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.
Renault insists it has worked hard to make the sizeable Grand Scenic more car-like to drive and since it's based on the Megane platform it's off to a good start.
What you do get is less body lean, but you can hardly call it precise on turn-in. Yes, it's reasonably grippy and you would have to enter the corner like a maniac to experience understeer, but nimble and precise? We think not.
Still, it's an MPV and we have few real complaints with the handling. It's definitely one of the best out there, although it still struggles to match the excellent Ford S-Max.
The Grand Scenic does suffer from a rubbery steering feel, a notchy six-speed gearchange (you can only get an auto on the 150bhp 2.0-litre diesel and a CVT on the petrol) and an all-or-nothing brake pedal. These are things you might get used to and even come to ignore, but if Renault wants to take on the likes of the S-Max it'll have to work harder at delivering more driver-friendly controls.
UK buyers will get a choice of seven engines. On the petrol front there's a 1.6-litre 110bhp with variable valve timing, a new 1.4 and a 2.0-litre 140bhp with a CVT. Dieselwise you can choose from a 106bhp 1.5, a 130bhp 1.9, a 150bhp 2.0-litre with auto and the 2.0-litre 160bhp. We tested the 1.4 petrol and 2.0-litre 160bhp diesel.
Both of our test engines offer enough pulling power and acceleration to make city driving and cruising reasonably stress-free. The diesel will do the 0-60mph sprint in 9.5 seconds and then top out at 127mph and the petrol will get you there in 11.5 seconds and take you up to a maximum speed of 118mph.
The diesel delivers its maximum torque as low as 2,000 revs and that's more than enough for motorway and B-road overtaking manoeuvres. It's a little noisy at standstill and low speeds, but get it out on the open road and the rumble is barely noticeable.
The petrol is the superior beast, though. It's quieter - everywhere - and its free-revving nature is much more civilised. There's no lurching or lunging - you simply press down your right foot and get a wonderfully linear power delivery.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Renault Scenic
wrote on 04 03 2008
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