2013 Renault Scenic and Grand Scenic

Renault does not have the distinction of creating the family hatch-sized MPV market segment,
but its Scenic and, latterly, the 2013 Renault Scenic and Grand Scenic are undoubtedly responsible for popularising it. Cars like the Vauxhall Zafira and Volkswagen Touran owe their existence to the Renault. The original Scenic was a tall hatch with a great deal more practicality than a regular C-segment competitor, and it wasn’t just families that grew to like it. In the UK, initial customer surveys found that just as many empty-nesters as parents with history domiciled offspring were buying it. Since then the Renault Scenic has developed into a more mature MPV, and none more so than in this latest guise. The 2013 Renault Grand Scenic is a sevenseater with two rear chairs that fold into the boot floor and a middle row with seats that slide individually and can be removed. Yet for all their practicality, previous Scenics have failed to deliver on driving appeal something Renault has attempted to rectify this time, aiming to give its seven-seat MPV saloon car dynamics.

As is typical with a new car (although it may well get less so in the coming years), the latest 2013 Renault Scenic and Grand Scenic is bigger than the car it replaces by 62mm in length, 26mm in width and a mere 9mm in height. The wheelbase is up by 34mm too. The altered proportions have allowed Renault to endow the latest Scenic and Grand Scenic with a more dynamic visual profile than before. The gently sloping roofline towards the rear, with a rising beltline towards the tail-lights, give the car a more aerodynamic appearance than its predecessor, albeit one that’s slightly at odds with the staid, bug-eyed nose where the Scenic’s visual links to the Mégane are mostly found.

As with all previous Scenics, the latest Renault Grand Scenic is based on the Mégane hatchback. Specifically, it uses the same platform, engines and suspension, so the Grand Scenic has a torsion beam rear axle, with MacPherson struts at the front, attached to what Renault calls a horned subframe. In essence it means a front structure that is more rigidly located than in the previous car, to increase the suspension’s consistency and, more significantly, improve steering precision – something modern, electrically power-assisted Renaults particularly lack.

The engine line-up is seven strong, with three petrol units and four diesels, whose sizes stem from 1.4 to 2.0 litres and whose power outputs range from 105 to 158bhp. The engine in our test Grand Scenic is, as a result of downsizing, the smallest in the range yet has one of the highest power outputs. The all-aluminium, 1.4 litre four-pot unit utilises a single turbocharger to produce its 128bhp at 5500rpm, plus a creditable 140lb ft of torque at just 2250rpm, while returning a claimed 39.2mpg on the combined fuel cycle. It is, as with all Grand Scenics apart from the CVT-only 2.0-litre petrol, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox.

Here we’re in the realm of the Grand Scenic’s raison d’etre, and if there’s one thing that will strike you if you’ve ever been inside the previous-generation car, it’s how well constructed this new model feels. In design it’s partly inspired by the latest Mégane. The air vents, stereo and climate controls occupy the same positions as in the hatch, but materials differ in places and feel of a higher quality in the Renault Grand Scenic. The instrument binnacle is, as is common on MPVs, installed atop the dash’s centre rather than behind the steering wheel, and it works extremely well. The major dials speedo, rev counter, fuel gauge and so on are all sited on a digital screen that has an excellent graphical quality. Slightly less convincing is the adjacent screen for the optional satellite navigation system, although it’s by no means poor and, developed by Carminat Tom Tom, it is both relatively easy to use and, at £450, unusually reasonably priced. Its controls nestle on the centre console, and if you want that to slide (which, to unleash the Grand Scenic’s full versatility, you will), you have to part with an extra £250.

The front seats are comfortable, as is the widely adjustable driving position, and the centre and rear rows are as spacious as one can reasonably expect within the confines of this car’s size. With all seven seats in place, boot space is limited to 208 litres, but there’s a neat storage cubby just inside the boot opening to stow the luggage cover when it’s not in use. With the two rearmost seats folded (they stow separately) you get a rather more useful boot volume, and with the three centre seats removed the load area is a full two metres long and the volume a whopping 2063 litres, turning the Grand Scenic into a small van in all but name.

The claim for this engine goes: “The power of a 1.8 and torque of a 2.0-litre, with the economy of a 1.6.” And in reality it’s not far off the mark. Inevitably, full of fuel, our well equipped test Grand Scenic weighed more than the claimed 1430kg kerb weight. Quite a lot more at 1575kg. So this is not a brisk car. However, given its weight, the 11.0sec it takes to complete the 0-60mph sprint is reasonable, while in-gear performance is acceptable. What is pleasing is that, because of the nature of the turbocharged power delivery, it’s as strong at low to medium revs (where it’s most likely to be used) as it is further up the rev range. Better than the headline figures, however, is the smooth, refined and quiet nature of this engine’s power delivery. At idle its recorded 38dB is not a great deal louder than the ambient noise level. The engine remains impressively quiet once on the move, too. The six-speed manual gearbox is notchier than we’d like, but the control weights of the clutch and throttle are good.

And as for that claimed economy? We saw 36.4mpg on our standard touring route a figure which an equivalent diesel-engined Grand Scenic would undoubtedly monster. In more general driving the 1.4 TCe engine consumed fuel at a rate of 28.4mpg overall. Again, you’d see more from a diesel, but that’s not Renault’s claim; it reckons the 1.4 TCe’s economy is more akin to that of a lower-powered, normally aspirated 1.6. And, in fairness, it is. Some cars seamlessly blend the two dynamic elements implied by this section’s headline, gliding effortlessly across bumps and rough surfaces yet retaining an impressive composure when asked to pitch into a corner at speed. The Grand Scenic is not one of those cars.

Posted in: Renault