16/03/2024 The all Electric Renault Scenic has been launched and Motorhub went to Spain to test the newly crowned European Car of the Year.
With styling similar to the Megan E-Tec the larger Scenic offers a bit more of everything. You sit taller, in a larger five-seat cabin with a good sized boot to help accommodate all the gear a family car needs to travel. The new all electric Scenic is big on comfort too, designed to carry a family of five – or four full-sized adults, in comfort. Apart from its electric power train the new Scenic has a nice party piece in its optional ‘Solarboy’ photo chromatic sunroof – that can go from clear to opaque in a couple of seconds via the touch of a button.
The exterior of the large hatchback features the latest sharp design language we’ve known from the new Megane – so the car clearly looks modern and fresh. When viewed head on it is quite striking with its highly styled grille and head light area. Renault clearly hasn’t reinvented the wheel with the overall car shape and if you squint at its shape… it’s lack any sense of the original Scenic MPV. It is a substantial box however, and as such the true benefit can be found in the cabin.
The driver has plenty of reall buttons and switches that are close to hand to ease reliance on digital screens, that said th edigital screens in the Scenic are nice and well proportioned. New Scenic is a connected car and as such features a lot of technology, including the latest ‘Google Voice’ command option. It still isn’t perfect, but it can’t understand a number of daily used command phrases and requests. The comfy cabin is a quiet place to be and this is helped by good aerodynamics and the use of damping foam in the floor.
In the rear, the cabin impresses further. There is a nice, innovative and flexible centre armrest that features little slots for holing mobile devices, clever cupholders and a well thought out ski hatch. We rode as a passenger in the back seat for a time and at no stage, did we feel we were in anything but premium transportation. The boot is big at 545 litres expanding to 1,670 litres. There is a good size underfloor box for storing cables or a soft bag or two.
Renault, being patriotic, has enlisted the services of the famous musical composer Jean-Michel Jarre and who designed some of the sounds the car produces to other road users. This type of musical celebrity colab between composers and manufacturrers is quite new, and a nice touch.
New Scenic at its lightest is 1730kg, and at its heaviest spec is 1890kg, which is quite light for an EV of this size. Scenic is relatively compact too at 4.47m long, so it’s slots into the ‘C’ segment. Weight distribution is 50-50 before youess it up with occupants and luggage. Scenic has a good has a good turning circle of 10.9 metres and the steering is geared in a neutral way and takes 2.34 turns to go from lock to lock. There are four levels of regenerative breaking available and over 30 electronic driving aids to keep the car safe.
When it comes to charging the Scenic will do CCS/DC and AC charging but it also has a 22 kW on board charger as standard. This means that those slow charges we see dotted throughout the country will be really useful and practical for owners. You can do the shopping or even leave a car overnight if you decide to go to restaurant and have some wine and get a taxi home – you won’t suffer and overstay charge, unlike at ESB fast charges where you have a 45 minute time allowance. The Scenic and Megane EVs should be very high on anyone’s shopping for their 22kW on board charger alone.
On the road, the Scenic handles well. It has a firm-ish suspension setting but it manages to soak up bumps without a fuss. Opting for larger wheels should be avoided if you want to feel very comfy on poorly surfaced roads. Our test in Spain was in and around the Mijas area and there were plenty of road imperfections to test out the suspension. New Scenic rides really well and is a very comfortable car. In fact it shames some premium brands with its ride quality and levels of standard equipment.
New Scenic is available with a choice of battery sizes. The entry point has a 60kWh battery that has a maximum range from a full charge of 430km. It is coupled to an electric motor that produces 170 hp. The long range version uses an 87kWh battery and it has a maximum range of 625 km while producing a healthy 220hp. The batteries are made up of 12 modules with 16 cells per module – sourced from Poland. These are assembled in France and should be reasonably future-proof in terms of repairability. Sustainability is a key player inthe new Scenic’s story. A lot of lightweight materials have been used and 90% recyclables. Renault told us the new Scenic is made in Europe with 85% of its parts coming from the EU with 50% of those, sourced from within 100km of the assembly plant in France.
The long range Scenic really impresses. All those things you have to do to move a family about on longer hauls can be dealt with without the fear of having to hook up to a working public charger somewhere with a car full of adults and kids and the stresses they bring. Being able to go well over 500km without charging is truly impressive and quite essential in a one car family. 500km+ is much further than anybody would want to travelling in a single day. This range coupled with the 22kW onboard charger means that any time spent at theme parks, shopping centres or doing anything which requires more than 45 minutes worth of a visit will deliver very good additional range to your battery with no overstay fines – no matter what activity you’re undertaking. *There is a lot of fear and some misinformation about electric cars and therisk of electrical fire. Renault has been a pioneer, both in terms of giving correct information and providing easy access cut off points in order to allow emergency services deal quickly with any issue. We were shown the location of various QR codes on the bodywork that deliver specialist via a quick scan by a phone camera.
The scenic is available to order from April in Ireland with July delivery a possibility. It will go up against the likes of VW’s ID.4 and Tesla’s Model Y to name a couple fo class leaders. The new Scenic is a great family car and if is also rated to tow, with an 1100 kg capacity. We like the new Scenic a lot. Michael Sheridan
