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Renault Scenic Car Review

HerCar Rating:

HerCar gives the Renault Scenic a 3.5 star rating

Model Reviewed:
Renault Scenic Expression 1.9 litre diesel
4 speed auto
$38,490*

Other models priced from:
Expression
5 speed manual $33,990*

HerCar 3 Word Summary:

Versatile Family Car

HerCar Review

The Renault Scenic is quite the surprise package. It looks like an oversized hatch, drives like a softroader/wagon and has the versatility of a mini bus! All of which makes up slightly for a fairly underwhelming, predominantly plastic interior and a relatively unexciting drive experience. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – unexciting has its benefits.

Upon entering the Scenic, I was surprised at just how high you sit – the ride height is deceiving from the outside. Add to this some very large side windows, and you feel like you’re in a much taller, larger car. Forward and side visibility is great. The interior is very spacious, cavernous almost. I’ve never encountered a car with more storage compartments! I did feel like I was driving a little family wagon for the most part. The exact reason you would buy this car, no doubt. The diesel engine provided steady power under all driving conditions, with good fuel efficiency. The steering is light and direct and the suspension does a good job at absorbing bumps. If you’re after a highly versatile car with loads of storage space, the Scenic is definitely worth a look.

Driver Comfort & Visibility

The driving position is easily adjusted with manual adjust driver seat and a steering wheel with height and reach adjust. Big electric wing mirrors and large windows offer great side visibility. A pop down mirror in the roof also gives a great view of what’s going on in the back seat – for better or worse. Rear visibility is a little obstructed by large pillars and a small rear window. This car would benefit from parking sensors, as the cars boundaries are very hard to judge. There’s plenty of room for driver and front passenger and the contoured seats are firm and comfortable. Creature comforts in the front include two drink holders, climate control and an in-dash CD player.

Safety

Given this car is really geared up for a family load, it’s comforting to see that Renault has safety well covered, including stability control and brake assist. It’s great to see the full suite of airbags – driver, passenger and curtain - come as standard. Other inclusions such as cruise control, a speed limiter (whereby you can limit your maximum speed), three point seat belts and head rests all round all add to the safety features of this car. Euro NCAP awarded the Scenic the maximum 5-star safety rating.

Comfort

The Renault Scenic is a comfortable car, albeit a fairly basic level of equipment on offer. The driver and front passenger have climate control, but there are no vents for rear passengers – which could make it hard to quickly heat/cool the rear passengers in this large cabin space. All five seats are firm and nicely contoured, and leg room is good.

Storage

The Scenic is the king of storage. With 15 clever storage compartments – including in-door, in-floor, centre console and under-seat - you’ll forever be finding things that you thought you’d lost! This car's well thought out storage compartments are ideal for kids! The boot storage is quite good, with very easy access via the large hatch lid. All three back seats fold and flip forward individually, to give you even greater boot space for loading large items. However, they are a little heavy to manoeuvre, so you wouldn’t want to be doing this on a daily basis.

Kids’ Comfort

Kids will be comfortable and will feel very well catered for in the Scenic. The three rear seats are comfortable and their high seating position provides good visibility. Each rear seat also reclines to 35 degrees for additional comfort on long trips. There are seven storage compartments in the back, and back of seat food trays with cup holders. Rear side window sunblinds are another clever feature. There are three baby seat anchor points. If this was my family car, I’d option in the iPod/MP3/USB accessory (around $529) in order to please the musical tastes of all passengers!

Green Factor

The Scenic rates well in the green vehicle guide with an overall rating of 3.5 out of 5. Delivering an average fuel consumption of 7.1 litres per 100 km, Renault suggests the Scenic is one of the most fuel efficient cars in its class.

Overall View

For a family car, the versatility of the Renault Scenic is very appealing. Add to this a very economical engine, nice performance and effortless handling, and the Scenic has a lot going for it. Notwithstanding a fairly uninspired interior finish, I would recommend this car goes on your test drive shortlist. If you’re likely to choose function over form, this might just be the car for you.

Test Drive Tips

  • The park brake is dash mounted, to the right of the steering wheel and is a bit tricky. Pull out the bottom lever, while pressing the centre button. A red light indicates when the park brake is on.

  • The brake must be depressed for the start button to operate.


If you are considering this car, you might also like to test drive the Volkswagen Tiguan TDi and Suzuki Grand Vitara DDiS.

Features of Model Reviewed

Airbags: Driver and front passenger front and side airbags, curtain airbags
Seats: 5
ABS: Yes, with Brake Assist
EBD: Yes
ESP: Yes
Driver visibility: 3.5 stars
Storage compartments: 4.5 stars
Drink holders: 4
CD player: Yes, single CD
Air conditioning: Yes, climate control
Power windows: Yes
Power steering: Yes
Power door mirrors: Yes
Child restraint anchorage points: 3
Transmission: 4 speed auto
Engine capacity: 1.9 litres
Fuel type: Diesel
Fuel consumption: 7.1 litres/100kms
Greenhouse rating#: 6.5/10
Green Vehicle Guide rating: 3.5 stars
Warranty: 3 year/100,000 kms with Renault 24 hour roadside assistance
Price: $38,490*

* Excludes on road costs
# All new vehicles sold in Australia (up to 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass) are tested to determine the level of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions (Greenhouse rating), which are displayed on the fuel consumption label attached to the windscreen of the car. The Green Vehicle Guide rating combines the Greenhouse Rating and Air Pollution Rating and awards a star. 5 stars is the best rating.  For more information, click here.

Information is correct at the time of the review. Please check with your local Renault dealer for the most recent information.

Date Reviewed: August 2008
Reviewed By: Nadine Armstrong

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