It might be called the Scenic, but this fifth-generation car from Renault has very little in common with the eminently practical MPVs or people carriers to wear that badge from 1996-2016. Is this a Mk5 Scenic, or merely a first-generation something else that’s had a familiar name applied for the sake of marketing? Certainly, there’s very little that owners of any of the first three generations of Scenic would immediately recognise.
For one thing, the new Scenic E-Tech is an electric SUV, rather than a petrol or diesel MPV. For another, much of the clever design has been lost along the way, the old Scenic’s versatile rear seats ditched in favour of a much more conventional arrangement.
Despite that, the Scenic has been crowned European Car of the Year for 2024. Indeed, that’s one of the few things this Scenic has in common with its predecessor, the original version having trounced the Ford Ka and Volkswagen Passat to take the title in 1997.
This year’s win was less emphatic and indeed my colleague and Car of the Year juror, Andrew English wasn’t entirely enamoured with the Scenic on first acquaintance, awarding it a distinctly average three stars. So now that the Scenic has arrived in the UK, can it do anything more to impress?
Think of the Scenic as slotting in somewhere between the smaller Hyundai Kona and the larger Skoda Enyaq in size terms; it is, in other words, about the size of a Kia Niro or a Ford Explorer.
Last year we noted it was due to start at about £40,000. But Renault has reduced that figure, so pricing is now pretty keen for an EV of this size. Even the entry-level “comfort range” version has a very useful 60kWh of usable battery capacity for £37,500 or so; plumping for the “long range” version gives you 87kWh for £40,995.
Do this, and you can then upgrade from the standard Techno model to the Esprit Alpine for £2,500 more, or the Iconic for a further £2,000 – bringing the price of the top-spec long-range version tested here to a not-inconsiderable £45,495. By comparison, an equivalent Kona or Enyaq will cost about £43,000 or £51,000 respectively, yet neither will match the Megane’s long range.
And how far is that? Even the 60kW version will get you 260 miles, while the 87kW car can do 379 miles, according to the official figures. You’ll probably know not to trust those by now, so expect between 180 and 200 miles for the former, in the real world, and 260 and 300 for the latter – depending on the weather and type of driving.
It will charge at up to 150kW on a DC charger, meanwhile, enabling it to get from 10 to 80 per cent in 40 minutes – more time than for some rivals, yet because of its big battery the Scenic is also adding more miles in that time.
Thankfully, Renault has learned from the debacle of the Megane E-Tech, which didn’t have a heat pump at first and therefore experienced a parlous drop-off in range during cold weather. In our road test last year, in sub-zero conditions, the Megane managed only 57 per cent of its official range.
By contrast, every version of the Scenic has a heat pump as standard, so while its range will still drop off in colder weather, it won’t do so quite so dramatically.
Having said that, the range readout in our test car was somewhat misleading; at 80 per cent charge, it predicted it would travel 303 miles before needing a charge. Eighty-six miles later, that had fallen to 165 miles.
The car had used 29 per cent of its battery capacity to undertake that journey, which suggests it would have managed 286 miles on a full charge at motorway speeds – a perfectly reasonable figure by modern standards (although, as usual for an EV, somewhat out of step with the Government-mandated test figures).
However it feels as though Renault has set up the Scenic to predict what it should do, rather than what it will do – and while it is not alone in having done so, this approach invariably leads to range anxiety as owners see the predicted miles melt away at a far greater rate than those they are travelling – not to mention disquiet when they realise the wool is being pulled over their eyes.
The specification on the Iconic model is generous, however, with heated massage seats, a Harman Kardon sound system, real wood panelling and a 360-degree parking camera all as standard.
This top model’s party piece, though, is the transparent panoramic roof, which can turn opaque at the touch of a button. It does this in increments, too, so you can watch the opacity work its way back and forth – and you can choose to have only half of the roof obscured, too, allowing those in the back to see out while those in the front get shade, or vice versa. It’s a real crowd-pleaser, though I dread to think how much it would cost to fix if an errant stone chip were to cause a crack.
The roof isn’t the only swish bit of the interior. Indeed, the Scenic’s lavish trimmings might trick you into thinking this is a car that wears a premium badge. It’s no exaggeration to say that the beautiful, high-quality materials and tactile finishes inside wouldn’t look amiss in a car with a premium badge on its nose. I’ve sat in less impressive efforts from BMW and Mercedes of late, to name just a couple.
This would be as naught if it were not backed up by substance but here, too, Renault has really pulled its finger out. There’s a lovely row of rocker switches for the climate control, all of which feel lovely to use, and above them sits a large, easy-to-read touchscreen with large “buttons” that are easy to press.
This works well, with rapid responses and an intuitive layout, thanks in part to its Android operating system; the same goes for the second screen housing the virtual dials, in front of the driver. These are dominated by a large speed readout that manages to be both instantly visible thanks to its sheer size and visually arresting thanks to the on-screen graphics that slash across it dramatically.
