Renault Scenic E-Tech test drive

Make and model: Renault Scenic E-Tech
Description: Mid-sized five-seat SUV
Price range: £37,495 to £45,495

Renault says: “The perfect family car that just happens to be an EV.”

We say: Only the name is the same on this family EV with much to like.

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Introduction

The name Renault Scenic will spark memories for some – before everyone had their heads turned by SUVs, they bought MPVs – otherwise known as people carriers – and the Scenic was one of the more successful, surviving until 2019.

Now the Scenic is back, but the only thing you might recognise is the name. The new model is a family-sized electric vehicle (EV) and, on first evidence, it’s a pretty effective one.

What is it?

Actually, the new Scenic does have another connection with its MPV predecessor. That car was a people-carrier built on the underpinnings of the Megane family hatch, and this new one uses the same EV platform as the current Megane E-Tech. Effectively it ticks the boxes that those who were attracted to the Megane weren’t able to tick, such as enough space in the rear seats and a more versatile range between battery charges.

Officially the new Scenic is a crossover – that strange class of vehicles which are designed to be more prominent than conventional cars but not quite as bulbous or boxy as the average SUV.  But in terms of visuals it sits far closer to ‘normal’ cars than SUVs.

There are three trim levels and two drivetrain options for the Scenic, both based around a single motor driving the front wheels. The combination of 170hp motor and 60kWh battery, known as Comfort Range, is only available in the base Techno trim. The ‘Long Range’, joining a 220hp motor to a 87kWh battery, is on offer in all three trim levels.

Who is this car aimed at?

The Scenic will likely be on the shopping list of any family seeking an EV, especially those with older children who will appreciate the space in the rear. The range of the more powerful version will also appeal to those doing significant mileage and Renault expects the Scenic to make a splash in the company car market – almost 60% of customers are predicted to be fleet buyers.

The sustainability of the car is also being heavily promoted – Renault tells us that up to 24% of the materials used in the new Scenic are finding a second employment and 90% of its mass, including the battery, will be recyclable. You won’t find any leather in the car and even the clever sunroof – more on which shortly – can be partially recycled.

Who won’t like it?

The Scenic does most of what it is designed to do but without really making a distinctive statement. If you are looking for as much excitement in your drive as efficiency you won’t find it here, but then again if an exciting drive is a priority you should be looking elsewhere anyway.

First impressions

On initial viewing, the Scenic strikes a confident pose. Crossovers are often close to SUVs in their proportions but this one really does look more like a large family car. The exterior profile does not immediately suggest the commodious surroundings within. 

Sharp creases do a good job of breaking up the exterior surfaces, and the front-end treatment is a highlight. So many EV designers struggle to get right the bit where traditional cars have their grilles, many simply settling for bluff lumps of panel, but the Scenic offers a natty ‘faux grille’ design which looks rather attractive.  

What do you get for your money?

One generally pleasing recent development in the automotive retail industry is the general demise of extensive options lists, though on the flipside this has probably contributed to cars being generally more expensive to buy. Certainly the Scenic follows the trend – what you get depends on which trim you choose and effectively the only option is metallic paint.

There are three trim levels, dubbed Techno, Esprit Alpine and Iconic. The entry-level Techno is very well specified, with yet another growing trend evident – what were once considered expensively desirable extras are now standard equipment. Notable examples in this case include wireless smartphone charging, an electric tailgate, heated seats and steering wheel and automatic just about everything.

So is it worth paying £2,500 more for an Esprit Alpine or a further £2,000 on top of that for the Iconic? The former is mostly about styling – bigger 20-inch alloy wheels and lots of blue detailing.

The Iconic, meanwhile, chucks in some notable extras, a more upmarket nine-speaker audio system, a massage function on the driver’s seat, 360-degree view camera, hands-free parking and the innovative ‘Solarbay’ panoramic sunroof. This is divided into sections and one can choose how many sections to have opaque or clear at a time. There are four settings and rear-seat passengers can have their section different to the driver’s.  

What’s the Renault Scenic like inside?

Slip into the Scenic and the immediate impression is of light and airy surroundings, especially with the Solarbay sunroof fitted to the cars on the launch event. The car scores on its space – headroom is adequate even for the tallest occupants, while rear-seat passengers will feel the benefit of a wheelbase stretched by 10cm over the Megane.

