Matt Prior
TESTER’S NOTES
Diesel PHEV system, ultra-light weight and 0.189 drag gave 313mpg
New cars often remind me of 2013’s 313mpg Volkswagen XL1. This week N it’s the Renault Austral wot done it.
Look, I know, on the face of it, a C-segment SUV doesn’t have much in common with that complicated, expensive, limited-run VW, which was basically a supercar made for fuel economy. But look a little deeper and… Okay, it still doesn’t. But bear with me.
Today, the Austral E-Tech hybrid is sold as a 60mpg car. No, that’s not a patch on the XL1’s 313mpg, but in my experience the Austral will return 60mpg or more easily.