In this paper, we explore the version of Hairer’s regularity structures based on a greedier index set than trees, as introduced in (Otto et al. in A priori bounds for quasi-linear SPDEs in the full sub-critical regime, 2021, arXiv:2103.11039) and algebraically characterized in (Linares et al. in Comm. Am. Math. Soc. 3:1–64, 2023). More precisely, we construct and stochastically estimate the renormalized model postulated in (Otto et al. in A priori bounds for quasi-linear SPDEs in the full sub-critical regime, 2021, arXiv:2103.11039), avoiding the use of Feynman diagrams but still in a fully automated, i. e. inductive way. This is carried out for a class of quasi-linear parabolic PDEs driven by noise in the full singular but renormalizable range. We assume a spectral gap inequality on the (not necessarily Gaussian) noise ensemble. The resulting control on the variance of the model naturally complements its vanishing expectation arising from the BPHZ-choice of renormalization. We capture the gain in regularity on the level of the Malliavin derivative of the model by describing it as a modelled distribution. Symmetry is an important guiding principle and built-in on the level of the renormalization Ansatz. Our approach is analytic and top-down rather than combinatorial and bottom-up.