RENAULT has ambitious plans to expand its footprint on Australian soil and while part of that battle is being fought with competitors in lucrative passenger segments, the company sees a good chunk of opportunity in the light-commercial vehicle (LCV) market too.

Of all the vehicles Renault sells Down Under, one in three is a van.

Its baby Kangoo van and Master big sibling bookend the LCV range but sitting in the middle is Renault's top-selling Trafic mid-sized van, which has just arrived in its third generation.

The company has high expectations for the new model but with the notable omission of an automatic transmission for this generation, the Trafic may run into some congestion with auto-centric Australian buyers.

Renault says a majority of the outgoing generation Trafics were sold with a manual gearbox and that a strong diesel engine and innovative features will preserve the loyal contingent of tradies and businesses that may prefer an automatic.

We spent a day playing delivery driver to see if the new Renault Trafic comes up with the goods against stiff competition from Hyundai's popular iLoad and the undisputed victor of the vans – the Toyota HiAce.

Click here for the full review...