Renault Scenic E-Tech Review & Prices

The Renault Scenic E-Tech is far removed from the frumpy MPV it once was. It’s now a family-friendly electric SUV with sharp styling, a practical interior and a highly efficient battery and motor combo, offering solid electric range.

Think of the new-improved Scenic as an attractive Greek statue, then, chiseled out of a solid lump of MPV-shaped marble. It’s not the only electric SUV you might choose to furnish your driveway with, however, with the brilliant Nissan Leaf, Skoda Elroq and Peugeot E-3008 to consider, as well as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and (slightly smaller) Kia EV3.

Only the Peugeot and the Hyundai can quite hold a candle to the Scenic in styling terms, though. Slender, interlined headlights intersect a funky, gradient-effect grille while arrow-shaped running lights pronounce the car’s width in the far corners of the bumper. The side creases and intricate rear bumper mask the Scenic’s bulk well, and the retro-tastic wheel designs look brilliant.

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

Range: 379 miles - 382 miles
Efficiency: 3.6 - 3.7mi/kWh
Battery size: 87kWh
Max charge speed: 150kW
Charge time AC: 3hrs, 0-100%, 7.4kW
Charge time DC: 37mins, 15-80%, 150kW
Charge port location: Right side front
Power outputs: 220hp

The interior features a ‘floating’ dashboard centrepiece set against a wraparound trim that flows onto the door cards. Renault’s use of fabric to mask harder cabin plastics is clever, but there are still a few too many scratchy surfaces around you. Okay, so it’s not as striking as the exterior, but with the portrait-oriented infotainment screen and clear driver display the Scenic still has a good-looking cockpit.

It’s the practicality that most impresses, with loads of storage spaces up front, plenty of adjustability in the front seats and steering wheel making it easy to get comfortable and enough room for tall adults and chunky car seats to fit in with no fuss. The 545-litre boot is impressive, larger than the Skoda Elroq and Nissan Leaf, but it’s a shame there’s no front boot to stow the charging cables in.

Range varies from 382 miles to 370 miles, as all Scenics come with a large 87kWh battery. Charging speeds aren’t particularly impressive, taking over half an hour to go from 10-80% on a rapid charger.

It’s a shame the Scenic isn’t all that brilliant to drive. Around town it does a decent job of soaking up larger bumps, but broken roads and potholes do leave you jostled about the driver’s seat. The spongy brakes are hard to judge, too, but not so bad as to put you off buying one.

It’s more comfortable on the motorway where the suspension settles down, but taking the scenic route is best done at a steady pace, because the big Renault is far from fun on a country lane.

Verdict

The Renault Scenic E-Tech is a stylish, spacious and practical choice of family SUV, but it’s not quite as comfortable as a Peugeot E-5008, nor is it as fun to drive as a Ford Mustang Mach-E. It’s still worth considering, but the Peugeot is a better all-rounder in the real world - and offers more range, too.

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The Renault Scenic E-Tech is a great value proposition, because at just over £33,000 in Techno trim it undercuts the Peugeot E-3008, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Nissan Leaf. The Skoda Elroq and the Kia EV3 are cheaper still, however, but the Scenic offers more battery range at a lower price.

All trims come with the 87kWh battery and a heat pump, with the posher Techno Esprit Alpine starting at over £36,000 and coming with 20-inch wheels, electric front sports seats and Alpine-themed styling accents inside.

It’s about £38,000 for the top-spec Iconic Esprit Alpine with its Google-based infotainment system (it’s a brilliant piece of technology), 360-degree cameras and a panoramic glass roof.

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.

All Scenics now come with an 87kWh capacity with a 220hp electric motor as standard, as well as a heat pump for better efficiency in cold weather. This provides a range of up to 382 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, taking just under 40 minutes to go from 10-80%.

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 battery almost 13 hours to go from 0-100%.

First year road tax comes in at the lowest rate, being an EV, with the standard rate applying after then. All Scenic models avoid the luxury car EV supplement, staying under the £50,000 threshold. If you’re a company car driver, the Scenic has a very low benefit-in-kind rate as it has no tailpipe emissions.

Renault Scenic E-Tech Euro NCAP Score (2022): 5/5

Adult occupant: 88%
Child occupant: 89%
Vulnerable road users: 77%
Safety assist: 85%

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.