Renault Vans: Majorette Renault Kangoo, Trafic, and Matchbox Renault Master Ambulance

It's hard to believe the amount of vans coming from a French automaker, yet there is a lot.  It started with the Master van that revolutionize vans by going for a front-wheel drive layout instead of the typical rear-drive layout of other vans.  That success has also lead to smaller vans that inclue the Express later called Kangoo and the mid-size Trafic.  Of course Majorette has made all of them, but in this test I had the Matchbox Master Ambulance as a substitute.

Renault Kangoo

As cities in Europe become more congested with vehicles, considering that most of the cities were developed long before vehicles, the need for smaller delivery vehicles were on the rise.  While the Master was nimble it was still too large for many, so using the second-generation 5 the Express was introduced in 1985.  In 1997 the Kangoo suceeded the Express as the new delivery vehicle with a more rounded look that foreshadowed the look of future vans.  The length was small as the 5 for easy manuverability, yet it has a tall roof to accept plenty people or cargo in the back.   The new body design allows for a sliding passenger-side rear door to finally be adopted and aiding in loading the Kangoo.  The dashboard layout is very car-like, then after the B-pillars morphs into a tall van.  The powertrain is a 1.6L DOHC I-4 that produces 95 horsepower to the front wheels by a 5-speed manual transmission.

Majorette did the Renault Express model as well and while it had opening rear doors it looked too boxy to be stylish.  The first Kangoo fixed that with a more rounded look that still looks good today.  The front has tall headlights with signal lights below them in clear lenses and a lower gray bumper.  The sides show off that tall roof look with little kayackers along the graphic sides.  On the right-side is a sliding rear door, a rather small one, that forgoes the traditional rear opening doors.  This door required a lot of force to pop open (thanks to paint on the track pins), but after a few back and forth slidings the door finally operated normally.  At the rear are tall taillights with round lamp shape, a rear liftgate instead of panel doors, and a trailer hitch for towing.  The Kangoo still has a working suspension and it handles great around the track.  The interior in blue has seating for five with ample room in the rear for passengers and cargo.  The front dashboard layout is typical Renault car design with central control layout, 3-spoke steering wheel, and shifter between the front seats.  Lately Majorette has adopted a newer Kangoo with more Renault-family styling and the same basic function, but this time as only a panel van and the sliding rear door is replaced with an opening liftgate.

Renault Trafic

For those who need a larger van like the Master but in a smaller size the Trafic is the one to get.  The Trafic was introduced in 1981 and has shared styling with the Master, but in a smaller size for better navigation around city streets.  The first-generation was famous in the U.S. as a camper for Winnebago called the LeSharo.  This is the second-generation and with the third-generation as well shares some elements with the Nissan NV200/300.  The Trafic features dual sliding doors and large cargo area with the Master with a liftgate rear from the Kangoo.  The powertrain is a 2.0L DOHC turbodiesel I-4 that produces 113 horsepower through a six-speed manual transmission to the front wheels.

Now this van has a bit of work history in the Majorette lineup, yet even for a basic panel van it also has some rather stock and clean looks, like this black example.  The front has large clear headlight and signal lights that are teardropped and flow into the Renault grille, while  a lower bumper has foglights and a lower grille in body-color metal.  The front side windows swoop up from the front windshield and contain large exterior mirrors, while the front hood has an air scoop for the flow-through ventilation.  The van has a typical panel truck look with dual sliding doors; the one on the passenger-side slides open and just like the Kangoo requires a bit of force at the first two tries before smoothing out as the excess paint wears off the tracks.  At the rear are tall taillights that fit into wedge-shaped corners with a large liftgate that has a large rear glass and a trailer hitch for towing.  The Trafic has a working suspension and looks good on chrome multi-spoke wheels.  Handling was good, yet its large size made it feel more like a van than the smaller Kangoo.  The interior has a dashboard setup just like any European truck and the Master with a car-like setup with central controls, 3-spoke steering wheel, great visibility, and then adds more cubby holes and the shifter is mounted on the dashboard closer to the driver.  The odd part about this casting is that it has three rows of seats for a panel van!  The only way to know this is by opening the sliding rear door.  Hope you're not claustrophobic!

Matchbox Renault Master Ambulance

While Majorette also makes the Master in Ambulance and panel truck versions, Matchbox created the ambulance-only Master in 2013.  This was Matchbox's first foray into the European van market that was originally planned for a Mercedes Sprinter in 2006, but was cancelled at the last minute.  The Master is Renault's largest van and one that competes with the Sprinter in size and durability.  Not only is it larger but also offers the option of a chassis-cab to allow aftermarket bodies for the rear section.  Unlike most other vans it has front-wheel drive and uses a 2.3L DOHC turbodiesel I-4 to produce 148 horsepower to a six-speed manual transmission.  Majorette has made quite a few Master replica's over the years, but this third-generation Master was the first for Matchbox.

Ok, the downside here is that thanks to cost-cutting by Mattel to reduce the amount of metal the large Master has a plastic body and a metal base (just like the Ford Transit TV van).  I went for the premium 60th anniversary model shown here as it offers more and better detailing that the regular model could not offer, and despite the use of plastic it has quite a bit of details to admire.  The front has tall headlights that bookend the large eggcrate grille and lower metal bumper in black with integrated scoops.  The sides have the same tall profile and sweeping front windows as in the Trafic, and then adds dual emergenty flashers and an AC unit to the roof of the van.  The Ambulance pattern on the sides is realistic and looks great on this van.  The rear has triangular taillights that meet dual panel doors with the right-side having a lower window line for better visibility out back (not that it matters with all of that ambulance gear in the way for the driver to back out).

The interior is nicely done and at the front has seating for three people on a bench seat.  The dashboard layout is car-like with more cubby holes and the shifter positioned closer to the driver on the dashboard.  At the rear it gets even more interesting:  Just behind the front seats is a lab layout where all of the tools and machines used to monitor the patient are located and has a seat for the person to monitor the area.  It helps that they have access to get out thanks to side doors that have see-through windows.  The left-side of the cargo area has seating area for personnel while the right-side has the gurney for the patient to be carried on.  Again, this nice detailing off-sets the plastic body that is used for the Master Ambulance and gives this Matchbox casting a character of its own to separate itself from the Majorette version.