What Van? Britain's biggest and best van buyers' guide

The revised Renault Trafic medium van arrived in UK showrooms in December 2021.

Visually, the most striking change to the model is a new front end, which gives the Trafic a more muscular, striking appearance than before. Changes include LED lighting with C-shaped running lights and a redesigned bumper that supports the upright grille.

It is a handsome-looking van, particularly in the “Carmin Red” metallic paint that adorned the model we tested. This particular colour comes as a £500 option (all prices exclude VAT).

The updated Trafic comes in short and long wheelbase body lengths, with both having the option of low or high roof heights. A long wheelbase crew van is also available, featuring left and right-side loading doors.

The van comes in four specification levels: Business, Business+, Sport and Sport+ and is powered by a 2.0L diesel engine with a choice of 110hp, 130hp, 150hp and 170hp outputs.

All come with six-speed manual transmission as standard, but the 150hp and 170hp engines are also available with an optional dual-clutch auto.

Renault has reworked the interior of the vehicle with the introduction of a full-width horizontal dashboard that provides an airy sense of space to the cabin. The heating controls are embellished with chrome detail and are, along with most of the buttons and dials, user-friendly, although we did find the controls on the steering column forks a little bit small and fiddly – especially those for the radio, which includes DAB with Bluetooth as standard.

The new gear lever is an improvement, fitting snugly into the hand, as is the new chunky and compact steering wheel, which is adjustable for reach and rake. The steering itself is nicely weighted and responsive with no additional play to blur handling when negotiating twists and turns, while the gear change is sharp enough but can be notchy.

The driving position is well-centred, which sounds as though it should be a given but is not always the case, (yes Stellantis, we are talking about the models that roll off your medium van platform).

We drove the low-roof, short-wheelbase Trafic with the 110hp engine in the entry-level Professional trim. As such we did not get all the goodies that are available higher up the range, such as the 8in touchscreen or mobile office, in the form of the middle passenger seat folding down into a desk, which is arguably the best use for it because the gearshift casement intrudes into the leg space of anyone sitting on the middle bench seat. We did, however, get the 4.2in TFT colour display in the instrument panel as a £50 extra - the Professional trim comes with a 3.5in monochrome display as standard.

Disappointingly the Professional trim misses out on Renault’s innovative blind spot mirror that fits into the passenger sun visor, and while our van did have rear parking sensors, these came as a £220 option when they really should be standard. The same goes for lane departure warning, a £500 addition that should also be included at no extra cost if Renault wants to match the safety standards set by some of its rivals, such as Volkswagen, Ford and Mercedes. 

A surprising but handy extra came in the form of the £100 wireless smartphone charger.

The load bay came with ply-lined side panels (£455) and a resin-coated plywood floor (£275) to protect against any scrapes and scratches. What looked like aftermarket-fitted deadlocks provided extra security on the rear and nearside side loading doors.