Vehicle on test

Renault Grand Scenic

Overall:

Powered by a clean 1.9 diesel engine, the Grand Scenic will be fairly kind to the environment and it’s economic too. After 836 miles, many on motorways, it returned a purse-friendly 45.2mpg.

This full five seater has an extra two rear seats, ideal for kids, which fold into the floor. And if you only need room for six, the versatile seating arrangements allow you to remove a seat from the second row to provide easy access to the rear.

Two giant sunroofs make the interior light and airy and pale coloured upholstery adds to the bright and breezy ambience.

Though nine inches longer than the Scenic it doesn’t give the impression of being a bulky vehicle. Parking sensors - an extra £250 and worth every penny - make getting in and out of tight spaces a doddle.

Standard is keyless entry, ABS, brake assist, wrap around airbags, an engine immobiliser and deadlocks and electric front windows. Our car came in the range-topping Privilege trim which costs £20,415 and includes electrically folding door mirrors, a sliding central storage compartment, an underseat mounted CD player and an electrochrome rear view mirror which cuts down on night time dazzle.

A pleasant and quiet ride is standard and the six speed dash mounted gearbox, not only frees up floor space, but provides smooth changes. The automatic parking brake takes some getting used to and a great amount of confidence to trust it to hold on inclines. The brakes have quite a bit of travel before reaching biting point.

Cubby holes contain the clutter associated with lots of school kids or large families and almost all are well concealed adding to the security of this vehicle.

Report by Claire Bowen