New Renault Scenic undercuts Tesla Model Y at £41k

The exterior styling is remarkably close to the concept version revealed last year and showcases Renault’s new ‘visual language’, which mixes curved bodywork with sharp character lines and elements designed to look ‘high-tech’.

The front grille area has been reworked with a vertical Renault logo set slightly back from a panel featuring a diamond motif, while at the edges the daytime-running lights build on those featured on the Mégane.

At 4470mm long, the Scenic is slightly shorter than the closely related Ariya, but Renault claims that the comparatively long wheelbase gives it more interior space than traditional cars of its size, highlighting its 278mm of leg room and 884mm of head room in the back.

There is a 12.3in digital driver display and a 12.0in portrait-oriented central touchscreen, which runs Renault’s Google-based OpenR Link infotainment system.

To meet its family car brief, there are numerous storage areas in the cabin, including a large open centre console in the front. In the back, the fold-down centre armrest features two cupholders, stands to hold two smartphones or one tablet and two built-in USB ports. There is also a 545-litre boot, with storage space expanding to 1670 litres with the rear seats folded.

An optional Solarbay panoramic roof has been developed with specialist manufacturer Saint-Gobain. Using polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLC) and an electric field, it can opacify one segment at a time, allowing different levels of light in different parts of the car.

The Scenic will be offered with two battery sizes, each powering a single front-mounted motor. Standard Range models feature a 167bhp motor paired to a 60kWh (net) battery, giving a 0-62mph time of 9.3sec, a 93mph top speed and a claimed range of more than 261 miles.

High Range models have 215bhp and a 87kWh (net) battery, increasing the claimed range to more than 385 miles while raising the top speed to 105mph and cutting 0.9sec from the 0-62mph time. 

Both batteries use LG Chem nickel-manganese-cobalt technology and are claimed to have 6%-higher energy density than those in the Mégane.

Renault has also reworked the pre-conditioning functions and reduced the optimal operating temperature of the battery. Notably, unlike with the Mégane, a heat pump will be standard on all models. Four levels of brake regeneration are offered.

Standard models can fast charge at speeds of up to 130kW, rising to 150kW for the larger battery. Buyers can choose from 7kW or 22kW on-board AC chargers.

Renault claims that up to 24% of the materials in the Scenic are recycled, including up to 80% of the aluminium in the doors and bonnet, while the firm has focused on developing ‘closed loop’ streams.

The cockpit is 26% recycled plastic, while around 80% of the dashboard materials are recycled. The aim is that 90% of the car, including the battery, can be recycled at the end of its life. 

The steering wheel features a grained coated fabric that uses 51% bio-sourced material, while those in the Esprit Alpine trim use fabric made from 80% reprocessed bottles and 20% old seatbelts.

The new Scenic will be manufactured in Douai, France, at the heart of Renault’s ElectriCity network. 

EVs remain “in the reach of the happy few”, said Renault brand boss Fabrice Cambolive at the Scenic's unveiling. It is a “challenge to create excitement with products for early adopters” as a result.

But “now is the time for phase two: EV adoption for the masses,” he said. “Products must not force people into compromising, and this is what we have tried to do with the Scenic: it just makes sense.”

He added that it has been designed from the ground up to be “the right package for the European consumer”.

“Let’s make EVs a product for all,” he pledged.

Cambolive also noted that the Munich motor show – thus Germany – was an appropriate venue for the latest Scenic's unveiling, because it was in Frankfurt in 1991 that the brand showed the original Scenic concept.

“This concept modernised family cars,” he said. “It showed family cars could be compact outside, but spacious and very comfortable inside.”

The Scenic evolved into a production car in 1996, and since then Renault has sold more than 5.3 million examples. More than two million, Cambolive said, remain on the road.

Q&A with Agneta Dahlgren-Hermine, Renault Design EV project director

Why use the Scenic name?

“It's really our family vehicle, and it needs to be adapted to family needs. Nowadays, many people want a car that’s a bit higher, and even the previous-generation Scenic was. It’s really just the position of the windshield, pushed more backwards [like an SUV].

"It’s not really an SUV: you have a long bonnet, and you don’t have high wheel gaps. It’s kind of a crossover between a hatchback, SUV and MPV. And there’s even more interior space.”