Renault Scenic E-Tech Review & Prices

The Renault Scenic has been resurrected, and this time it’s ditched the dowdy MPV body in favour of being a chic, modern electric SUV. It’s a bit like when Zac Efron dropped his floppy-haired Disney kid look in favour of the gym-obsessed heartthrob appearance he has today.

And chic the Scenic must be to stand out, because there are dozens of similarly sized electric SUVs vying for a spot on your shopping list, such as the Skoda Enyaq, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Peugeot E-3008. There’s also the excellent Kia EV3, which is a bit smaller and cheaper, but well worth considering.

The quick win goes to the Renault Scenic, because it really does look good. At the rear you get chunky tail lights that drop down at the sides and make the car look really wide, as well as a simple but effective bumper design. Up front there are slim headlights and a fake grille with a cool gradient effect.

Renault Scenic E-Tech: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 260 miles - 379 miles
Efficiency: 3.6 - 3.7mi/kWh
Battery size: 60kWh / 87kWh
Max charge speed: 130kW / 150kW
Charge time AC: 9hrs 51mins, 0-100, 7.4kW / 13hrs, 0-100%, 7.4kW
Charge time DC: 32mins, 15-80%, 130kW / 37mins, 15-80%, 150kW
Charge port location: Right side front
Power outputs: 170hp / 220hp

The interior isn’t as immediately striking as the exterior, but it has a simple but smart appearance and there are some nice colours and materials for the upholstery, while the infotainment system is slick and easy to use. However, there are plenty of cheap materials to be found.

Fortunately this is made up for with practicality, because there’s loads of storage in the cabin, plenty of adjustability in the front seats and steering wheel, and a huge amount of space in the back that also makes it good for a child seat.

The boot is a good size too – at 545 litres it’s bigger than most alternatives, though that does make it a bit smaller than the Skoda Enyaq. There’s no front boot like you get in the Hyundai Ioniq 5, either.

It might be practical, but out on the road, the Renault Scenic is a touch disappointing to drive. It’s generally quite comfortable, but it can be a bit jiggly over bumps, particularly at lower speeds. Visibility isn’t great either, and the spongy brakes take some getting used to. Now, it’s not so bad in any of these areas that the Scenic is not worth considering, it just doesn’t really stand out in any area either. For day-to-day comfort, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is tough to beat.

There are two battery and motor combinations, with the entry level version offering a respectable range of 260 miles, while the larger (more expensive) battery can go up to 379 miles between charges, according to official figures – that makes it one of the longest-range electric cars on sale.

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If you’re looking for pure value from your electric car, a Renault Scenic in entry-level Techno trim is a good place to start, because at about £37,500 it undercuts most alternatives comfortably. This does get you the lower-powered, smaller battery model, though it still has a respectable range. The Kia EV3 undercuts the Scenic on price, but then it is a slightly smaller car.

The entry trim is also available with the big battery and more powerful motor, with prices starting at £41,000. It’s about £43,500 for the mid-spec Esprit Alpine trim and £45,500 for top-spec Iconic models.

The smaller battery might be the best value, but even big battery versions are well-priced against alternatives.

The Renault Scenic is generally comfortable to drive and promises impressive range, but it’s not the most intuitive car to drive and visibility is poor

In town

Town driving is where the Renault Scenic is at its best, because the electric motors are quiet and punchy, and you get relaxing sounds through the speakers as you drive about. It’s comfortable over big bumps too, though smaller road imperfections can make the car jitter a bit, which can get annoying in areas with particularly poor Tarmac.

The main problem is that it’s difficult to be smooth on the brakes, because the first part of the pedal is really spongy and doesn’t do much, then suddenly you get loads of braking and jerk to a stop.

Visibility is poor too, particularly out of the back with big rear pillars and a small rear window. Front and rear parking sensors come as standard to make reversing into a bay a bit easier, though if you go for top-spec Iconic models, you get a 360-degree parking camera and a hands-free parking system.

On the motorway

At higher speeds the Renault Scenic is pretty comfortable and refined enough, which means it’s a good companion for a motorway drive – useful when you have plenty of range from the big battery. The Peugeot E-3008 is a bit better for motorway driving, but there’s not a lot in it.

You get adaptive cruise control as standard, which not only maintains your speed to the car in front, but can also slow the car for turns or when you’re approaching a roundabout. All cars get a blind spot warning system too, which is useful when changing lanes with those chunky rear pillars blocking your view.

On a twisty road

Head out into the countryside and the Renault Scenic is fine, but look elsewhere if you enjoy taking a detour down your favourite B-road on the way home from work. It deals well with bumps and the body doesn’t lean in corners too much, so it feels like you could have some fun. However, much like the brakes, the steering isn’t particularly intuitive, which makes the car tricky to place on the road. It feels like there’s little response when you first turn in, but as you apply more lock you suddenly notice the front tyres turning aggressively.

That said, none of the similarly priced alternatives you might consider are particularly thrilling on a twisty road. You’ll have to spend more on a Kia EV6 or Ford Mustang Mach-e if that’s what you're after, or perhaps consider the Cupra Born hatchback.

The boot is big and there’s loads of space in the cabin. The boot load lip isn’t ideal, but you need to nitpick to find anything to complain about

One of the key selling points of the Renault Scenic is its massively practical interior. There’s loads of room for all the accoutrements of family life. The door bins are a bit narrow but there’s a huge space in the centre console ahead of a single cupholder, with a divider that can be moved to create a second cupholder or more space as desired.

