It takes two
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Find out how CM's long-term fleet vans have been faring with regular use from our experienced testers RENAULT MASTER F3300 100dCi
Price: £21,535 as tested) Engine: 2 3-litre. 99hr. Payload: 1,340kg Mileage: 3,600 mites Expenses: None Faults: None Average fuel economy: 5rnpg The newest member of our long-term fleet comes as part of an unusual process where two very different Renault Masters have appeared back to back. By now you will have read a full test of the first rear-wheeldrive example ( CM 18 November), which has now departed to be replaced by an E3300 100dCi, which, as you can probably decipher, is a 3,300kg GVW frontwheel-drive version. The new van achieved minor celebrity status in its first week here, when it was presented as the final challenge to CM's board of director, in their charity car wash event.
The cab continues to impress with the amount of thought that has gone into making the driver's task easier. There's a decent amount of storage and, while not every
driver carries a laptop, the swivelling table on the folded-down centre seat provides a handy surface, whether for eating your Big Mac or doing the Times crossword.The addition of cruise control. Bluetooth and sat-nay to the usual complement of controls make the steering column and wheel a crowded place, and one that repays a read of the handbook.
We were able to create a Bluetooth connection easily, but lost the first incoming call as the answer button was hidden behind the wheel. Quibbles so far are limited to the uneven floor underneath the driver's left foot, which can get annoying after a while.
Different to normal driving Performance from the 99hp is generally more than adequate, hut it has shown a tendency to go off the boil a bit quickly on short, sharp hills. The gearshift indication light demands changes that are counter to normal driving tendencies. We'll persevere with taking its advice wherever possible though, and see what happens. At the moment, without having yet had a formal fuel test, it's returning mid-thirties mpg with fairly light use. We criticised some of the earlier front-wheel-drive MasteriMovano examples for a less than perfect gear-changing experience. but this one seems to have no vices in that area.
Colin Barnett