Renault’s all-new five-seat Scenic is narrowly set to be the more popular model, but plenty of buyers are still expected to splash out the extra £1,400 on the Grand Scenic. We’re trying it for the first time in range-topping dCI 160 guise, with the EDC automatic gearbox, to see if it’s worth cancelling that Citroen Grand C4 Picasso order.
The Grand Scenic is all about extra length, all 228mm of it, to be exact. Just 70mm of that goes into the wheelbase; the rest bulks up the rear overhang. You can guess at the benefits: either an extra pair of seats which sprout from the boot floor, or 596 litres of load capacity if you fold them down electrically using the (optional) buttons in the boot or via the infotainment system. Fold all five rear seats down and you’re left with a typically van-like loadbay.
As a result, the Grand Scenic loses a little of its smaller sibling’s pert profile, with a squared-off, angular rear-end. It’s perhaps not quite as neatly proportioned but just as head-turning, especially in our car’s sky blue paint. As with the regular Scenic, every model is fitted with massive 20-inch alloy wheels whether you like it or not. Function over form, we hear you say? Possibly, but at least Renault has worked to ensure the tyres are a similar width, profile and – apparently – replacement cost as typical 17-inch items.
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Sit in the front and, no surprise, you’ve got no chance of telling whether you’ve gone ‘Grand’ unless you look in the rear-view mirror. The dash is identical, and while it’s far less distinctive to look at than the exterior it’s still smart and feels more substantial than Scenics of old. Our top-spec car features the prominent 8.7-inch touchscreen giving you central access to most of the car’s functions – apart from the odd moment of lag, it’s a good system. There’s also the same wealth of storage areas, although our car’s centre console stowage bin strangely slid back further in the five-seat Scenic.
That slightly longer wheelbase benefits second-row passengers, with enough legroom for six-footers to get comfortable. The rearmost chairs feel tighter on space than a Grand C4 Picasso, as does the access through the rear door, but you can slide the middle row forward to boost legroom.
The Grand Scenic is around 120kg heavier than the Scenic. You’d expect that to translate into a much less enjoyable drive, but in reality you only feel the difference in the kind of hard driving that most MPV buyers wouldn’t ever dream of doing. Even so it’s much less of a blunt instrument than the old Scenic, with sharp turn-in and not too much body roll in normal cornering. The ride is still on the fidgety side, though, so we’ll have to wait until we try it on more demanding UK roads for a more detailed assessment.
We tried the more powerful petrol choice in the Scenic, but in both models it’s expected to be the diesels making up the lion’s share of sales. With 380Nm of torque, you might expect the dCI 160 to feel more urgent than it actually does. Part of that is down to the extra weight, but also the autobox’s fairly sluggish responses. Take things at a lesser pace and the engine and transmission feel more in cohesive, though. The manual gearbox might be a bit notchy, but it’s probably the better bet for most.
The engine itself is refined and smooth around town, and only starts to get raucous past 3,000rpm. That’s a relatively small price to pay for a decent claimed 60MPG – no worse than the lesser-powered dCI 130. Even so, we’d recommend considering the cheaper variants which are just as talented where it matters.
- Model: Renault Grand Scenic dCI 160 EDC Signature Nav
- Price: £28,000 (est)
- Engine: 1.6-litre turbo diesel
- Power/torque: 158bhp/380Nm
- Transmission: Six-speed automatic, front-wheel drive
- 0-62mph: 10.7 seconds
- Top speed: 124mph
- Economy/CO2: 60mpg (est)/122g/km
- On sale: November