The New Renault Trafic Is More Proof That Vans Are Cool Again

Unless they’ve been modified with off-road tyres, sleeping quarters and enough space for an entire wardrobe of flannel shirts and Patagonia bodywarmers, vans haven’t really been cool for a long time. There are signs that that’s changing, though, especially in the emerging EV van class. The VW ID Buzz? Cool. The Kia PV5? Cool. And now there’s this, the new Renault Trafic E-Tech, which we, as the unquestioned arbiters of all things cool, are officially declaring a cool van.

After first being shown off earlier this year, Renault’s now revealed the new e-van in full, giving us a better look at its funky, futuristic front end and its general, erm, van-ishness. That face, by the way, pulls the very common modern car trick of the headlights not being where you think they are – they’re set low down in the bumper, while the lights that serve as the van’s ‘eyes’ are just daytime runners.

You want numbers? The Trafic has a single front-mounted electric motor, delivering 201bhp and 254lb ft. Opt for the Long Range battery (capacity unconfirmed), and Renault estimates a max range of around 280 miles, dropping to around 217 miles for the Urban Range. It’s the first Renault vehicle to get 800V charging tech, meaning the smaller battery can be topped up from 15 to 80 per cent in as little as 20 minutes.

Van Stuff™ includes a two-tonne towing capacity, 1.25-tonne payload and the option to order it from the factory in various configurations, including a tipper, flatbed, bare chassis cab or the kind of cargo box van we inexplicably call a ‘Luton’ in the UK.

Renault also calls the new Trafic its first ‘Software Defined Vehicle’, meaning all the van’s systems are driven from one central mega-computer rather than the software being peripheral to other functions. Those systems include Renault’s latest Google-powered OpenR infotainment, as well as standard vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-grid capabilities.

Set to be built at Renault’s existing commercial vehicle plant in Sandouville, France, the Trafic will enter production in late 2026, so expect to see it making European city streets look slightly cooler shortly after that.