Renault Master Review (2024-present)

What is the Renault Master?

The Renault Master is the French firm’s largest panel van offering, sitting alongside the smaller Trafic and the even smaller Kangoo. The original Master was released way back in 1980, and this is the fourth-generation iteration of the Master, released in 2024 as an all-new van.

This makes it the newest offering on the block, and by some distance. While passenger cars usually have a life cycle of between six and eight years, commercial vehicles are expected to serve for much longer. For instance, the previous generation Master was on sale for no fewer than 14 years before being replaced by this one. As a result, almost all of the Master’s large-van rivals - including the Ford Transit, Mercedes Sprinter, Volkswagen Crafter, plus the mechanically identical Stellantis-built group of the Citroen Relay, Fiat Ducato, Peugeot Boxer, Vauxhall Movano and Toyota Proace Max - have already been around for donkey’s years. The only exception is the Nissan Interstar, which was released just after the Master and is mechanically identical.

All of that means that the Master is arguably the freshest-feeling van on the market, in terms of the driving experience it delivers, the safety levels it provides and the tech it has on board, all of which serves to make it easy to live with during long working days.

It looks fresh, too, with Renault’s trademark C-shaped headlights either side of a bold-looking grille at the front end, and a comparatively aerodynamic shape designed to boost efficiency: the windscreen has a steeper angle than on most vans, and while it’s not easy to spot at a glance, the bodywork tapers at the rear end to reduce air resistance.

The new Renault Master has plenty to recommend it over the competition, then, but how does it do at the crucial business of serving as a large van? Find out in our Renault Master van review.

How practical is it?

The new Renault Master is available in two different lengths and two different heights. The shorter van measures 5,680mm long, while the longer one is 6,315mm in length. Most of the extra length sits in the wheelbase, but a little of it goes into the rear overhang. The load length in the shorter van measures 3,225mm at floor level, while the equivalent figure in the longer van is 3,855mm. In both, the width between the wheelarches is 1,380mm.

The shorter van is available exclusively with the standard roof height, giving you a loadspace height of 1,885mm. The overall loading volume, meanwhile, stands at 10.8 cubic metres. Go for the long wheelbase van, and you choose between either the standard roof height or the high roof, which ups the load height to 2,138mm. The former has an overall load volume of 13.0 cubic metres, while the latter ups that to 14.8 cubic metres.

There’s a single sliding rear door on the left-hand side of the van, which opens up a loading aperture that measures 1,312mm wide and 1,753mm high. You also get twin doors of the back end of the van that open up a load-through space of 1,537mm wide and 1,755mm tall. They initially open up to 90 degrees, but you can unhook the stoppers on the hinges, allowing them to open at up to 180 degrees. If you’re prepared to pay extra, you can also specify doors that open to 270 degrees as an optional extra, meaning that they basically fold backwards down the sides of the van.

Most versions have a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 3,500kg, but a couple of the variants available - both electric ones - have a GVW of 4,000kg. Payload figures range between 941kg and 1,482kg depending on the version in question, and towing weights for a braked trailer range between 1,000kg and 2,500kg, while it’s 750kg across the board for an unbraked trailer.

With those figures for maximum payload, maximum load volume and maximum towing capacity, the Master is broadly competitive compared with the competition, although it is true that some rivals do better in each area.

So that’s what the Master is like in the back, but what about up front? Well, there are three seats side-by-side, and there's enough shoulder room so that three corpulent co-workers will fit without having to get too over-friendly with each other. There’s a small gap between the driver’s seat and the middle seat in which the manual handbrake sits.

The seats are pretty supportive, and their high-set position means your view of the road ahead is tremendous, allowing you to look out over the top of most other traffic. However, that does mean that you have to climb up into the van, rather than dropping down into it like you do in a car, and that takes a bit of effort.

The two passenger seat bases can be flipped up to reveal a large 66-litre storage area underneath, which is very handy indeed, especially in the E-Tech, because it’s a good place in which to stash your charging cable, keeping it out of the main loadbay. That concealed storage area contributes to an overall figure of 135 litres of cabin storage, according to Renault, and sure enough, there are cubbies, pockets, shelves and recesses absolutely everywhere.

