Renault Scenic

Not only because together with its Romanian branch they are the only European manufacturers, Renault really dominates in Geneva

Traditionally, many years ago, the holder of the title "Car of the Year" in Europe was announced at the very beginning of the Geneva Motor Show. Now, together with the salon, this practice, which was forcibly stopped, has returned. And the jury made up of 58 journalists from 22 European countries decided with 329 votes that this year's laureate would be the Renault Scenic. The French crossover was the best for 22 members of the jury, in contrast to the second-placed BMW 5 Series, which impressed 19 members the most and won a total of 308 points. The other finalists Peugeot 3008, Kia EV9, Volvo EX30, BYD Seal and Toyota C-HR remained a decent distance behind them. In a total of 61 Car of the Year awards in Europe so far, Renault has won seven titles.

Interior space and practicality is really good, but alternatives have bigger boots if capacity is key

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 should be good enough 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, too. 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 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 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 Smart #1’s boot is tiny by comparison at 273 litres (or up to 411 litres if you slide the rear seats forward), but it does make up for this by being similarly spacious in the rear seats. The Volvo EX30 is also some way behind at 318 litres and is very cramped in the back.

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. Do so and you open 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 accessing 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.

Interior style, infotainment and accessories

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.

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 in 2024, 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 big, comfy seats that give you a nice hug. But there are also scratchy plastics in easy reach, such as the top of the doors.

The overall effect is fine, but it’s more conventional than the likes of the Tesla Model Y and Smart #1, though therein may lie its appeal, depending on your preference.

Electric range, charging and tax

There’s just the one motor and battery combination available on the Renault Scenic. You get an 87kWh battery capacity that offers an official range of up to 379 miles, which would make it one of the longest range electric cars in the UK. A bold claim, so check back once we’ve had a chance to verify this on a test drive.

That battery is paired with a 220hp electric motor that offers steady performance, with a 0-62mph time of 8.4 seconds, and the top speed is 106mph.

When it’s time to charge, the Scenic can take up to 150kW on a public fast charger, which is fine but not great. Official charging times haven’t yet been confirmed, but Renault rather vaguely notes that you can get two hours of motorway driving from a 30-minute fast-charge.

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.

Safety and security

The Renault Scenic has not yet been through Euro NCAP’s safety testing, but both Renault’s Austral and Megane E-Tech scored full marks back in 2022, which bodes well for this new model.

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, as is a parking assistant. Step up from the base trim and you get a digital rear-view mirror and a surround view camera.

Reliability and problems

The Scenic is not on sale yet so it’s impossible to know how reliable it might be. That being said, Renault has earned a fairly good reputation in recent years, so it’s unlikely you will have any major issues.