Renault ESPACE
The
Renault Espace Has Established A Reputation As A Distinctly Superior MPV. Vanessa Hinkley Discovers Why
Two things made me deeply suspicious of the Renault Espace. The first was that I dont tend to like driving very large vehicles, accustomed as I am to zipping about town in a supermini. The second is that I dont have a sprawling family with which to fill the seats. Coming a few weeks after having the more amenably sized Scenic in for review, the Espace struck me as being a little surplus to the Hinkley requirements.
Nevertheless, I tried to empathise with somebody with a huge family, weighed down with lunchboxes, Pampers and Beyblades and realised that if you had to buy such a vehicle, the angular Espace makes a rather stylish choice.
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The styling certainly makes a bold departure from many of the bland blobs that inhabit the full-sized MPV market.
Renault has gone out on a limb with some wacky designs in the past few years but has toned the excess down a bit in the case of the Espace. The detailing is very neat, with rakish scalene triangles formed by bevelled front and rear wings. The interior will be largely familiar but Renault have taken the concept of hiding all the major instruments and controls to extremes.
A single central digital display shows most of the main functions, but the stereo controls are hidden under one of a multitude of flaps, as is the optional satellite navigation system. The controls for these features are a little fiddly, although the door-mounted air conditioning and ventilation controls are well executed. The Espace has gained an additional 57mm of rear headroom and a not inconsequential 225mm of length behind the front pair of seats. Unlike the
Citroen C8 and
Peugeot 807 with which it will compete for the bulk of its business, the Espace does without sliding doors or eight
seat options and instead offers five stand alone rear seats that are identical, each incorporating its own seat belt, which means that they can be repositioned anywhere on the four full length or four 225mm semi tracks.
Safety has been well attended to, with curtain airbags that cover all three rows of passengers as well as the more usual twin front and side balloons. The four outer passengers in the rear also get chest airbags, making the Espace a vehicle that must be quite magnificent to crash in.
Around town, the Espace never sheds the feeling that there was a lot of car protruding behind you, but the controls are pleasantly light, visibility is good and the driving position is even reasonably car-like. With its superior driving characteristics, the Espace leaves behind the image of obligatory MPV lurching and wallowing, instead offering a drive thats reasonably tight. Only blasting it down a bouncy B-road will find the limits of the Espaces suspension travel. The 3.
0-litre diesel model I tried has to be the pick of the range or so the Renault PR man enthusiastically assured me. My first suspicion was that he probably would say that, given that its the most expensive version on offer. There arent too many V6 diesel engines about, and having driven this one, we have to wonder why. The big Renault feels effortlessly strong when accelerating as if a giant velvet glove is propelling it.
A maximum power rating of 180bhp combines to propel the 3.0dCi Espace to 60mph in a gnats over 10 seconds and on to a 130mph maximum. If youve got an especially disciplined right foot, youll average a return of nearly 30mpg from it as well. On a long motorway run, expect to see a range in excess of 750 miles due in no small part to the cars monster 83-litre fuel tank.
As ever, if you want the best, youll have to pay for it. This car has established itself as one of the premium offerings in its class, with prices starting at £19,575 for the 2.0-litre 16v Authentique ranging through Expression, Dynamique, Privilege and Initiale. The latter three trims are also available in long wheelbase Grand Espace guise, with prices topping out at £34,595 for the Grand Espace 3.
0dCi Initiale automatic. Three petrol engines are available, a 140bhp 2.0-litre 16v, a 165bhp 2.0-litre 16v turbo and then a big step up to the 245bhp 3.
5-litre V6. Three diesel engines are also offered, a 120bhp 1.9-litre dCi, a 150bhp 2.2-litre version and the mighty 180bhp 3.
0-litre dCi unit plumbed into the car I tried. Truth be told, there isnt a bad engine here, although the diesel models are superbly economical. Not content to merely consider it a premier league MPV, they have instead given it some serious VIP billing, selling it exclusively through their range of Premier Centres - upmarket dealerships that also distribute the Vel Satis and formerly the Avantime. The Premier Centres are unapologetically swanky, with Renault specifying everything from the materials used for displays down to the crockery and glassware used for customer refreshments.
No shiny-suited youth will ask what he can put you in today; instead Renault have appointed a range of Relationship Managers who aim to offer an expert opinion, explaining the choices available with the help of upholstery swatches, trim samples, colour charts and online imaging.
From a purely personal perspective Id have to give the Espace a thumbs down its just too much vehicle for my needs. If my husband came home with a red face one day and claimed he had four children from a previous relationship who wanted to move in, then yes, Id certainly be in the market for a Renault Espace. If, that is, there was enough left over after the psychoanalysts bills.
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