Three adults will fit comfortably in the back, but if you only seat two they can make use of a clever central armrest that folds down to reveal individual cupholders, USB-C sockets and tablet/phone holders that can be swivelled for joint or individual visual entertainment.

The boot offers 545 litres, which is comparable with rivals, and folding the rear seats down boosts this to 1,670 litres. That fold-down central armrest also includes a hidden trap door, traditionally known as a ski-hatch but more likely to be used for carrying long lengths of wood or items from the garden centre. 

Up front, two 12-inch digital displays dominate the scene. The central vertical one forms the infotainment screen and its multimedia system is matched to Google products – some 50 Google apps are available and some, such as Google Maps, can be cast onto the driver’s display.

Now, about this display… Renault tells us that instead of traditional dial shapes, we have ‘speed lines’. At 28 degrees, they match the angle of the Renault logo and divide the screen vertically into three. It’s just that the left line cuts directly into the bottom right corner of the large digital speed readout – it’s not enough to make it hard to read, just slightly visually jarring…

What’s the Renault Scenic like to drive?

The cars at the launch event were all to the top Iconic specification with the more powerful motor and battery combination. On getting comfortable in the driver’s seat, vision all around is reasonable, except to the rear where the view is a bit letterbox-like.   

As ever in an EV, setting off is a very unflustered process. At slow speeds, the car emits a low tone to alert pedestrians to its otherwise silent presence – this tone, along with the ‘welcome sounds’ one gets on entering the car, was apparently created by electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre, though sadly it’s a lot less earworm-inducing than ‘Oxygene’…

The car accelerates smoothly, another EV trait, with the lower-power version cresting 62mph in 8.6 seconds, the more potent variant shaving this to just under eight seconds. Remarkably, some have criticised this as a bit pedestrian – not so long ago, with a petrol-engined car it would have been considered fairly swift.

At speed, the Scenic rides well and the suspension does a good job of smothering bumps and potholes. There are four driving modes available and the standard Comfort one is adequate, if a little soft and bouncy when pushed on. Choosing Sport suitably firms things up, but you won’t get much excitement out of driving this car – which is no real surprise for a family SUV.

Four levels of battery regeneration are available to help stretch the potential range, which are selected by paddles behind the steering wheel. Once familiar with these, it’s easy to drive the Scenic as a one-pedal car.

How safe is the Renault Scenic?

Here the Scenic ticks all the boxes – as is the norm these days the safety package extends to a host of autonomous driving aids, and as is also increasingly a norm, all of them come fitted to every model, even the cheapest.

The Scenic was tested by Euro NCAP in May 2024 and scored a top five-star rating. Depending on spec, it offers up to 30 driving assistance functions including lane departure warning, cross-traffic alerts and the like, plus a couple of new ones.

Active Driver Assist combines adaptive cruise control, Stop & Go and lane-centring functions depending on speed. At low speeds, such as in a traffic jam, the lane centring system can be adjusted by the driver to keep the vehicle to one side of the road to make room for emergency vehicles.

The Adaptive Cruise Control is clever too, apparently ‘Intelligent Contextual’.  It works with a map and can adapt to the road ahead, planning for upcoming roundabouts, turns and speed limit changes.

Renault Scenic economy, battery range and charging

One of the other complaints levelled at the smaller Megane has been a fairly unimpressive battery range, so the Scenic addresses this with its two drivetrain choices.

The ‘comfort range’ setup offers an official UK/EU government lab test range of 260 miles between charges, and in the ‘long range’ variant you get a maximum of 379 miles.

A heat pump is standard, helping to recover energy and maximise range, especially in winter temperatures. It works with the journey planner to automatically pre-condition the battery as the car nears a scheduled charging stop, ensuring it is at the optimal temperature on arrival and helping to cut charge times.

Both drivetrains will charge on 22kW AC units and the 60kW battery on a 130kW DC charger. If you can find one, the 87kWh battery can be plugged into a 150kW DC charger, which means a 30-minute replenish will give you more than 200 miles further at the wheel.

With a 7kW charger (like a home wallbox), a full charge takes just under 13 hours with the larger battery and a bit over nine hours with the larger one.

Verdict

The latest Renault Scenic is a thoroughly capable family EV with a competitive range and a stylish, quality build. It’s not the most exciting vehicle to drive in the market but few potential buyers in this sector will be prioritising performance.

One is left wondering why they chose to re-use the Scenic name, however. Anyone who recalls previous versions of what was a highly popular people carrier will find nothing in this car that they recognise.  

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