Renault Scenic Review (2016-2019)
Renault Scenic cars for sale
3.0
Expert review
Pros
Efficient engines mean low running costs
More stylish than most traditional MPVs
Impressive safety rating.
Cons
Not as spacious as you'd hope
Dull to drive
Build quality less than impressive.
The CarGurus verdict
It might have style in spades, but sadly this fourth-generation Scenic is lacking somewhat in substance. Yes, it looks great, but under the skin its lack of space makes it rather less useful than a small MPV really should be; there are plenty of rivals out there that offer better practicality, not to mention more room.
Its driving experience does little to redeem it; the Scenic is comfortable enough, but it isn’t all that pleasant to drive. And while it looks good, the interior feels cheap in places. On safety and running costs it claws back ground, with that five-star crash test rating and some notably efficient engines, but on the whole the Scenic’s rivals are, for the most part, better all-rounders, and that makes it a difficult car to recommend.
Once upon a time, the mini-MPV was the car to have. Before the rise and rise of the SUV, the compact MPV was ideal family transport. It isn’t hard to see why: into a package barely any bigger than a family hatchback, these MPVs packed seven sliding, folding seats, allowing the interior to be transformed into… well, whatever you wanted it to be.
The Renault Scenic was the car that single-handedly created the niche. Born in 1997, it went through four generations before the SUV killed it off, along with so many of the rivals it spawned. Sadly, this final version of the Scenic isn’t quite as impressive as the original.
You wouldn’t know to look at it though. On the outside, the Scenic looks so good it stands a chance of pulling people away from their SUVs. Indeed, there are elements of the modern crossover about it; despite the usual, van-like people carrier profile, its swoopy styling, muscular detailing and enormous 20-inch wheels make the Scenic pop.
Inside, there’s more of the same, with a smart-looking interior centred around a big touchscreen. There's lots of storage space, too, with covered cubbies sprinkled liberally throughout. But all is not sweetness and light in here; look further down, and the plastics grow cheaper and less robust, leaving you with the impression the Scenic’s been built down to a price.
It isn’t as spacious as it could be either. Renault opted to build the floor up in order to fit cubbies beneath the rear passengers’ feet, but the result is that the floor feels too high, and it’s hard to escape the feeling of sitting with your knees around your ears. The rear seats aren’t as versatile as rivals either; while the whole bench slides forward and backward, the seats don’t move individually, and they only fold in a fairly conventional 60/40 format.
The bad news continues out on the road, and it’s partly the fault of those big wheels. You see, they come with slim, low-profile tyres, which transmit lots of the bumps through to the car.
To compensate, Renault’s made the suspension very soft, and this has worked to an extent; you still feel the harshest divots, but for the most part, lumps and bumps are smothered reasonably well. The trouble is, that wallowy suspension means the Scenic leans over heavily in bends, which can be nauseating for both you and your passengers.
The numb steering doesn’t help matters, and together with the sloppy body control renders the Scenic rather uninviting to drive with any sort of haste. That’s potentially excusable in an MPV, which is unlikely to be driven that way anyway; less forgivable though is the way the Scenic’s engines feel so gutless; up a motorway slip road, with seven on board, even the most potent version will feel strained, while smaller-engined examples feel positively weak.
The most economical Scenic is the diesel Hybrid Assist model, which should see some faintly unbelievable fuel economy figures upwards of 65mpg in average daily use. Which is all well and good, but it’s incredibly hard to find. If you do happen upon one, though, you’ll enjoy super-cheap tax costs, thanks to the Hybrid Assist’s particularly low CO2 figures.
You’re better off making do with one of the other diesel models; the 108bhp model should still see fairly impressive MPG figures of around 60, while the more powerful diesels will get 50-55mpg. Both of the petrol models, meanwhile, should return 40-45mpg. Whichever engine you go for, there’s around a 2mpg deficit for choosing the automatic gearbox instead of the manual.
Maintaining your Scenic shouldn’t break the bank either. Renault offers a very competitive service pricing scheme for vehicles aged four years old and over, and that means it might prove just as cost-effective, if not more so, to take your Renault to a main dealer rather than an independent garage.
All but one of the Scenic’s engines have metal timing chains instead of rubber belts, which is a good thing because they don’t wear out and need changing regularly. The exception is the 1.5-litre dCi 110 version, which has a timing belt instead. This will need replacing every six years or 90,000 miles, whichever crops up soonest, at a cost of around £500 at a Renault dealer, or less at an independent.
Unfortunately we don’t have much reliability data on this generation of the Scenic, probably because it isn’t a very common car. However, we can tell you that Renault didn’t do very well in the 2020 What Car? Reliability Survey; the manufacturer finished second to last in 30th place, and that doesn’t bode well for the Scenic’s reliability.
Problems you’ll want to look out for include electrical glitches and niggles, for example odd lights on the dashboard and electrical equipment not quite working the way it should. You’ll also want to pay attention to the air-conditioning system, which is a known weak spot in many Renault cars.
Check for general quality issues with the car, such as rattles and squeaks around the interior. Many Scenics lead hard lives at the hands of unforgiving family users, and given they feel a bit fragile even when they’re new, it’s worth checking the interior over closely for cracks, scrapes and splits.
- Safety is important in a family MPV, and happily the Scenic excels here. Its five-star Euro NCAP rating is strong, and individual marks for each crash test are equally impressive; the Scenic escorted 90% for adult crash protection, and 82% for children. That makes it one of the safest cars of its type.
- The Scenic’s engine range is truly bewildering. There’s a grand total of six engines to choose from – four diesels (badged dCi) and two petrols (badged TCe). The petrols are both 1.2-litre engines with 113bhp and 128bhp respectively, though at the end of 2017 these were replaced with newer 1.3-litre engines of 113bhp and 138bhp. Then there are three diesels of 108bhp, 128bhp and 158bhp, the latter getting two turbos and an automatic gearbox as standard. The final engine in the range is a mild-hybrid diesel, which uses an electric boost to marginally improve efficiency.
- The Grand Scenic version is stretched by 23cm in order to accommodate two extra seats, turning it into a seven-seater, and by and large it comes with the same line-up of engines and versions as the normal five-seat Scenic. However, that space issue rears its head again, because leg room in the rearmost seats is limited, and that means you have to slide the middle row forward quite far to make them usable; this in turn makes the middle row feel even more cramped.
- If you want enough grunt: Given the Scenic can feel a little lethargic at times, we reckon the extra grunt of the 1.6-litre dCi 130 is the engine to have. It’s a diesel, which means it offers plenty of low-down torque, which will help when you’re loaded up with people. The Dynamique is the most popular model, meanwhile, and given it has a good spread of equipment that includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard, it makes the most sense.
- If you want to avoid buying a diesel: We’d advise you to choose the 138bhp petrol model; the 113bhp variant really does feel quite laggardly out on the road, and surprisingly, it’s no more economical than its more powerful stablemate – probably because you have to work the engine that much harder to get it to go anywhere.
- If you’re buying on a budget: The Expression- dCi 110 might be worth a look; it’ll be quite slow, but the diesel engine will give it a bit of mid-range punch right where you need it. What’s more, it’ll be incredibly economical, and in this entry-level form, it’ll be cheap to buy too.
- If you want an automatic: You get a six-speed manual as standard on all but the most powerful engine, but if you’re after an auto, you’ll have to opt for either one of the the 108 or 158bhp diesels, or the 138bhp petrol. Sadly, automatic Scenics are pretty hard to come by, and the two more powerful engines – which are the ones you really want – are almost vanishingly rare.