The clever mix of light and dark finishes manage to make the Scenic feel bright and airy inside, but so does the fact that this is a really roomy car, offering as much space for passengers inside as an Enyaq or Volkswagen ID.4. Both in the front and rear, there’s a vast amount of head and leg room, while the seats are mounted high, with a good view out, so nobody will feel hemmed in.
Roomy it might be, but versatile it isn’t. The rear seats fold in 40/20/40 formation, but that’s about it; you can’t slide or tumble them forward as you might in Scenics of old.
Nor are there under-seat storage drawers, nor footwell bins. Indeed, the only vestige of the old Scenic’s cleverness that remains is a couple of small pockets on the backs of the front seats for storing small gadgets – which, to be fair, is a neat idea. But, Renault, would it have killed you to give us a couple of picnic benches for the kids, as some small nod to the way the Scenic used to be?
But while the rear seats aren’t all that smart, the boot is at least sizable, at 545 litres. This figure includes an under-floor storage locker for charging cables, or for whatever else you fancy slinging in there. Among EV rivals, only the Enyaq offers more.
As mandated by EU regulations, the Scenic is dripping with electronic driver aids that often don’t, but there’s a button you can press twice to disable these relatively easily should you wish to. At low speeds, the Scenic emits an eerie hum to let pedestrians know it’s there which, it turns out, was conceived by none other than Jean-Michel Jarre. It’s not quite Oxygène, but it somehow feels appropriately French.
Your first impression upon pulling away for the first time is of a car that’s been finessed to within an inch of its life. The pedals are very well set up, with an easy-going, progressive accelerator and a smooth brake pedal that combines friction and regenerative braking very well.
The steering is direct, but remote, with an odd lightness that makes it feel artificial. Switching the driving mode from Comfort to Sport adds weight, but not much in the way of feel, so neither set-up is ideal.
Around town there’s a woodenness to the way the Scenic rides that isn’t entirely appealing. Smaller bumps and irregularities can make for an irritating jiggle, while larger ones are damped more easily, with the result that the Scenic feels stable and composed, but fidgety.
As you might expect, therefore, the Scenic rides better when the tarmac is smoother. Indeed, it’s a consummate motorway cruiser, with super-comfortable seats and a driving position that feels relaxing. The only thing that spoils the party is too much wind and road noise.
And while the Scenic isn’t tear-your-hair-out fast, there’s plenty enough urge in this top-spec form to be going along with. A sports car it isn’t though; in corners it feels as though it’s been set up to be deliberately neutral, with crisp responses and an easy-going nature in an emergency manoeuvre, which is about right for a car of this type. But that feel-free steering means there are more involving EVs to drive.
It is a shame that Renault decided to name this car as it has, because the result is a sense of disappointment that it lacks the cleverness of previous cars that have borne this name.
Yet were it called anything else, we probably wouldn’t be judging the Scenic by the yardstick of a small MPV that made its debut almost 30 years ago. That this latest iteration can’t match that car’s versatility is a shame, but it’s probably more a reflection of the state of the current new car market than one of this car specifically.
Indeed, by the standards of modern electric SUVs, the new Scenic is pretty good. It’s got a decent amount of range; you get a heat pump as standard; it’ll be a pleasant cruiser and it’s beautifully finished inside.
And now that Renault has lopped a few grand off the starting price, the Scenic feels deserving of an additional star on its rating. Perhaps not quite our pick for Car of the Year – but a thoroughly likeable effort all the same.
Telegraph rating: Four stars out of five
The facts
On test: Renault Scenic E-Tech Long Range Iconic
Body style: five-door SUV
On sale: now
How much? £45,495 on the road (range from £37,495)
How fast? 106mph, 0-62mph in 7.9sec
How economical? 3.6mpkWh (WLTP Combined)
Electric powertrain: AC electrically excited synchronous motor with 87kWh (usable) battery, 150kW on-board charger, Type 2/CCS charging socket
Electric range: 379 miles (WLTP Combined) / 260-300 real world (est’d)
Maximum power/torque: 214bhp/221lb ft
CO2 emissions: 0g/km (tailpipe), 27g/km (well-to-wheel)
VED: £0
Warranty: 3 years / 100,000 miles (no mileage limit in first two years)
Spare wheel as standard: no (not available)
201bhp, 285 miles, £43,225 on the road
While flashier rivals grab the headlines, the Niro EV simply gets on with the job of being a sensibly sized, sensibly priced electric family car – one that’s backed up with Kia’s usual seven-year warranty. While the Niro won’t set your pulse racing, it’s comfortable, roomy and well equipped, although starting to look a little way off the pace in terms of its range.
282bhp, 352 miles, £51,340 on the road
The only car of this type that can beat the Scenic on space – but you pay for that space (and it’s worth noting too that the Enyaq can’t match the Scenic’s electric range). For all that, this is still one of the most comfortable electric cars and in this top-spec trim it’s lavishly equipped.
282bhp, 354 miles, £49,975 on the road
Ford’s latest EV – until the closely related Capri arrives later in the year – is basically the same as the Enyaq under the skin, which explains the similar power and range figures. But it doesn’t look quite such good value; it’s well equipped in this form, but the Explorer is smaller and less spacious. It does at least have a more usable entertainment system.
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