COVID-19 was a shake up for the hospitality industry, with many turning to more portable solutions due to tough lockdown restrictions. Central to this move was an increased reliance on vans to assist with moving vital supplies and services around the country.
Renault’s third-generation Trafic is one such van that has found popularity in the industry. A quiet achiever since production began in 2014, its recent facelift has included updated in-car tech and robust safety features, making it a contender for hospitality companies keen to enhance or maintain newfound portability.
Case study
Joe Rizk, barista and owner of Ravenz Mobile Café is based in the south of Sydney and feels a life on the road outweighs the costs and restraints of a brick-and-mortar business. A small business owner, he started his mobile café about nine years ago and has amassed 114,000km on his Trafic purchased in 2016.
The van has proven to be a cost-efficient and reliable mode of transport to locations around the country, enabling Rizk to keep operating during the height of the pandemic.
With a lot of time spent in the van, Rizk had some key requirements. It needed to be
reliable, economical and most importantly a great way to represent his business.
Reliability is something which Renault has focused on and continues to deliver in this latest iteration of Trafic.
All variants are now powered by the 125kW/380Nm 2.0-litre diesel engine that has also had further efficiency optimisations to drop fuel consumption. For the auto, Renault quotes an average consumption of 6.5L/100km on the combined cycle, while the manual consumes a claimed 7.2L/100km.
New Trafic is covered by a five-year, 200,000km warranty that includes service intervals set for every 12 months or 30,000km, the first five services capped and up to five years of service-activated roadside assistance.
The service intervals are class-leading limiting downtime, a vital attribute in the hospitality business. In addition to being efficient, ride comfort and cabin ergonomics are good on both urban roads and highway. Despite its 1.7–1.9-tonne kerb weight, Trafic’s suspension possesses a car-like quality that doesn’t punish those spending long stints behind the wheel, with the quiet engine and the optional cabin bulkhead helping to take the edge off extended drives.
The professional and modern exterior of the vehicle is a great way to represent your business according to Rizk. “I wanted barn doors because when it’s raining, I have a cover that I had made that attaches to the roof racks to provide customers with shelter,” says the business owner.
“It would have been much harder and more expensive to do something like that with lift doors — that was a big factor in why I went with the Renault Trafic. People know me from the signage; there are plenty of white vans on the roads, but they know it’s me from the customised wrap on the exterior of my Renault Trafic.”
Trafic isn’t just beauty without and bare within. Instantly identifying this latest version of Trafic is a completely new frontend design. Ensuring it stands out with a greater presence, the new front-end styling features full LED lighting and a redesigned bumper that complements the upright grille finished with chrome detailing.
Acclaimed for its cargo space, it can take loads almost as long as its entire interior,
thanks to a flip-up pass-through in the bulkhead that unlocks the space under the
passenger seat for lengthy cargo — up to 4150mm in the LWB’s case or 3750mm for
the SWB. New Trafic can take up to 1,280kg payload and has a 2.5-tonne towing
capacity and an overall cargo bay volume of 6.7m3 on the LWB variant. Up to 16 tie-down points are available, providing ample options for securing a load.
“It was the way the van was designed that influenced my decision to buy a Trafic,” adds Rizk. “I needed a van with twin side doors and rear barn doors and I liked the Renault because the interior design gave me plenty of space to fit it out as a coffee van. It has a generator, a coffee machine, 100L of water and a fridge.”
It is the reliable, cost-effective and quality nature of Trafic that makes it the best choice for hospitality companies. It is easily one of the best to drive and live with, and for many hospitality businesses, investing in a van can be a practical way to maintain or enhance future or current business opportunities.
New Trafic is available to order now priced from $48,200 plus on-road costs. For more information or to find your nearest dealer, visit renault.com.au/vehicles/trafic