Renault Grand Scenic Range Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Renault Grand Scenic range
Prices: £16,970–£25,270 - on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 5-10
Emissions: 134-184g/km
Performance: [2.0 dCi 160] Max Speed 127mph / 0-60mph 9.3s
Fuel Consumption: [2.0 dCi 160] (combined) 43mpg
Safety: Twin front, side & curtain airbags / ESP / ABS with emergency brake assist / ISOFIX child seat mountings.
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height, 4560/2077/1645mm

TAKING THE SCENIC ROUTE

Our Rating: 7.9 / 10

Renault’s Grand Scenic is tough to fault in the 7-seat compact MPV sector. Jonathan Crouch reports.

Renault once ignored the needs of compact MPV buyers wanting seven seats. Now arguably, they meet them better than anybody. Evidence comes in the shape of this second generation Grand Scenic. Practical, safe, quiet, comfortable, cheap to run and relatively affordable, it ticks a lot of boxes.

Renault will tell you, quite rightly, that they know a thing or two about people carriers, but the truth is also that they have themselves been taught a few MPV lessons by other brands over the years. The French manufacturer was certainly first to popularise the MPV market, initially with the Espace for large families, then in the late Nineties with the more compact Scenic. What they failed to initially appreciate though was that so many customers would want the bigger model’s 7-seater carrying capacity in a smaller Scenic-sized package. Cars like Vauxhall’s Zafira capitalised royally on this oversight until Renault belatedly put things right in 2004 with the launch of the first generation Grand Scenic model.

This may have been a delayed response but at least it was an effective one. Instead of simply copying compact MPVs like the Zafira and others like Volkwagen’s Touran and Toyota’s Verso by cramming into the boot two extra seats suitable only for small children or eunuchs, Renault did the job properly. The first Grand Scenic sat on an extended long wheelbase chassis and was 230mm longer than the continuing 5-seater Scenic model, for the first time properly plugging the gap between fully-fledged 7-seat people carriers and mini-MPVs designed as little more than family hatchbacks with a little extra versatility. Renault had grabbed back the initiative in this market and aimed to continue it when five years later, they launched the second generation Grand Scenic we look at here.

You automatically approach a seven-seat MPV measuring four and a half meters from nose to tail with certain expectations about how it will drive but it’s worth giving the Grand Scenic the benefit of the doubt. Comfort is the priority and rightly so but Renault has also managed to instil a high degree of poise and manoeuvrability. With its suspension system lifted from the Megane, the Grand Scenic resists cornering roll well and has plenty of grip at the front wheels. The ride quality is fir

To complete the job, it’ll be down to you to make the right engine choice. Best of the bunch if you want petrol power is the smooth 130bhp 1.4 TCe turbo unit, miles more responsive than the entry-level 110bhp 1.6 VVT and able to pull cleanly from as little as 1,000rpm, even in 5th gear. As a result, it feels quicker than the 0-60mph time of 11.5s would suggest but even that is enough to make the purchase of the 140bhp 2.0 model irrelevant unless you need its CVT automatic gearbox. If you’re after diesel, the 1.5 dCi 106 version might be enough if you’re not likely to be often travelling fully laden. If you will be, then the 1.9 dCi 130 variant might be better suited to your needs. You’ll be even better placed if you can stretch to the 2.0 dCi 160 diesel model, its 380Nm of torque enough to galvanise even a fully-loaded Grand Scenic into instant action. This version emphasises what is arguably the Grand Scenic’s strongest dynamic suit: its outstanding class-leading refinement. Plastic and felt have been built into the flooring with impressively quiet results.

From the outside, this is a smart but not especially memorable design but inside, the designers’ efforts have been massively more successful. The quality of the materials leaps out at you, with well chosen soft-touch plastics everywhere and nicely executed minor controls that won’t disappoint those used to more premium brands. The dashboard highlight for most owners will be the computer-style multi-colour screen with its virtual speedometer, but more important is the way that the big windscreen and narrow pillars give you a great view out. The seats are very comfortable too and we particularly like the way that the headrests can be folded forward and around weary heads for those lulled into sleep by the cosseting ride.

As for practicality, well, being very nearly the size of a Renault Espace, this Grand Scenic should be big inside and it is. Even so, four and a half metres of length still isn’t quite enough t