New 2024 Renault Master arrives with improvements to technology, efficiency and practicality

With the Stellantis group renewing its commercial lineup, including its largest panel van models, it seems now is as good a time as ever for Renault to launch the all-new Master van. 

The new Master will be available to order from early 2024 with first deliveries taking place from September. It’ll once again rival the likes of the Peugeot Boxer, Citroen Relay and Vauxhall Movano – all of which will be updated in the coming months. 

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While the overall body shape hasn’t changed much (no surprise there), the new van has a fresh face with Renault’s new logo, big C-shaped LED headlights and a strip that runs horizontally across the grille. 

Renault has given the new Master the moniker ‘Aerovan’ due to improvements in aerodynamics. The bonnet is smaller than the old van’s, the windscreen is positioned further forward with a shallower rake and the wing mirrors, air intakes and bumper have been shaped to reduce drag. The result of this is 39g/km lower CO2 emissions and a 20 per cent improvement in efficiency for the all-electric Master. 

Four diesel powertrains will be offered with the new Master, with 105, 130, 150 or 170bhp. Renault claims they’re better on fuel across the range thanks to improvements to aerodynamic efficiency. Two gearboxes are offered depending on the engine – a six-speed manual or a nine-speed automatic. 

As for the all-electric Master, that gets an 87kWh battery (way up on the old van’s 52kWh unit) which effectively doubles the range to over 255 miles. While the payload for the diesel-powered Master stands at 2,396kg, this drops to 1,625kg in the EV. A 130kW charging speed allows the electric Master to replenish 142 miles of range in 30 minutes. The EV also comes with vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-grid capability, meaning you’ll be able to charge appliances and even certain buildings from the Master’s battery. 

The Master comes in three sizes, an L2 ‘base vehicle’, an L3 for ‘city driving’ and a larger L4. The L3 comes with front or rear-wheel drive with the L4 exclusively offered with rear-wheel drive.

Renault has thought about how to make the Master more useful inside as well. Renault says the cabin doubles as a workstation, with helpful features such as the back of the middle seat which folds into a desk, a laptop stand, several USB-C ports and the seats are upholstered in hard-wearing material. Practicality is boosted by a 25 per cent increase in-cabin storage space to 135 litres.

Technology has been upped on the new Master thanks mainly to a new 10-inch infotainment screen – which comes as standard across the Master range. The infotainment system uses Renault OpenR Link (as an option) with the software being developed by Google. It can be operated via the touchscreen or from voice activation and has features link 'Google Maps', Google Play and all the typical apps you’d see on a Google smartphone. A wireless smartphone charger has also been added to the Master. 

Pricing is yet to be announced for the new Master but we expect a marginal increase over the current van’s £37,675 starting price tag.

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