What’s it like to drive?

The Master van can be had with a choice of traditional diesel engines, all 2.0-litre four-cylinder units - badged Blue dCi - that deliver power outputs of either 130PS, 150PS or 170PS. The 130PS engine comes exclusively with a six-speed manual gearbox, the 170PS comes exclusively with a nine-speed automatic gearbox, and the 150PS engine can be had with a choice of either. All are front-wheel drive.

There’s also an all-electric version, known as the E-Tech, which has a 140PS motor driving the front wheels, fed by an 87kWh battery.

So far, the only diesel we’ve tried is the entry-level 130PS one, and the good news is that even this delivers easy and flexible progress. The lower gears are quite short, so you’ll be working away on the manual gearbox when getting up to speed, but you will get there, and without too much fuss, even with a heavy load on board. Okay, it’s far from quick, with a decidedly leisurely feel to the acceleration, but that matters not a jot in a vehicle like this, and there’s enough urgency to keep up with surrounding traffic. And although we’ve not tried them, we suspect that the more powerful units will only make your progress even easier.

Although the level of performance is fine, though, not everything feels hunky dory with this powertrain, because the pedals feel rather inconsistent. The accelerator pedal needs quite a lot of pressure applying to it before any reaction comes, while the brake pedal needs hardly any before the brakes snatch on, usually more strongly than you intended. These inconsistencies, combined with a long-travel clutch pedal, means that it can be a little difficult to drive the diesel smoothly. At least the gearshift is slick enough, and the diesel engine isn’t too noisy.

We’ve also had a go in the E-Tech, which isn’t afflicted with these same pedal issues, although the brakes can still feel a wee bit grabby at times. The E-Tech feels a lot brisker away from the mark than the entry-level diesel, too - brisker than you might expect, in fact - due to the fact that an electric motor delivers a great big slice of torque as soon as it starts spinning.

Get up to around 30- to 40mph, and you’ll find that the level of acceleration becomes rather more moderate, and the urgency tails off more and more the faster you go. That’s not a criticism - it’s another trait that’s common to a lot of EVs - and you always feel like there’s enough poke on hand to cope with any everyday driving situation.

The absence of gearchanges also makes your progress feel even more seamless and easy. And, while the E-Tech predictably rolls along a bit more quietly than the diesel, the difference may not be as great as you might expect because you hear a fair amount of whine from the motors as you accelerate, but again, this isn’t problematic in any way.

Drive the Master with little or no weight on board and - as is the case with most vans - the ride can be a little jumpy, especially at low urban speeds. You also hear quite a bit of clonking going on beneath you, too. That said, this is less pronounced than in many rival vans, so comfort levels are actually rather good for the class, and it’s certainly nothing that’ll irritate you. Get a decent amount of weight in the loadbay, and the ride does settle down a bit more: again, this is the case with most vans because they’re designed to travel with lots of weight on board. Loaded up or not, the Master is one of the more comfortable large van offerings out there.

Of course, the sheer size of the Master means it’ll inevitably feel a little cumbersome on tight city streets, but that considered, it’s actually a pretty easy thing to drive in urban surroundings. The steering is light and responsive, if rather slow (although again, that’s to be expected in this type of vehicle), and the turning circle feels tighter than you might expect, so manoeuvrability is very decent indeed. On faster roads, the tall body leans over a bit in bends, but if you keep your speed sensible, it always feels utterly stable and controlled.

Technology, equipment and infotainment

The Master range consists of two trim levels. The base-level Advance trim is already pretty well stocked, with 16-inch steel wheels, LED daytime running lights, remote central locking, manual air-conditioning, door mirrors that are heated and electrically adjustable, electric windows, automatic lights and wipers, cruise control and rear parking sensors.

Extra trim, meanwhile, comes with one-touch electric windows, LED lighting for the load area, front fog lights with a cornering function, and a different seat fabric.

All versions of the Master come with the same basic infotainment system that centres around a slick-looking 10.0-inch touchscreen mounted in the middle of the dashboard. The system has all the usual functionality, including DAB, Bluetooth, a couple of USB-C ports, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity.

