km, but then Renault says it's been primarily designed for urban deliveries, not long haul. It'll come with a choice of three overall lengths and two body heights, with load space from 8-cubic metres to 13-cubic metres. There'll be an electric chassis-cab version too.
The diesel Master, meanwhile, gets the same length and height options, can haul up to 4.5 tonnes of load, and up to 22-cubic metres of cargo.
Luxurious SpaceClass version of the Traffic
The Trafic gets a similar styling job to the Master, and equally similar interior upgrades. It uses a 2.0 dCi diesel engine, with as much as 170hp and 380Nm of torque, plus emissions compliance etc. Renault says that the interior upgrades, with the R-Link Evolution multimedia system and Media Nav Evolution with a multi-touch screen, means that the Trafic can now function as a truly versatile mobile office.
With variable wheelbases and heights, the Trafic can swallow as much as 8.6-cubic metres of cargo.
There's also a SpaceClass 'mobile lounge' version, to compete with Volkswagen's luxurious Caravelle and the Mercedes V-Class. That comes with seats for as many as nine people (including the driver), leather upholstery, and EDC dual-clutch automatic gearbox, and sliding and folding tray tables.