© Quad Productions/Renault Design
Renault is drawing a line under its minivans. The Espace has completed its transformation by becoming a real SUV for its sixth generation and the new Scénic is doing the same, a few weeks after the disappearance of the previous generation Scénic and Grand Scénic from the Renault catalog.
The Scénic therefore returns in the guise of an SUV for its fifth generation, but this is far from being its only novelty. Thus, while the Espace offers a hybrid engine, the Scénic goes directly to 100% electric. Unlike the Mégane, whose previous generation is still present in the catalog for the moment, the Scénic will not experience any transitional period and the petrol and diesel versions are therefore abandoned.
The minivan turns into an SUV
Two years after the presentation of the Mégane E-Tech, it was at the Munich Motor Show that Renault lifted the veil on the Scénic E-Tech, which is aimed at families. It adopts a new front face with a grille with diamond patterns that blend into the bodywork, as on the Peugeot 3008 and 5008. We recognize there the paste of Gilles Vidal, the new design director of Renault, who previously officiated at Peugeot. We also notice new rear lights, very different from the light strip of the Mégane.
© Quad Productions/Renault Design
The horizontal bonnet leaves no doubt the new Scénic is an SUV and no longer an MPV, although it is not as high as some other representatives of the category. Renault however avoids qualifying its bodywork, ensuring that it always takes up the DNA of the previous Scénic and does not betray the acronym of the model. Safety Concept Embodied in a New Innovative Car (a safety concept embodied by an innovative new car).
Thanks to the use of the platform dedicated to electric CMF-EV, the Scénic E-Tech has a flat floor and a very good habitability/size ratio according to Renault. Its length reaches 4.47 m, against 4.41 m for the previous model and 4.63 m for the old Grand Scénic, which was available in a seven-seater version and for which no replacement seems planned for the moment.
If the glass surfaces are clearly more limited than on the old Scénic, Renault offers an opacifying glass roof called Solarbay as an option, as found on much more prestigious models. The “ingenius” rear armrest has also received special work and incorporates a support for smartphones and tablets. These two pieces of equipment are taken from Renault’s new top of the range, the Rafale.
The interior presentation looks like two drops of water to that of the Mégane, whose Scénic also incorporates the very good OpenR Link infotainment system based on Android Automotive. Some materials are recycled and no animal leather is used.
The old Scénic offered between 506 and 637 l of trunk volume, thanks to its sliding seat. This equipment unfortunately does not appear in the catalog of the new model, whose loading volume still reaches 545 l.
More than 620 km of autonomy at the top of the range
We do not yet know the complete technical data sheet of the new Scénic E-Tech, but Renault announces at the top of the range an 87 kWh battery version, like the Nissan Ariya, and with a 160 kW (220 hp) engine. Thus equipped, it would display a mixed WLTP autonomy of more than 620 km. This is more than the Mégane E-Tech, which is content at the top of the range with a 60 kWh battery for a maximum range of 470 km.
Still assembled in Douai (Hauts-de-France), the new Scénic will be marketed from the beginning of 2024. Its prices have not yet been communicated. Its closest rival is likely to be the Kia Niro EV, although the larger, more competitively priced Tesla Model Y could also overshadow it.