Category: Large MPV 
Price Range: £20,295 to £35,640
Airy, solidly-made interior, versatile seat-sliding ability, excellent air conditioning, refined V6 diesel, very easy gearchange on manual versions, lots of storage space, quiet ride, crisp handling in four-cylinder versions.
V6 versions feel a bit clumsy, long-wheelbase Grand version's boot is smaller than before, too many hard plastic surfaces, rear seats are heavy and awkward to remove, expensive.
A highly individual MPV with a huge engine choice, but it doesn't seem much of an advance over the previous model.
Plush as it was, the previous Espace never quite shook off the plasticky, creaky legacy of the first versions. This new one's panels and trim fit together more closely, rattles and creaks are virtually absent, all feels solid and well engineered. The downside is the acreage of hard plastics in the cabin's lower half, more than in the old model, whereas its Peugeot/Citroen rivals have padding and soft-touch surfaces. It's a pity the fabric covering has gone from the facia top, too. The complex electronics do give potential for problems - the Megane and Laguna have not been reliability paragons.
