Category: Compact MPV 
Price Range: £14,395 to £24,245
New free-revving 1.4-litre petrol engine, quiet motorway cruiser, car-like handling, comfy cabin.
Firm ride, rubbery steering feel, notchy gearchange.
Practical and comfortable, but top-of-the-range models don't represent good value.
Renaults used to have a miserable reputation when it came to reliability. For too long the Espace, in particular, finished bottom of the Warranty Direct reliability survey with owners reporting all sorts of problems both in the cabin and with the mechanicals. And in the JD Power Customer Satisfaction survey, the Scenic/Grand Scenic finished 88th out of a 100 models in the 2008 survey.
Still, that's all in the past and Renault is doing all it can to boost its reputation. The Grand Scenic has covered almost 100,000 miles of tests in extreme conditions to make sure it will stand the rigours of modern-day motoring. Similar testing has worked wonders for the new Laguna and Megane, for which reports of malfunctions are few and far between.
Inside, the materials are high quality and the fit and finish gave us the distinct impression of sturdiness. There are no rattles, squeaks or creaks at all, and the controls are solid and well-built. All of which suggest the Grand Scenic will stay intact and survive the stresses of modern-day motoring.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Renault Scenic
wrote on 04 03 2008
wrote on 11 12 2007
wrote on 08 12 2007
wrote on 23 09 2006