Renault SCENIC II 2.0T RANGE
Can Swiftness, Space And Safety Coexist In One Package?
Renault Believe They Can And Their Turbocharged Scenic 2.0T Is The Proof. Andy Enright Reports
Being a skinflint at heart, a great deal of my time is engaged in trying to get the biggest bang for my buck. Usually this takes the form of futile bargaining and many hours spent dreaming up new schemes, angles and ventures but every once in a while something falls straight into your lap. Such is the case with the Renault Scenic 2.0T.
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True, your
Renault dealer will ask a fair sum (at least £17,910) for this 165bhp turbocharged tearaway but given that it returns virtually identical fuel economy and emissions figures as the normally-aspirated 136bhp 2.0-litre model, youre getting a whole lot of performance for very little additional outlay.
Thats all very well, you may justifiably note, but whats the point of a family focused
mini-MPV with the performance of a hot hatch? Surely speed and safety are exclusively mutual concepts and the whole ethos of a sporting Scenic is the worst example of fuzzy thinking? Not so. When the need to transport a family about does eventually strike, pecuniary factors usually mean a few sacrifices are required. The first things to go are usually the holidays to far-flung destinations and the rather indulgent sports car, quickly followed by the nights out on the town. Although Renault cant promise you your holidays and barhopping days back, they can sugar the pill of selling the sports car.
There is, after all, absolutely no compunction on your part to explore the fullest extents of the Scenic 2.0Ts performance envelope with your kids on board, but when its just you and the road ahead then the Renault certainly has the power and poise to entertain. The best thing about it is that you can easily sell it to your less enthusiastic other half on the basis that with more torque and power available, the Scenic 2.0T is actually safer in situations where you need a little urge such as pulling onto a roundabout or overtaking a slow moving vehicle and that the engine makes driving easier since the wide spread of torque means youll have to make less gearchanges.
Not that gearchanging is in any way onerous. A six-speed manual shift sees to that and its definitely one of the better gearshifts on any mini-MPV, smooth, positive and in no way agricultural in the length of the lever throw. Its hard to imagine even the most committed V6 enthusiast being too disappointed with a car like this. All right, so it doesnt have the same silky-smooth power delivery but the performance is nigh on identical, with rest to sixty taking around 8.
6s on the way to a top speed of 128mph. In times past, a car of this kind would have looked great on paper but, thanks to a turbo lag delay between planting your right foot and the power actually arriving, might have proved less than satisfactory out on the road. No longer.
"The Renault has the power and poise to entertain"
Thanks to what Renault call a twin-scroll turbocharger that improves efficiency by limiting the re-aspiration of burned exhaust gas, theres a hefty slug of pulling power (some 270Nm) available from just 3,250rpm. Still, youd expect a certain amount of noise with all that turbocharger puffing and whirling. In actual fact, its not too bad: Renault couldnt afford for it not to be given that this same engine must also satisfy executives in their larger Vel Satis and Laguna models. The acoustic solutions have come courtesy of modified valve timing, a special tensioner for the camshaft drive toothed belt and a twin-mass damper which reduces noise from the rotating assembly. Exhaust gas recirculation improves efficiency still further. Fuel consumption is another major plus point.
In a Scenic 2.0T, you can expect to return an average fuel figure of around 35mpg, rising to over 40mpg on a run. It will however, drop to under 25mpg around town or with liberal use of the right foot. The CO2 figure of 194g/km isnt bad at all for a vehicle with this level of performance, although its doubtful too many company car buyers will be casting covetous gazes over the Scenic 2.
0T. Those that do have a choice of Dynamique or plusher Privilege trim levels (the latter raising the price to £18,910). Safety is well up to the standards for which the Scenic has latterly become renowned. The EuroNCAP tests are in many ways the Gold Standard of all safety examinations and the Scenic has come out way ahead of the rest, notching 34.
12 out of a possible 37 points. To equal the result of the Megane hatch while taking account of differences in its weight and layout, the structure of the Scenic was strengthened in three strategic areas. The front pillars were made larger to ensure the transfer of longitudinal loads into the door beams and the sill sections. An anti-rotation system was also added to the pillar to limit any risk of the front door separating during an impact.
Finally, the stiffening of the sill section with additional reinforcement allowed the maximum transfer of load once the wheel contacted the sill. Its this depth of engineering that can make all the difference in the event of a genuine accident and until fairly recently, this sort of development was too costly for manufacturers to perform. Renault have invested over 100 million Euros into improving safety and the Scenic 2.0T is an obvious beneficiary, equipped as it is with front, side and curtain airbags and all seats fitted with five-point
seat belts.
The Scenic 2.0T emerges as a vehicle that offers a very real compromise if youve been forced to sell your sports car due to family obligations. Although the performance mini-MPV niche is quickly becoming stuffed with entrants, many buyers want what they perceive to be the original and best and look no further than the Scenic. Although the merits of this approach may be open to debate, whats not in any way contentious is that the Scenic 2.
0T offers the best blend of speed, safety and space that realistic money will currently buy.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Renault Scenic 2.0T range
PRICES: £17,910£18,910 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 14 [est]
CO2 EMISSIONS: 194g/km
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 128mph / 0-60mph 8.6s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 34.9mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front, side and curtain airbags / seatbelt pre-tensioners / ABS with emergency brake assist
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height, 4259/2087/1621mm
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