Renault Grand Kangoo E-Tech Electric: a 7-seater version for traveling a lot, but not very far

The new Scénic E-Tech is the star of the Renault stand at the Munich Motor Show. This new generation becomes 100% electric and replaces the old thermal models. However, no seven-seater Grand Sc”nic E-Tech electric version has been announced.

A (very) Large Kangoo

Fortunately, Renault has anticipated and is also presenting the new Grand Kangoo version of its MPV, available in an E-Tech electric version and capable of carrying up to seven passengers. The least we can say is that this new generation of the long version of the Kangoo lives up to its name. Thus, it is 4.91 m long, 43 cm longer than a classic Kangoo and 23 cm longer than the previous generation of Grand Kangoo. It’s huge, and we imagine that Renault wanted to compensate for the disappearance of its large minivans (the Grand Scénic left the catalog and the Espace became an SUV) to continue to attract large families.

The two sliding doors are 18 cm longer than the other Kangoos in order to facilitate access to the back row. It is also possible to opt for a tailgate at the rear or two hinged glass doors.

The five rear seats are independent and removable. They are also sliding and folding in tablet or portfolio. It is therefore permissible to reconfigure the passenger compartment of your Kangoo to load imposing objects, for example, provided you can store its imposing seats which still weigh 24 kg each, according to Caradisiac.

enlarge

The load volume varies between 500 l with the seven seats in place and 3750 l with all the rear seats removed and the front passenger seat folded down (optional).

For the rest, the dashboard of the classic Kangoo is identical, as is its Easy Link infotainment system. It is much less modern than the OpenR Link found on board the Scénic, in particular.

An even shorter range for the electric Grand Kangoo

Orders for the new Grand Kangoo will open at the end of 2023 with first deliveries scheduled for early 2024. Its prices are not yet known.

It will be available in TCe 130 bhp BVM6 or EDC7 petrol, dCi 95 bhp BVM6 diesel and E-Tech 122 bhp electric versions. The latter takes up the small useful 45 kWh battery, which already grants a limited range to the classic Kangoo with only 285 km of WLTP autonomy, and which logically does even less well here with 265 km for the Grand Kangoo version. Charging takes place in alternating current up to 22 kW or in direct current up to 80 kW.

We regret that Renault did not take advantage of the expansion of the Kangoo to offer a larger capacity battery, of at least 60 useful kWh. By way of comparison, the new Scénic E-Tech is announced with a useful 87 kWh battery for a WLTP range of more than 620 km.