The interior of the new Renault Austral is likely to make noise

In particular, Renault engineers worked on specific sounds from the furniture in the Austral’s cabin to create a pleasing, high-quality sound environment. As the SUV’s commercialization nears, Renault is revealing some of its manufacturing secrets.

While Renault recently halted production of the Kadjar, its successor is gearing up for its arrival. The Renault Austral, which has already been pre-ordered, is actually scheduled to hit dealerships in November for the first deliveries at the end of the year.. However, the Argus has already been able to discover this strategic model for Renault, responsible for competition in particular with the Peugeot 3008, and our first impressions confirm the advantages on the rise.

Special work on sounds

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Laurent Lacoste

This is particularly true of the soundproofing, the road noise of which we seemed to have under control on the first laps of the wheels on a pre-production model. But Renault apparently went further than just working on soundproofing. The manufacturer, in fact, reveals the work on the development of the sliding palm rest, placed on the dashboard’s central tunnel.

This new part (the Austral shares its interior with the Mégane E-Tech, but this part is dedicated to the SUV), housing an induction charger, can be moved: Sliding forward reveals access to central storage and the handle can act as a palm rest when using the touchscreen.

Rather than make its handling silent, Renault preferred to make it sound subtle. “We had an excellent multi-function design element on the center console, but moving it didn’t arouse any special emotion. With the Head of Interior Design, So we thought about how to make the operation more appealing. » explains the supposed quality expert from Australia.

Will the Austral’s consensual but dynamic lineage give him a sense of achievement?

Laurent Lacoste

The Renault Austral will be available at dealerships in November.

Laurent Lacoste

The Argus has already discovered the new Diamant SUV.

Laurent Lacoste

This hand rest, which doubles as a grab handle, gives the Renault Austral’s interior an airplane cockpit feel.

Renault

Inspiration from the world of watchmaking

The answer came from the watchmaking world. Inspired by the rattling of the rotating bezel of the veteran dive watch : “We immediately thought of a sound component that accompanies the handling of the palm rest: a rewarding, rather metallic notch noise”. Renault took up this idea to improve the sense of quality in the Austral’s interior. “We’re really proud of the result and can’t wait for future Austral owners to enjoy using this sliding palm rest. » concludes the expert. To see if the Austral is regulated like a Swiss watch during our test…

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