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WORKING THE RIGHT SHIFT?
Manual Or Automatic? It’s A Dilema That’s Increasingly Coming To The Fore In The Car Market But Now Models Like Renault’s Master Quickshift6 Are Presenting Van Buyers With The Same Conundrum. Steve Walker Reports…

You could be forgiven for wondering why automatic gearboxes have never appealed more strongly to van buyers. The sluggish, performance-sapping nature of older auto systems was always going to deter the keen car driver but in a van your priorities are different. Most light commercial vehicles don’t readily lend themselves to spirited driving and the labour-saving benefits of a good auto-‘box would really be felt during a long day behind the wheel. Advances in technology mean that things are better still today. Semi-automatic gearboxes like Renault’s Quickshift6 provide greater potential for driver input and reduce the fuel consumption penalties traditionally associated with automatics. Could systems like this be about to spark a self-shifting revolution in van land?

Revolution might be too strong a word. Renault set modest targets for their Quickshift6 transmission system, expecting it to be specified in 5% of the Master vans sold and the same proportion of Trafic models. It’s not going to set the sales charts on fire but with other van manufacturers having also brought semi-automatic gearboxes to market, there’s definitely an upward trend where this technology is concerned. The Quickshift6 is a 6-speed clutchless gearbox so you’ve only got the two pedals to busy your feet with and the Master’s usual dash-mounted manual shifter is replaced with a dinky joystick. When driving, it’s either in fully automatic mode where it operates like a standard automatic gearbox or it’s in semi-automatic mode where the driver uses the joystick to flick up and down the ratios as he or she deems appropriate.

"…the Quickshift6 actually enhances fuel economy to the tune of 8%..."

The automatic mode is fairly self-explanatory: you potter along with the computer system taking account of speed, acceleration, braking, road gradient and the vehicle’s load to identify and engage the optimum gear. The semi-auto setting is a little more complicated. Once selected (by sliding the joystick to the left), it allows the driver to push the lever forward to change up and pull it backwards to change down. In both modes, reverse is engaged manually buy sliding the lever right into neutral then down. Semi-auto shifting isn’t as autonomous as this suggests however. The Quickshift6 transmission computer doesn’t retreat into itself to complete that game of solitaire or search the web for cute pictures of babies. It remains on its toes, ready to intervene should the driver do anything ill advised. There are all sorts of settings within the system to prevent you coming to grief. An up change will be cancelled if the accelerator is quickly released and Quickshift6 won’t let you shift down if doing so at your current speed would result in the van’s key components turning themselves inside out. Likewise, if you’re going too slowly for the gear it will make a downshift on its own and first gear is automatically selected at speeds below 7kph. There’s more too: the Quickshift6 gearbox can be set in ‘load mode’ which adapts the shifting characteristics for a heavily laden van. This setting reduces clutch slip and changes the gear-change thresholds to account for the extra weight. Also useful is ‘snow mode’, a setting which limits wheelspin when pulling away in icy conditions. It all sounds like clever stuff but how does the Quickshift6 system perform in real world conditions? From the start, it’s hard not to embrace the idea of automatic gearboxes in vans. These are large cumbersome vehicles and there’s no real pleasure to be derived from the extra control that a manual ‘box gives you. In urban areas where jams, traffic lights and junctions have a manual van driver constantly clutching and de-clutching, the Quickshift6 is a huge bonus. In auto mode it moves smoothly between ratios and is rarely caught-out. There are rare instances, as you’re trying to pull out of a junction sharply or accelerating away up a steep hill, when the gearbox seems unsure of the best gear in which to proceed. This can be a little disconcerting when you’re floundering in the path of oncoming traffic but the beauty of the semi-auto option is that the driver can intervene in tricky situations like these. With the driver doing the shifting, progress is less smooth initially but the system’s responses are brisk and you soon become more proficient with practice. Ultimately, it becomes the preferable way of driving a Quickshift6 Master but the auto option is always there when you fancy a break. There’s a kickdown function so you can quickly drop a cog to overtake slow moving traffic and the ‘creeping’ that takes place in 1st and reverse gears is also a big help. When manoeuvring, you can simply release the handbrake then control the vehicle’s progress using only the footbrake and it allows the van to be held stationary on shallow gradients without the danger of rolling back. The Quickshift6 gearbox is offered with Renault’s Master and Trafic panel vans and the Master model we tested was equipped with the mid-Range 115bhp 2.5-litre common-rail diesel engine. The system is also available with 100bhp version of the same powerplant and the 136bhp 3.0-litre unit but in our model, there was no significant drop-off in performance when compared to the manual equivalent. Renault also claim that in auto mode, the Quickshift6 actually enhances fuel economy to the tune of 8% when compared with the manual Master. Multiplied over years of use, that’s a big benefit to offset against the £800 premium you pay for the Quickshift6. Semi-automatic gearbox technology still hasn’t reached a level where it’s preferable to a manual transmission for most car drivers but in a van it makes much more sense. Renault’s Quickshift6 system delivers negligible penalties in terms of impaired performance, it actually improves fuel efficiency and it makes journeys considerably less taxing on the driver. There isn’t the control you get with a proper manual but the semi-auto mode gives the extra input you need in certain situations. Some buyers will never entertain anything other than manual transmission but for the sake of £800, it’s well worth trying the Quickshift6 to see how far automatics have come. You might just be converted.

