Renault Austral facelift shows off new Rafale-style headlights

Renault’s Austral was launched in 2022 to replace the Kadjar, but since then the French company has introduced a new corporate look, just like the new Clio, the Austral’s coupe sibling the Rafale and the recently facelifted Captur small SUV. Now, the Austral is set to inherit the same look and it will reportedly introduce some important powertrain changes at the same time.

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Our spy team has captured the facelifted Austral testing on European mountain roads, and despite the heavy camouflage on the facelifted SUV, some major visual tweaks are apparent. One of these is the boxy headlights and new daytime running lights that are angled less horizontally than the current daytime running lights. While the photos don’t show it, we expect the daytime running lights to be boomerang-shaped like the ones on the Clio, Captur and Rafale.

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The bonnet was also completely new, no longer featuring a central recess to clear the Renault badge on the grille, a design still seen on the Clio. Instead, the Austral’s new bonnet had a simple, straight leading edge and was separated from the grille by a plastic filler panel, which helped reduce repair costs after minor collisions, just like the Rafale. These same changes were bound to appear on the Espace, a stretched version of the Austral launched a year later with three rows of seats.

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It’s hard to tell what’s changed at the rear from these images, but it’s safe to assume the taillights (which now stretch almost straight across the cabin) have also been tweaked. Interior improvements are likely limited to minor cosmetic revisions, as the Austral already features Renault’s latest dashboard design, which combines a letterbox-format digital instrument cluster with a vertically mounted central touchscreen.

Where Renault will make changes is under the hood. While some markets, such as the UK, only receive the 197 hp (200 PS) 1.2 E-Tech full hybrid, other countries offer the 128 hp (130 PS) 1.2 and 158 hp (160 PS) 1.3 mild hybrids, all of which drive the front wheels only. Rumor has it that the old 1.3 will be replaced by an upgraded 1.2. We will find out about the facelifted Austral’s debut this fall or in early 2025.

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Image: Baldauf