Styling
The new Scenic is an all-electric model - there won't be a petrol nor hybrid version - but unlike the retro-styled Renault 5 EV, it's a modern, contemporary design. There are strong visual links to the
Megane hatchback (there are under-the-skin mechanical links too) and the combination of razor-edged detailing and clean, uncluttered surfacing gives the Scenic a bit of concept-car flourish. The flush door handles look great, but they can be a bit frustrating to use at times, while the optional 20-inch alloy wheels really do fill out the arches very nicely. Get it in red for the best effect.
Interior
The Scenic's cabin is its trump card. In a segment where the
Volkswagen ID.4 makes you live with a terrible touchscreen, and the Tesla Model Y looks and feels cheap inside, the Scenic's cabin is an utter superstar. It looks good - lots of soft fabrics rather than hard plastics - and the twin 12.3-inch screens (basic models get a nine-inch infotainment screen) are clear, expensive-looking, and thanks to Google-based software, incredibly easy and pleasant to use. Kudos to Renault for retaining proper physical buttons for the climate controls. Overall quality seems really good, too. There is a bit of a tangle of stalks on the right-hand side of the steering column (gear selection, wipers, stereo controls) but you get used to it reasonably quickly. Those front seats are gloriously comfortable, too.
Practicality
If there is a whiff of disappointment, it's when you clock that the Scenic's rear seat is just one continuous bench and it doesn't adjust in any way. Given the oh-so-practical nature of the original Scenic, that's a bit of a shame. However, the new Scenic's rear cabin makes up for that with yet more high-quality fixtures (there seems to be no cheapening of plastics and trim as you move rearwards) and vast acres of space. Your chunky correspondent had more than enough legroom and headroom, and the rear seat is as comfortable as the fronts, aside from the fact that the high floor makes you sit with your knees up a bit high.
The rear-centre armrest has some clever touches, including built-in tablet and phone holders and there are four USB-C sockets in the back, so no arguing over who gets the cable. The best bit is arguably the Solarbay glass roof. An option, except on high-spec Iconic models, this uses electric tech to allow for clear glass or, at the touch of a button, opaque shading. It's a really neat trick (your kids will endlessly play with it) but it's also practical - without the need for a sunshade, 30mm of headroom is saved, and the (partly recycled) glass is insulated, so it takes the strain off the climate control system.
The boot is generous, at 545 litres, but it's not flat-floored unless you get the optional boot organiser accessory. The rear seats fold 40:20:40 to reveal up to 1,670 litres of capacity, and that trick rear armrest includes a long-load ski-hatch. There's no 'frunk' but there is a space for charging cable storage under the boot floor. Up front, thanks to the gear selector moving to the steering column, there are huge storage areas, with adjustable cupholders, in the centre of the cabin, and useful door bins too.
Performance
The headline here is the potential 387 miles range from the big 87kWh battery pack (which is divided into 12 modules for easier repair or replacement further down the road). Is it realistic? Actually, pretty much. Renault's engineers claim that at French autoroute speeds (so, 80mph) you'll exhaust the battery in about three hours, or 240 miles. Which seems reasonable. In more mixed driving - and our Spanish test route included a little motorway, some tight and twisty mountain roads, and some in-town snarl-ups - we reckon that 320 miles or thereabouts is the realistic figure. Which is pretty impressive.
It helps that the Scenic comes with a standard heat-pump heating system, and that its relatively low roof means it's more aerodynamically efficient than some. Performance from the 220hp electric motor (a very efficient excited synchronous design) is decent, with 62mph coming up in 7.9secs (faster than an old Renault 5 GT Turbo...) but unless you've selected Sport mode from the handy button on the steering wheel, the Scenic always feels largely languid, which is fairly appropriate to its family-centric role. We haven't been able to test the smaller-battery version, with its claimed 266-mile range yet, but the big, comfy Scenic seems best suited to the big, long-haul battery.
On a high-speed DC charger, the Scenic can accept 130kW (and up to 150kW for short bursts) and Renault reckons that 30 minutes' worth of charging is equal to two hours of motorway range. There is the option of 22kW AC charging too, which is great for using kerbside charging points.
Ride & Handling
If you do push the little button for Sport mode then the Scenic's steering does firm up a bit and it starts to feel a little more enthusiastic in corners. It's a tidy-handling thing, but you'd instantly feel that it's not a car entirely happy with trying to clip apexes and door-handle through corners. Indeed, at times - and especially with the 20-inch wheels - it can all get a bit choppy and disjointed if you're trying to press on a bit. Far better to find a bigger road and sit back and relax. Then the Scenic comes into its own, with exceptional refinement (there is almost no tyre and road noise at all, and little enough wind noise) and while those big rims do induce quite a lot of fidget, the Scenic is a consummate long-haul cruiser.
Value
The Scenic isn't cheap, exactly, but with a starting price of £37,495 it's not bad either. The long-range version, which costs £40,995 as a minimum, looks like very good value compared to the Tesla Model Y Long Range, and all but the basic model come with the big 12.3-inch touchscreen and the trick rear armrest. As standard, you get 19-inch alloys, with 20-inch rims for Esprit Alpine and Iconic models.
Verdict
We could be all grumpy and complain about the Scenic abandoning its MPV roots and going all SUV, but hey - that's what people want and presumably Renault wants people to actually buy its new car. What really stands out here is the truly lovely interior, which - OK - isn't as flexible as that of an original Scenic, but it easily beats rivals from VW and Tesla for quality, comfort, and the clarity of the infotainment system, and it's meeting the likes of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and
Kia EV6 pretty-well head-on in that regard. It's not a ball of fire to drive on a twisty road, but the Scenic is an exceptionally comfortable cruiser, with great refinement and acres of cabin space, which - for its family-friendly role in life - is probably the better way to do it.