Facts At A Glance VAN: Renault Master Quickshift6 van Range ENGINES: 100bhp 2.5dCi, 115bhp 2.5dCi, 136bhp 3.0dCi LOAD VOLUMES: 8.0-13.9 cubic metres MGVW: 2.8, 3.3 or 3.5 tonnes BODY OPTIONS: panel van, chassis cab, chassis double-cab, platform cab, minibus

JACK OF ALL TRADES? THE MASTER’S THE ONE
Looming Down From Its Lofty Position Atop The Renault Commercial Vehicle Range, The Master Has Proved Consistently Popular With This Country’s Van Operators. Steve Walker Examines The Current Line-Up…

The Renault Master: an agreeable, well-built panel van, sophisticated diesel engines, sprawling model Range and pragmatic, efficient design. These are all good things, qualities that van buyers like, but pick any of the top-selling large panel vans currently available and you could sum them up in similarly glowing terms. The Master’s problem is getting itself noticed in a market characterised by competence and proficiency.

For the reasons already mentioned, when a buyer finally settles on a Renault Master at the expense of the other mainstream panel van options, he or she is rarely disappointed. This genre of commercial vehicle is all about substance over style and rightfully so. In order to lower list prices, cut running costs, maximise payloads, expand loadspace and instil ease of use, the top manufacturers have gradually been boxed into a corner. There’s no room left to indulge the designers’ engineering flair or to utilise a little artistic licence and most of the products follow similar themes. This is no bad thing, of course, as anyone who has used a Renault Master van or one of its contemporaries will tell you - they do the job. The resemblances that many of the modern panel van contingent evidently share are not solely down to the manufacturers hitting on a formula that works and sticking to it. It’s a more often a case of them hitting on a formula that works and then liberally sharing it around. Citroen, Fiat and Peugeot grouped together to produce their respective Relay, Ducato and Boxer models, while the Master van, at which we look here, is the fruit of a union between Renault, Nissan and Vauxhall, which has also yielded the Interstar and Movano. With essentially identical, albeit differently badged, models available from other manufacturers, even more emphasis is placed on the ability of Renault dealers to attract buyers by means of special offers and/or higher quality aftersales provision. The Master’s sales success can be partially taken as evidence that they have adapted to this task well.

"From door handles to dashboard, it feels robust enough to stay the course and the diesel engines are similarly dependable…"

Having made a brief explanation of the ins and outs of the wider market, it’s on to the Renault Master in more detail. The key to all good panel van Ranges is variety, there should be a product suited to the needs of every potential panel van customer, whether they prioritise low costs, big loads, high equipment levels, pretty colours or a healthy combination of all the above. Thanks to a package of recent revisions, there have been many changes to the Master line-up in recent times. Buyers have a choice of three wheelbases (short, medium and long – 3078mm, 3578mm and 4078mm), three roof heights (short, medium and high, 2.25m, 2.48m and 2.72m) and three body types: panel van, commercial passenger vehicle (Master 6, 9 and 16 Seat) and open transport (platform, chassis and double chassis cab). Load volume Ranges from 8m³ to 20m³. Completing the Master line-up are the bodies for conversion – in bare chassis, chassis-cab (single and double) and platform cab versions. These form the basis for a host of body conversions to address various applications, including ambulances, refrigerated transport, motorhomes, mobile workshops and disabled passenger transport. The recently introduced 2.5 dCi engine is available in the Master with three power outputs: 100hp, 120hp and 150hp. The mid-Range 120hp engine has gained 10Nm in maximum torque over the previous version and a particulate filter appears on the dCi 150 engine. All three 2.5 dCi powerplants are available with a six-speed manual gearbox or a semi-automatic ‘Quickshift6’ set-up. The equipment levels on Master are more comprehensive than you might expect, with standard features including a 30W CD RDS radio with fingertip remote control, ABS with EBD, a full steel bulkhead (excluding passenger versions), a Thatcham category 1 alarm and a trip computer. The Master chassis accommodates heavy loads, with a double-delta front suspension system with upper swingarm, and wide track for precise steering and roadholding on any type of road surface in any weather. A front suspension system with independent wheels ensures steering efficacy and suspension comfort at all load levels. Getting the experience of driving and using the Master day to day right is a task to which Renault have obviously applied themselves. In the back, the sills are low and the apertures are wide so weighty items can be hoisted on and slid in more easily. The cab is tidily assembled and thought has been given to storage, although a lot of the more ingenious solutions in this area are confined to the options list. There’s a handy recess in the centre of the dash that takes phones and wallets without spitting them back out onto the floor when you move off while the class-leading door pockets with massive capacity and separate flask section remain. One bugbear is that the heavy cab doors tend to bounce back off their stays when opened. This can be infuriating if you’re trying to get in with an armful of clutter and painful if you’re still hoisting yourself inside when the door makes its return journey. The latest facelift brought improvements throughout the interior but the biggest boon is the dash-mounted gearstick for swifter shifting and better cross-cab access. The ride is comfortable for a big vehicle designed to cope with big loads and there’s decent refinement along with a tight turning circle. In comparison to its adversaries at the top of the UK panel van market, the Master has set-out an eye-catching stall with a-view to attracting your business. From door handles to dashboard, it feels robust enough to stay the course and the diesel engines are similarly dependable - then there’s that varied model Range to consider. Whether it has the gumption to come out on top from the field of class-leaders is open to debate, there’s not much to split the field on price or performance and buying decisions will be swayed either way on personal taste and the kind of package you can extract from your Renault dealership. Master buyers can rest assured that there’s nothing significantly better out there.

Facts At A Glance VAN: Renault Master van Range ENGINES: 100bhp 2.5dCi, 120bhp 2.5dCi & 150bhp 2.5dCi LOAD VOLUMES: 8.0-13.9 cubic metres MGVW: 2.8, 3.3 or 3.5 tonnes BODY OPTIONS: panel van, chassis cab, chassis double-cab, platform cab, minibus