Grille test: Renault Scenic Bose Energy DCI 130

First of all, it should be said that the design department of Renault has achieved a great appearance of the car. The appearance is really impressive and probably seems beautiful and acceptable to almost all observers. We really can't fault you for anything, and our tried and tested example came with golden yellow lacquer and a black roof, which makes it even more attractive. With an exterior like this, you expect a superb interior, as the Scenic has been the benchmark for everyone so far. But the designers seem to have paid too much attention to aesthetics and neglected usability a bit. For the driver and front passenger, in fact, everything is as it should be - there is enough space, and the usability is enhanced by a movable console on which we can store a lot of things, we can also use it as an elbow. The front seats at first glance seem quite acceptable, but a little too much. Because the oversized front seats still have fold-down tables, there's surprisingly little knee room for taller passengers in the rear seats. Here, even a commendably large longitudinal displacement does not help much. Of course, the driver and passengers will not have problems with luggage storage, the space for it is large and flexible enough, here the Scenic proves itself by simply flipping the seatbacks with one button, but unfortunately the possibility of carrying longer objects with the help of a flipping electric adjustment of the front seatback and a seat massage function, which is an optional extra. The most expensive and complete tier with the Bose label does offer quite acceptable hardware, including the sound system it was named after. In addition, LED headlights (which are also an integral part of the Edition One branded equipment) are perfectly acceptable here for many less important pieces of equipment. A lot concerns the usability of the Scenic, which we already wrote about in the test of its older brother Grand Scenica (Auto store, 4 – 2017).

When I mention the various pieces of equipment, it should be noted that many people do not fully understand Renault's policy of bundling some safety critical pieces of equipment into a single package with others that are not absolutely necessary. Thus, the buyer must choose the entire package of equipment, even if he is looking for only a few items in it that can make the car very expensive. At the same time, an interesting approach is that with the Scenic you can only choose less powerful equipment in combination with less rich equipment, if you want richer you should also choose a more powerful engine. It should be noted, however, that Renault provides advanced electronic safety equipment in the Scenic, such as the emergency braking assistant, pre-collision warning and active warning and pedestrian recognition or the traffic sign recognition assistant in the basic version. Even the fact that the basic version already has a radio with bluetooth and sockets for USB and AUX, Renault should be praised, with many other brands this is still not self-evident.

The performance of an engine that would fit in all parameters for a car like the Scenic (weighing just over a ton and a half) seemed perfectly acceptable. The smaller surprise compared to the Grand Scenic (which had the same large 1,6-liter turbodiesel engine, but had more power) was the higher average consumption than the latter. Was it necessary to increase the pressure on the gas due to the lower power? Unfortunately, there is no exact answer to this question. From the official data on mixed driving consumption, it can only be concluded that a more powerful engine should be slightly worse in terms of average consumption. Thus, this difference can only be due to a different driving style and possibly to the possibility of serial measurement tolerances.

If anyone at the Scenic might not be so happy with what it offers in terms of usability, we note that they are very pleased when it comes to driving pleasure. Even the larger (20-inch) wheels did not degrade the comfort experience and the road position is very convincing.

Thus, Scenic changed his character. Will this decrease his sales prospects? In fact, probably nothing more than the fact that trendy crossovers now have more sales opportunities than SUVs. Is that why Scenic should be most afraid of Qajar?

text: Tomaž Porekar · photo: Saša Kapetanovič

Scenic Bose Energy DCI 130 (2017)

Basic data

Base model price:	24.790 €
Test model cost:	28.910 €

Costs (per year)

Technical information

engine:	4-cylinder - 4-stroke - in-line - turbodiesel - displacement 1.600 cm3 - maximum power 96 kW (130 hp) at 4.000 rpm - maximum torque 320 Nm at 1.750 rpm.
Energy transfer:	front wheel drive engine - 6-speed manual transmission - tires 195/55 R 20 H (Goodyear Efficient Grip).
Capacity:	top speed 190 km/h - 0-100 km/h acceleration 11,4 s - average combined fuel consumption (ECE) 4,5 l/100 km, CO2 emissions 116 g/km.
Mass:	empty vehicle 1.540 kg - permissible gross weight 2.123 kg.
External dimensions:	length 4.406 mm - width 1.866 mm - height 1.653 mm - wheelbase 2.734 mm - trunk 506 l - fuel tank 52 l.

Our measurements

Measurement conditions: T = 15 ° C / p = 1.028 mbar / rel. vl. = 55% / odometer status: 9.646 km
Acceleration 0-100km:	12,3s
402m from the city:	17,6 years ( 128 km / h)
Flexibility 50-90km / h:	8,0 / 12,9s (IV/V)
Flexibility 80-120km / h:	10,2 / 12,6s (Sun./Fri.)
test consumption:	6,9 l / 100km
Fuel consumption according to the standard scheme:	5,8 l / 100km
Braking distance at 100 km / h:	38,0m
AM table:	40m
Noise at 90 km / h in 6rd gear	59dB

evaluation

• The Scenic belongs to Renault's "classic" lineup, and the reputation for a flexible and comfortable minivan is no longer so convincing due to some less acceptable design and technological solutions. Now, in fact, I like the exterior more and only partially the interior.

We praise and reproach

comfort

engine, performance

hands-free card for entry and start

folding backrest of the front passenger seat

movable center console with backrest

consumption

R-Link system operation

rear knee room (due to folding tables)

limited speed range of active cruise control