Cool new Renault Alaskan concept previews 2016 pick-up launch ~ station of gear

Renault Alaskan concept pick-up truck makes its debut in Paris ahead of the production version’s launch in early 2016

2015-09-03 11:00

Renault will enter the UK pick-up market in 2016 and the Alaskan concept gives us a clear view of how its first offering will shape up.

The Alaskan concept pick-up made its Paris debut today and we’ll get to see the full production version, also called Renault Alaskan, in the first half of 2016.

• Best pick-up trucks

Renault has drawn upon the extensive pick-up truck knowhow of partner brand Nissan to bring us the Alaskan. The truck is based heavily on the new Nissan NP300 Navara pick-up that will make its official European debut at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show.

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The same pick-up platform that brings us the Renault Alaskan and the new Nissan Navara is also due to form the basis of a Mercedes-Benz pick-up truck due in 2017. Pick-ups aren’t known for their understated approach to styling and being a concept pick-up, the Renault Alaskan holds even less back.

The imposing front grille with oversize Renault badge draws a clear line to the brand’s Captur and Kadjar crossover SUVs. Headlamp clusters partially encased by sweeping C-shaped daytime running lights are integrated either side of that grille while vast 21-inch wheels provide some mini monster truck drama within their gently bulging wheelarches.

Around at the rear, intricate LED running lights sit either side of a load bay that offers a maximum payload of over a tonne and extra storage space in covered boxes positioned down its sides. The Renault Alaskan concept is powered by the four-cylinder twin-turbo diesel engine already being used elsewhere in the Renault commercial vehicle range.

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It has a switchable four-wheel-drive transmission deigned for serious off-road use but Renault is also claiming good on-road comfort and dynamics for the production version. Renault has been the number one light commercial vehicle (LCV ) manufacturer in Europe for the last 17 years and the launch of the Alaskan Concept marks the brand’s intent to increase its market share globally where pick-ups count for one third of LCV sales.

Renault’s production truck is intended to compete across the commercial and lifestyle-orientated sectors of the UK pick-up market, taking on the likes of the Nissan Navara, Mitsubishi’s L200, the Toyota HiLux and the Volkswagen Amarok.

Do you think Renault has a chance of making headway in the UK pick-up market? Let us know in the comments section below…

Steve Walker

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