Renault Trafic

Disclosure: The van driven was a hire van from a well-known rental company which I paid for myself as I needed it to help a relative move house. No freebies were involved.

I recently spent a day driving a 2007 Renault Trafic, so thought this would be a perfect opportunity to write a review on this popular rental van. It also provided me with a good chance to compare it to the (slightly older) Ford Transit that I normally drive.

My route for the day took in a return trip totalling 500 miles and including city roads, motorways and long stretches of rural A and B roads (in Wales). I also experienced torrential downpours and drove part of the journey in the dark, so became very familiar with the wiper and light controls, which were both perfectly adequate (as were the lights and wipers themselves).

First Impressions

If you like swooping curves and bug-eyed headlights, then you will like the Trafic’s looks. For something that needs to be as square as possible, it manages to look quite curvaceous and stylish without sacrificing those essential van like qualities – load space and practicality.

It’s a noticeable contrast to a Transit, which is all straight lines and angles – somehow this makes it look more workman-like than the Trafic.

In terms of size, the SWB Trafic is pretty much identical to a SWB Transit – length, width and height all appeared to be the same, and loadspace dimensions were pretty close, too.

Comfort & Cab Layout

Renault Trafic cab

Vehicle comfort seems to mean different things in different countries. My experience of French cars and vans, and Renaults in particular, is that the seats are rather soft but nonetheless very comfortable. German vans have firm – but still very comfortable – seats, while Ford cars and vans have carefully middling seats (at least, all of mine have done).

The Renault Trafic stayed true to this pattern – the driver’s seat was quite soft but had adequate adjustment and remained comfortable for the whole of the day I spent in it – at the end of the day, I did not have any aches or pains. It was, possibly, a little bit more comfortable than the driver’s seat in my Transit – although that might be down to my Transit being older and higher mileage – the seat has seen some use.

The rest of the interior was pleasant and usable but unremarkable and a bit plasticy. The dashboard-mounted gearstick comes easily to hand but doesn’t really seem to offer any benefits over its floor-mounted equivalent, other than a slightly shorter throw and more familiarity for car drivers.

Driving & Performance

The Trafic is certainly quite car-like to drive – no doubt one of the contributing factors to its success. The engine pulled well and was reasonably refined and the 6-speed gearbox makes motorway cruising a bit more relaxed and fuel efficient – although 6th gear is only really usable at speeds of over 60mph, which means constant changing down to 5th on a busy motorway. Other than that, performance was very similar to my (5 speed) Transit.

Handling was fine – when empty it was almost like a car and when heavily loaded it remained well balanced and easy to drive. The Trafic’s brakes were decent, although the pedal needed to travel quite a long way down before the brakes really bit.

Load compartment

Renault Trafic factory bulkhead – note the curve & the step

The Trafic I drove had a full, factory bulkhead – meaning that it curved outwards as it rose to the roof, to fit around the backs of the front seats. This meant that stacking boxes against the bulkhead was awkward – I had to fill out the space at the base until it was level with the top of the bulkhead, then start stacking up to the roof.

Still, this is a worthwhile compromise in a short wheelbase van as it provides extra load length (at floor level) whilst providing the safety and security of a full, fixed bulkhead.

Other than that comment, the load space was exactly what you’d expect and appeared to be virtually identical to that in my Transit, except the Trafic had a shallow step by the side loading door, whereas my equivalent front-wheel drive Transit has a completely flat loadspace floor. This is unlikely to make any practical difference to most people, unless a completely flat floor is essential to you.

Quality & Efficiency

My Trafic was a rental van with 45,000 miles on the clock. It had obviously had a great many drivers and was a bit tatty, but everything still worked and there were no rattles or loose bits of trim. This would suggest that the interior build quality, at least, is fairly good.

Similarly, the van still felt decent to drive. Fuel efficiency was around 35mpg for the day – I didn’t calculate it exactly but it was on a par with my Transit, which religiously returns 35mpg, whatever I do.

Final Thoughts

If I was given a Trafic as a daily drive, I’d be perfectly happy. If I was spending my own money, I’d probably by another Transit – if nothing else, I prefer the interior. However, the differences are small and they are both excellent small panel vans to drive and use.