MOTORS: Top spec Renault Scenic should manage class-leading 370 miles on full charge
The French brand Renault have consistently come up with interesting cars since they turned out their first one 126 years ago.
I liked the smooth curves of the diminutive Dauphine of the ‘60s and the Avantime signalled the start of the Millennium as a bold two-door, pillarless grand tourer. It is now a rare collectors’ item if you’re lucky enough to find one whose doors haven’t fallen off.
A more attractive option was the sophisticated Vel Satis, which again is worth snapping up if you come across one which has been looked after.
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They were created by renowned Renault designer Patrick Le Quément who came to prominence when he produced the Megane a couple of years later featuring its distinctive rear end, or to be more specific and linguistically accurate, its derriere.
He was also responsible for the early Scenic which in the mid-1990s was the first all-purpose, family-sized MPV.
Approaching his ‘80s, he now helps design luxury catamarans so can’t take the credit for the latest Scenic, the fifth generation of the model.
It’s bang up-to-date, available only with electric power and at more than £45,000, the price has surged too.
Like every new model, it’s a lot bigger and faces stiffer competition than its predecessor with an EV market full of alternatives from Skoda, VW, Hyundai, Nissan as well as fellow-French brands Peugeot and Citroen and Elon Musk’s Tesla.
The featured test car was the top spec E-Tech Iconic with the larger long range 87kWh battery which should allow around class-leading 370 miles on a full charge.
It’s already picked up the title of 2024 Car of the Year and it’s easy to see why.
Apart from a dramatic chiselled exterior of sharp corners and acute angles there’s a powerful front end with slim LED headlights and two-stage horizontal LED running lights. Each of the three trims comes with 20-inch black and silver aerodynamic alloys.
In the bright and spacious interior, the emphasis is on using recycled textiles for the seats and fabric dashboard with laser cut real wood on the door panels.
The test car also had a massage function and lumbar support on the driver’s seat and a panoramic glass roof. It is the first in a mass-market car which can be opacified in segments by using polymer dispersed liquid crystals. What that means is that it can turn from clear to frosted in sections without having to have a sliding blind, which would reduce headroom.
The 12-speaker Hardon Kardon sound system means the audio is crystal clear even at cruising speed.
Like the rest of Renault’s electric range it comes only in front-wheel-drive but the platform is able to take a rear-mounted motor so a four-wheel-drive version could be a future option. Without the rear motor, there’s a bigger boot with space for the charging cable under the floor as all the electrical gubbins are at the front under the bonnet.
There’s stacks of space for passengers with good head and legroom and there’s fine visibility all round, helped by the digital rear view mirror and 360-degree 3D camera.
The 12-inch multimedia touchscreen is comprehensive but fairly straightforward to operate and it’s good that frequently-used functions like climate control are lined up below in a row of manual buttons.
There are four Multi-Sense driving modes of Personal, Comfort, Sport and Eco which are called up through a push button on the steering wheel, while the gearchange sits above on a stalk, which feels unusual but soon becomes familiar.
A quirky touch is the discreet image of a cockerel at the edge of the windscreen, to reflect the car’s French heritage.
This is not a performance car but it’s not slow off the mark with the signature electric power going straight to the driving wheels without any lag and with the four-level regeneration at its highest level, there’s rarely a need to use the brake pedal.
Renault Scenic E-Tech auto
PRICE: £45,495 (£46,745 as tested)
POWERTRAIN: 87kWh synchronous electric motor, front wheel drive
POWER: 220 hp
TORQUE: 300 Nm
TOP SPEED: 105mph
0-62mph: 7.9 secs
RANGE: 369 miles
CHARGING TIME: 40 mins (150kW fast charger)