Go for the higher-spec Extra trim level, and the system is upgraded to incorporate Google Built-In. This gives you voice control powered by Google Assistant, navigation powered by Google Maps, and access to a wide variety of apps on the Google Play Store.

Whichever version your Master has, the system is reasonably easy to use thanks. That’s largely due to the fact that it’s not too complicated, but there’s a decent amount of logic to how the various menus are arranged. It also helps that you get separate physical controls for the air-conditioning system, which look nice and work really well thanks to small digital displays incorporated into the dials themselves. This means you don’t have to delve into countless on-screen menus just to tweak the cabin temperature.

In terms of driving instruments, the diesels come with a pair of analogue dials behind the steering wheel, with a small 3.5-inch black and white TFT display set in between. In the Master E-Tech electric van, meanwhile, you instead get a 7.0-inch digital driver information display. Both arrangements are easy to use and understand.

Renault Master running costs

Prices for diesel versions of the Renault Master start at around £41,000 at the bottom of the range and rise to around £48,000 at the top.

The electric model is a bit pricier, starting at £47,000 and rising to £51,000, and that’s despite the £5,000 Plug-in Van Grant (PiVG) from the Government to help even up the costs involved.

Compared with rivals, these prices are rather middling. It broadly costs a bit more than large van competitors from Citroen, Fiat, Peugeot and Vauxhall, but it’s a bit less than you’ll pay for a Ford, Mercedes or Volkswagen.

Official WLTP fuel economy figures for the various diesel models seem to be a bit thin on the ground at the moment, and so far, we’ve only seen them for the 130PS diesel and the 150PS diesel fitted with the manual gearbox. These are given at between 26.4 mpg and 37.2 mpg on the former, and between 25.7 mpg and 37.2 mpg on the latter. That would suggest that the less powerful engine might have a slightly better average, but in the real world, we wouldn’t be surprised if the more powerful unit proved to be marginally more efficient because it won’t have to work as hard for equivalent performance.

All versions of the all-electric E-Tech have the same 87kWh battery pack. Depending on the spec - and thus the size and weight - of your van, that’s good for a zero-emissions range of between 255 miles and 285 miles, according to official WLTP combined figures.

However, bank on getting a fair bit less in the real world. Even in optimal conditions, you’d be wise to factor in a loss of at least 50 miles on average, wild cold weather and/or prolonged high-speed motorway running will see your returns reduce further still.

When it comes to charging time, don’t rely on a normal domestic three-pin socket to keep your Master charged up, because a full charge of the 87kWh battery from such a power outlet will take just over two full days.

It's worth getting yourself a 7.4kW wallbox if charging at home, because it cuts the time to around 14 hours. Assuming that your domestic electricity is billed at the UK’s national average rate, that full charge will cost a little over £20. Charge overnight on heavily discounted off-peak power, and you’ll pay around half that.

For those occasions when you need to charge in a hurry, the E-Tech supports DC rapid charging at a rate of up to 130kW. Find a powerful enough charger running at full capacity (a tricky task in itself), then a full charge can be delivered in an hour and ten minutes, or a top-up to 80% will take around 38 minutes. This will be by far the most expensive way of charging, though, usually costing around three times more than a home charge.

Renault Master reliability

As a brand, Renault didn’t do too badly at all in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey, coming in 9th place of the 31 carmakers considered. However, it’s also true that the study doesn’t take vans into account, so the Master had nothing to do with that fairly impressive performance.

Having said that, commercial vehicles are usually much simpler than passenger cars mechanically, and are designed to be as hardy as possible so as to minimise off-road downtime, so in theory, you should expect an improved level of reliability from a van than you would a car.

Service intervals are nice and long: the diesels only need routine maintenance every two years or 24,000 miles, and while the E-Tech needs an initial check after the first year of 12,000 miles, it takes on the same intervals as the diesels after that.

There’s no mileage limit to Renault’s commercial vehicle warranty for the first two years, while the third and final year is limited to 100,000 miles. The battery in the E-Tech also has eight-year, 100,000-mile cover.