It’s a good system but it can be fiddly to slide into place, and it’s a similar story with the armrest. There’s a useful space beneath this, but the two USB-C slots that are built into this area can be tough to access with the armrest in its forward position. Ultimately there’s buckets of storage capacity with a couple of minorly annoying quirks to work around.

Finding a comfortable driving position is easy enough because there’s loads of adjustment for both the steering wheel and seat. However, the windscreen is quite narrow, so that largely dictates the best position to sit.

Space in the back seats

It’s similarly roomy in the back, with absolutely miles of legroom to the seats in front and plenty of space above your head, even if you’re tall. Shoulder room is a bit tight for three, but the outer seat cushions rather push you towards the centre, so it can get quite snug if someone’s in the middle.

Practicality isn’t a patch on the front seats – the door bins are quite narrow and you do get big pockets on the seats in front, but that’s about it. There are two USB-C slots for charging phones, and small pockets in the top of the front seats for your phone. One cool feature is an armrest with swivelling arms that can hold your phone so you can watch videos easily on the move.

If you need to fit a child seat, the Scenic is a great option. The ISOFIX mounting points are easy to access, the doors open really wide and all that kneeroom translates into a big space that’ll fit even the bulkiest of child seats.

Boot space

The Renault Scenic has a good-sized boot when compared with alternatives. At 545 litres, it’s only beaten by the Skoda Enyaq (585 litres) and cavernous but much pricier Tesla Model Y (854 litres). The latter also has a 117-litre front boot, something the Renault goes without.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5’s boot is slightly smaller than the Renault’s at 527 litres, but its overall capacity wins when you take the 57-litre front boot into account. The Peugeot E-3008’s boot is some way off at 520 litres.

If you’re considering the Kia EV3 or Volvo EX30, you can get higher-spec models for Scenic money, but it’s important to note that they are smaller cars and have less boot space – 460 litres in the Kia and 318 litres in the Volvo.

You can fold the rear seats of the Scenic, but you do so by pulling a ring that’s covered by the seatbelt, so it’s not the easiest. This opens up 1,670 litres of space, which is about average among alternatives, but is let down by a massive ridge where the seats lie so sliding big, heavy items in isn’t easy.

When loading the Scenic’s boot, the bumper is quite high and there’s a deep lip, which, again, can make it tricky to lift large, heavy items over. There’s a big under-floor storage area, which is useful for charging cables and lesser-used items that you don’t want to clutter the main boot area or want to keep hidden from view.

The infotainment system is incredibly quick to respond, but overall interior quality is only so-so

While the Renault Scenic’s exterior design has a cool, ultra-modern edge, the same doesn’t quite extend to the interior. It’s not a bad design, rather simple and fuss-free. You get a twin-screen instrument and infotainment setup on a panel that sits proud of the main dashboard. It’s all the rage these days but here it doesn’t look quite as seamlessly integrated as it is elsewhere, and the main screen is a bit low, so you feel like you’re looking a long way from the road when checking the screen.

On the plus side, the infotainment system is incredibly quick to use. Usually the best you can hope for is ‘quick for an in-car setup’, but the Scenic’s computers work as rapidly as any iPad. You switch screens the moment you touch an on-screen button, and the next display loads in an instant, with no lag when you drag map screens around, either. That shouldn’t be a big deal these days, but it actually is. Physical climate control buttons are useful, too.

The quality of everything around the displays is hit and miss, though. The material on the things you regularly touch is pretty good, with the Esprit Alpine model we tried having nice leather on the armrest and cool colours for the upholstery. But there are also scratchy plastics in easy reach, such as the top of the doors, which can be uncomfortable to rest your arm on for long periods.

If your budget can stretch, the Peugeot E-3008 feels a bit posher and has a really cool, modern design.

There are two battery and motor combinations available for the Scenic. The more affordable option has a 60kWh battery and 170hp electric motor, with the result being a claimed range of up to 260 miles, though this is only available on the entry-level trim.

Step up to the larger battery and you get an 87kWh capacity with a 220hp electric motor. This is available on all three trims and provides a range of up to 379 miles, though during our time with the car we saw just 3.1miles per kWh, which would result in a real-world range of about 270 miles.

When it’s time to charge, the Scenic can take up to 150kW on a public fast charger with the big battery, which is fine but not great, and it’s 130kW for the smaller battery. The result is both models take just over half an hour to go from 15-80%.

In terms of AC charging, the Scenic can take up to 22kW, which is really good but these chargers are few and far between. Most home chargers have a 7.4kW capacity, and in this case it takes the small battery over nine hours to go from 0-100%, and the big battery nearly 13 hours to do the same.

If you’re a company car buyer, the Scenic has a very low benefit-in-kind rate thanks to being an electric car. Not having to pay any car tax until 2025 is also a nice bonus.

The Renault Scenic scored the full five stars when tested by the safety experts at Euro NCAP. It scored fairly well across the board without standing out in one particular area, though its safety rating was above average.

You do get some good assistance kit as standard, including a blind spot monitoring system with an emergency lane-keeping assistant to avoid motorway collisions. Adaptive cruise control is also usefully included on all models. Step up from the base trim and you get a digital rear-view mirror and a surround view camera, with top models getting a hands-free parking system and 360-degree camera.

Renault ranked particularly poorly in the latest Driver Power owner satisfaction survey. Its position of 28 out of 32 car makers is disappointing, and marks an improvement of just one place compared with the previous year.

Renault’s standard warranty is in line with most alternatives, but does hover around the minimum you get from a car manufacturer in the UK at three years or 100,000 miles – though that mileage is unlimited in year one. You get much longer cover from MG, Hyundai and Kia.