A ground-breaking Renault has been revived. Will we see it?

ELECTRIC has re-energised a car that in original internal combustion format created the compact multipurpose vehicle genre and enjoyed a solid following in New Zealand.

Almost two decades have passed since Kiwis were able to buy into the Renault Scenic (below), a version of the Megane hatchback that delivered with as bigger body and a remarkably flexible seating plan to allowed it to primarily act as a family hauler but also transform, when all but the front seats were plucked out, into a small van.

However, the car left a powerful memory with its fans. Credited as the first compact MPV in European automotive history, a model that was first shown as a concept in 1991 then delivered across four production generations - two of which came to NZ - triggered numerous makers into delivering similar looking cars trading on being roomy and offering, as the Renault did, plenty of useful technology. The Toyota Picnic is one example of a Japanese equivalent.

Renault has unveiled a Scenic reimagined for an all-electric future. While the 2024 Scenic E-Tech Electric seen at the Munich motor show is still designed around the needs of a family, it is styled in the vein of a crossover or SUV instead. 

Would NZ still be keen? There’s no word from Renault’s importer, but that operation is about to release the model on which this new-era Scenic seems to be based.

Renault’s first mainstream family car to go fully electric is built atop the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance's latest CMF-EV dedicated electric platform, the Megane E-Tech is undergoing trials at present to tick off its speed sign recognition functionality is locally okay. 

The Megane E-Tech divests historic hatchback styling to reinterpret as an avant garde sports utility and is packed with fresh technology. It provisions with 40kWh and 60kWh battery packs, with the bigger of those two claiming a WLTP-tested driving range of 450 kilometres and making 164kW (whereas the smaller creates 97kW and will clock 300kms between charges).

Megane E-Tech is listed on the Renault NZ website, but still cited as “coming soon” and no pricing detail is offered.

A Scenic sister ship would conceivably tailor to growing NZ interest in electric coming with a SUV setting. 

The model's 4.47-metre length, 1.86-metre width and 1.57-metre height are handy, but it’s the 2.78 metre wheelbase that should raise interest. This should mean lots of interior space for passengers despite the relatively compact overall footprint.

Images released today show a flat floor across the back and rear seat backs that split and fold 40:20:40 - just as they did in the internal combustion-engined cars. 

The boot itself holds 545 litres of luggage, or up to 1670 litres when the rear seats are tumbled forward. 

Renault has not made clear if its famous varioflex seating design is going to continue, but it’s hard to imagine why it wouldn’t. With this the rear chairs clamped individually into floor recesses and had quick release functionality so that each could be removed. If an owner decided to pull out the centre seat, then it created a four-seater with a space between the back chairs for long objects. Two or all three seats could be pulled, for a fully flat floor. Alternately, they could all, or individually, be retained in the car but flip-folded forward.

The electric Scenic appears to offer all sorts of other clever storage solutions, including armrests featuring extra space within and built-in smartphone/tablet holders.

Scenic has also been designed from the start with sustainability to the fore. Every component has been examined with recyclability in mind. Renault plans to phase out leather completely by 2025 and there is none in the show car.

The sustainability theme continues with the powertrain, which doesn’t require any no rare-earth elements. 

As in Megane E-Tech it uses an excited synchronous electric motor available in two different states of tune with the same two sizes of battery.

Four different levels of brake energy regeneration will be selectable by the driver, while recharging at a three-phase AC outlet will be possible at up to 22kW. Using DC rapid chargers, the Scenic can recharge at up to 150kW when the bigger battery is fitted, or 130kW for the smaller option.