Family car review: Renault Scenic 1.5 diesel

It was 1996 when Renault first introduced Ireland to the concept of the ‘Mini MPV’, or five seat people carrier with the Megane Scenic. The idea was simple; a high up family car, no longer than an average hatchback, but with loads more room and practicality inside, and much better visibility and a higher driving position. Eighteen years later, many other manufacturers have paid Renault the ultimate compliment by copying their idea and creating their own competitor. Thousands of Scenic’s have sold in Ireland to date; it is a firm family favourite. Is the current one still a class leader though? Here’s our report on a week at the wheel of 141-d-2094

The Scenic is designed as quite an ‘upright’ car – that’s how it has to be to maximise the space inside. The styling is quite clean and inoffensive, a recipe that has worked well for Renault in selling Scenics to families in the past. You have two engine choices, a 1.2 petrol and a 1.5 diesel. On this occasion we recommend the latter – it is incredibly fuel efficient and is better for carrying the Scenic along with the whole family and luggage on board.

Mum’s will like the uncluttered dashboard with its simple design and large displays – there’s nothing complicated about operating the controls or reading the important information like your speed or the radio display. Because there is no large instrument panel in front of the steering like in most cars it is easier for smaller drivers to see out the front window. It is definitely a little old fashioned looking at this stage, but there is increasing evidence that family buyers, Mums especially, don’t want their cars to have complicated, cutting edge technological equipment all over them – their main wish seems to be easy to use controls, allowing them to focus on their driving and their children. The Scenic scores highly in this regard.

In the back is where the Scenic really comes into its own. There are three individual rear seats, all of which are similarly sized, and all have child seat mounts. They can all accommodate an adult, and there is loads of legroom for three in the rear. All seats slide forward and back, and they can all be folded up to create a massive load area, perfect if you have been pestered into a trip to the toy store to buy a paddling pool for the summer! The folding process is easy too, especially putting the seats back in place – you literally just flip them backwards without having to pull a lever.

Our test car was the ‘XMOD’ version fitted with the incredibly economical 1.5 diesel engine which has loads of power for longer journeys and is notably quiet. Prices start at €24,690 for the diesel model, while the less powerful but perfectly acceptable-around-town 1.2 petrol model starts at just €23,290. What does ‘XMOD’ mean we hear you ask? It means that Renault has created a version of the Scenic with some SUV-like bodywork such as the plastic mouldings around the body of the car in our pictures, and a system which improves grip on mud and grass. XMOD versions are more expensive – our advice is to stick with the normal Scenic unless your daily route includes a lot of rough ground. If you want to spend a few extra quid treat yourself to the higher spec ‘Dynamique’ model and maybe even a few extras from the options list.

Is there loads of storage space?

The Scenic’s boot is not the largest – the Ford C-Max for example has more luggage space. It makes up for this by being very user friendly though. It has a wide, flat floor and it is easy to reach items in all corners of the boot. Increasing the storage space is easy too – all three seats can be folded flat or tumbled forward individually so carrying bulkier or longer items is no problem. There is clever storage boxes built into the floor and under the front passenger seat, too.

Is it baby friendly?

The Scenic has definitely been designed with young Mums in mind. It is one of the only cars on the market that can accommodate three fully secured baby seats in the back, and Mum’s out there will know you that the best place to have the baby in the back seat is in the middle and not on either side – you can reach them easier from there. The fact that you can slide the seats forwards towards you seals the deal. Good work Renault!

Is parking easy?

The simple, clean design means seeing out of the Scenic is easy – it is definitely a Scenic strong point. The drawback with higher up cars is that in a school car park it is harder to see smaller children directly behind you, so we always recommend parking sensors on taller cars.

What about safety?

The Scenic has a 5 star Ncap safety rating, with a 76% child safety score. This would have been even higher if the passenger airbag warning signal was more prominent – the Scenic got marked down for that. The Scenic scored the full twelve marks available for protection of an eighteen month old child in a baby seat. There’s no shortage of safety equipment, including hill start assist (stops the car rolling backwards while pulling off on a hill) as standard, and braking and driving aids to help keep the car under control at all times.

Verdict:

Thumbs Up:

Exceptionally baby friendly

Very fuel efficient

High driving position

Easy to Park

Thumbs Down:

Interior a little dated

Some similar cars have more luggage space

Mummypages Ratings:

Baby friendliness: 5/5

Safety: 4/5