Renault Master E-Tech

The Renault Master has long been a staple of the tradesperson. A great loadspace and an excellent payload have made this van a favourite over the years. But how well much has it improved since the first iteration of the large electric van from Renault? Our Van Expert Tim Cattlin spent a week with one to find out…

The large electric van scene has seen a few false starts from manufacturers who have struggled to balance the requirement from operators of maximum range and payload. Renault is no exception and the Master ZE had, by Renault’s own admission a real-world useable range of under 80 miles.

Enter stage left, the all-new Renault Master E-Tech. Designed to compete head on with the Ford E-Transit and the new, improved Mercedes-Benz eSprinter, on paper at least the French manufacturer has upped its game and come up with a van that will be a practical proposition for many.

The Cab and Trim

As with the rest of the van, the cab is all-new. It has however inherited the spacious, airy feel that the previous model was well known for, and a driver and two passengers are accommodated comfortably. The dash is vaunted as being ‘S shaped’ – perhaps a slight exaggeration but it curves nicely, giving the cab occupants plenty of space and ensuring that the instruments and controls are within easy reach of the driver. The steering wheel is more vertical than in the old van, and this translates to not only a comfortable driving position but again, aiding visibility to the things that matter.

Cab storage is good in parts, not so good in others. The door bins are too small for a large van, the benchmark 1.5 litre fizzy drink bottle has no chance of fitting in and this will be disappointing to drivers used to having that refreshment on hand. There are some cup holders, a nice overhead shelf, excellent storage under the passenger seat (although most will use that to store charging cables) and other areas to place items such as on the top of the dash. The glovebox is very small, at least half the size of what you’d expect in a large van.

I found the 10” ‘Rlink’ Multimedia screen very easy to use and navigate, and from a personal perspective I much preferred it to the SYNC4 unit you’ll find in the Ford Transit which I just don’t get on with, despite having tested a number of vans fitted with the screen. You can access various multimedia and system functions easily, and the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration connected instantly and worked flawlessly. Perhaps the only disappointment? There’s no output from a reverse camera as standard and, as it’s something fitted to most of the competition, despite the inclusion of parking sensors the lack of it caused one or two tense moments when manoeuvring. There are a couple of USB-C sockets on the dash, but if you need the older USB-A type, you’re out of luck.

It’s good to see that heating and ventilation controls are mechanical, away from the screen, no dangerous fumbling trying to use a touchscreen whilst on the move to alter the temperature in the Master. The digital instrument panel can be customised to the driver’s preference. It’s clear, information is unambiguous and it didn’t cause any issues whilst the van was on test.

Unlike the diesel-engined Master which provides a choice of two, the E-Tech is offered in the single, lower ‘Advance’ trim level. This includes air conditioning, cruise control and all the latest advanced driver assistance systems such as intelligent speed assist, lane keeping assist and active emergency braking (many of which are now mandatory due to the new GSR2 regulations but are not necessarily popular with drivers who will often quickly try and disable them). There are very few other bells and whistles but, to be fair to Renault this is usually the case in the large van sector, the nice things seem to be reserved for those operating small and medium sized vans.

The Business End

There’s a medium and long wheelbase E-Tech on offer with a choice of medium or high roof. The test van, a MWB medium roof model has a load length of 3225mm (an increase of 142mm compared to the outgoing model) but the load volume of 10.8 cubic metres remains the same. The side loading door is a healthy 1312mm in width and thanks to the top rail being ingeniously designed, allows for the entire height of the aperture to be usable on loading and unloading. The bulkhead is almost vertical, although a little bit of capacity is lost as the load floor passes under the bulkhead, leaving a few inches of space almost unusable.

There are a few load lashing eyes present, and it’s great to see some LED interior lights, something competitors continue to omit much to the frustration of drivers working in low light conditions.

There are two weight options. The conventional 3500kg GVM model offers a payload of between 1047kg and 1125kg. Opting for a 4000kg GVM ups these numbers by 500kg but a potential buyer should check the operating restrictions which, whilst under review, are still in place at the time of writing. Towing capacity is 1500kg on the 3500kg van but this drops to 1000kg on the 4000kg version.

On the Road

These days it’s unusual to have to insert a physical key to start a vehicle but, this is the case in the Master. It’s not an issue though and it at least prevents those all-too-common keyless entry thefts. There’s a drive selector stalk to the right of the steering column with a slightly confusing graphic showing, in theory, which way to move it for each drive function. This took me a little getting used to but, once familiar it worked reasonably well. I did however repeatedly strike the adjacent wiper stalk, especially when trying to select reverse in a hurry.

The van ‘starts’ in Eco mode, restricting the power to optimise range. This is easily overridden via a dash mounted switch but the van reverts to this default setting every time. Despite the relatively low power output of the motor, I found this setting perfectly adequate for everyday driving and only rarely unleashed the full potential of the drivetrain by disengaging it. In reality, albeit in an unladen state, the van never felt underpowered but, compared to the higher rated option in the Transit there is a big difference which the enthusiastic driver will no doubt immediately be aware of. The ‘B’ setting activates the regeneration mode, allowing charge to be recovered when slowing down. In the majority of cases, providing the driver anticipates well, there is virtually no need to use the brakes. On the subject of brakes, the handbrake is the traditional mechanical variety but I understand an electric version is on the way.

Ride and handling are perfectly acceptable and the steering is light but with ‘feel’, never being vague. The turning circle is excellent, something that urban delivery drivers will welcome. The range remaining indicator on the dash would fluctuate wildly whilst driving in the hilly area of the country that I live in but, at the end of the journey, the drop in available miles was either correct, given the distance driven, or in some cases lower. The delivery driver also commented on the accuracy of the gauge.

On an electric van, any noise from the road or wind is going to be noticed, purely because there’s no noisy diesel engine to drown it out. Thankfully, the Master E-Tech scored very well in this regard, with nothing being apparent apart from some buffeting on a very windy day. Disappointingly, the bulkhead creaked quite badly on the test van but otherwise, there were no questions around build quality.

Conclusion

Overall, Renault has come up trumps here. The E-Tech has a good payload, even at 3500kg GVM, an excellent range, partly thanks to that wind tunnel aided development, and a cab that is mostly driver friendly. Yes, the output from the motor isn’t huge but, in practice, it doesn’t seem to feel that way and is unlikely to lose the company any sales after a test drive. From being an also-ran, the Master E-Tech can now compete head on in most aspects with competition from Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and the numerous Chinese brands heading to our shores.