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

Final Report

Having spent more than six months with us, the Renault Trafic Passenger has now departed the What Van? fleet.

My overall impressions of the people-carrying version of Renault’s medium van were favourable; refined, versatile and good to drive. It is solid and reliable.

The revised Trafic arrived in UK showrooms in December 2021, sporting a new, muscular front end. Changes include LED lighting with C-shaped running lights and a redesigned bumper that supports the upright grille. It comes in four specification levels: Business, Business+, Sport and Sport+ and is powered by a 2.0-litre diesel engine with a choice of 110hp, 130hp, 150hp and 170hp outputs. All come with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, which is the system I chose but the 150hp and 170hp units are also available with dual-clutch auto transmission.

The Trafic comes in short and long wheelbase body lengths, both have the option of low or high roof heights. My van was powered by the 150hp engine and came in the short-wheelbase, low-roof body style, which did not prevent it from comfortably accommodating nine seats.

Sport trim level delivered a well-equipped interior with satnav, 8in Easy Link touchscreen, DAB radio with remote controls on a steering column stalk, and Bluetooth. Smartphone integration with Android Auto and Apple Carplay were included in the package and a wireless smartphone charger comes as part of the Technology Pack 2 along with the hands-free key card and engine start button for £264, excluding VAT. Experience taught me, however, that the wireless charger had a tendency to overheat my smartphone, so was best avoided.

The interior features a full-width horizontal dashboard that provides an airy sense of space to the cabin, the gear lever fits snugly into the hand and the steering wheel is also pleasing to handle. My van came with the Parking Pack (£630), which offers 360º sensors and a rear-view camera, providing a comprehensive view.

Precise steering with ample feedback made it easy to plant the van where I wanted and was complemented by smooth gear changes. A turning circle of 12.4m is fair to middling in the medium van sector but the Trafic still felt agile to manoeuvre. Once out on the road, the 150hp dci diesel, which delivers 350Nm of torque, pulled strongly, making my Trafic Passenger an impressive motorway performer. The engine is quiet and refined, though the lack of a bulkhead in the passenger-carrying version makes it harder to suppress external noise. 

On winding roads the steering comes into its own. You can push the Trafic into corners without fear of coming unstuck, but on roads with unpredictable camber, it is advisable to go cautiously, as uneven surfaces can cause the vehicle to bounce and pitch about. Standard safety equipment  includes electronic stability control with hill start assist and Grip Xtend, ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution, tyre pressure monitoring, driver and cruise control system speed limiter. Rear parking sensors are standard on Sport but not on Business trim.

My Passenger Sport also got the Advanced Driver Assist Pack 1 (£1,584) as an extra-cost option, which upgrades the cruise control to an adaptive system and also includes lane departure warning, AEB, blind spot warning, automatic high beam and over speed prevention. The list is comprehensive but too much of it is optional rather than standard.

The Trafic Passenger proved its versatility as both a people carrier and a load lugger. Collapsing the third row of seats creates a generously-sized load space of 2.5m³. Meanwhile all occupants – with the exception of the middle one in the front row of seats – enjoy decent legroom. While I found fuel economy suffered on long spells of urban driving and was not helped by the less than seamless stop/start function, the Trafic Passenger was a versatile all-rounder in both performance and load carrying, whether transporting cargo or people. 

End-of-term report

Refinement = 4/5

The Trafic Passenger Sport is stylish, sophisticated, quiet and comfortable. 

Handling and performance = 4/5

Sure-footed on the road with a strong, refined engine.

Safety = 3/5

Renault has improved the provision of available safety equipment but too much of it is optional rather than standard.

Versatility = 4/5