So this half-term road trip is going to be a massive test: driving the new Renault Scenic E-tech 100% electric from the Essex seaside, through Eurotunnel and along the Normandy coast, to Paris. About 500 miles of daddy day care driving solo and two exacting critics to keep occupied: 11-year-old Gabriella and 9-year-old Florence.
Here's how we got on and also your chance to win a trip to Paris for two, so you can enjoy all the French capital has to offer.
Thankfully Renault has conceived the new Scenic to be seriously family friendly. Within seconds of rolling gently off the driveway, Gabs and Flo have discovered the central rear armrest, swivelled out twin rotating arms and slotted the iPad and Nintendo Switch into these device holders.
Also housing cupholders and a hidden storage area, Renault calls it an ingenious rear armrest. Normally we wedge the iPad between the front seats at shoulder height, mainlining every word to Let It Go or We Don’t Talk About Bruno into my left ear. But not on this journey, which is beyond ingenious. And that’s just the start: this car has more cool gadgets than an Apple store.
What kind of car is the Renault Scenic E-tech?
The Scenic name is no doubt familiar: Renault used it on the award-winning car that invented the compact people carrier almost 30 years ago. It was engineered with a focus on safety and spaciousness but these days people carriers are about as fashionable as string vests.
So Renault has reinvented the Scenic as a stylish SUV but safety remains vital: the new Scenic has just been awarded a 5-star rating from the Euro NCAP safety assessment programme******. There’s one other major change – the introduction of 100% electric propulsion.
Not that range anxiety is an issue: the long-range Scenic techno version travels up to 379 miles* on a full charge, but this iconic model with its big wheels and plentiful gadgets nibbles 10 miles off that range. No matter – 369 miles is plenty enough to drive from Southend-on-Sea to Abbeville in France’s Somme region.
The battle for the Harman-Kardon stereo
We roll along Southend’s golden mile with the electric SUV emitting a warm hum of synthesised chords. Composed by French electronic pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre, it’s broadcast by the Scenic below 18mph to warn pedestrians who may not otherwise hear it coming.
The girls are equally oblivious, immersed in a private rear-seat screening of a movie. While up front I enjoy the Harmon Kardon stereo.
New Renaults feature an ‘OpenR Link’ multimedia system with Google built in**. Many cars struggle with clunky voice control but Renault’s feels smart, accurate and very reliable. And because it’s underpinned by Google, the touchscreens display Google Maps familiar to millions and owners can download around 50 apps from the Google Play store. I installed Spotify and activated it simply by pointing my smartphone at a QR code on the car’s screen.
And voice control isn’t restricted to music. Gabriella utters ‘Hey Google, I’m warm’ and the climate control drops by 2˚C. I request navigation directions to Mercure hotel, Abbeville, Google instantly responds – and with that we are seamlessly on our way.
All quiet on the southern front
We quietly cruise the motorways to Folkestone, the Scenic’s trip computer calculating we’re covering a decent 3.4 miles per kilowatt hour (the electric equivalent of miles per gallon). With this long-range Scenic boasting an 87kWh battery, that should deliver about 300 miles of range driving strictly at the national speed limit. Or go for the smaller 60kWh battery in the entry-level Scenic techno (£37,495)*** if you don’t rack up motorway miles.
What’s unusual is the complete lack of drama from the rear seats. No ‘are we nearly there yet?’, no squabbling, just kids dancing to their music or glued to their devices. All the while the Scenic’s pillowy suspension absorbs big, high speed bumps, bringing the body back down to earth like a parent carefully laying down a baby in its cot.
The Eurotunnel terminal is blissfully quiet and we rapidly roll onto LeShuttle. The track always feels fiendishly narrow but the Scenic iconic has 360˚ camera coverage, helping plot a line between the kerbs and making reversing much less of a guessing game. And when we’ve stopped, a few taps of the multimedia system recalibrates the LED headlamps to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic on my left, and the speedometer from mph to kmh. France here we come!
Day 2: charging the Renault Scenic for a beach trip
Having covered 211 miles before recharging our batteries in Abbeville overnight, it’s time to do the same with the Scenic’s. The Google-based navigation takes all the strain, calculating whether you need to stop on a journey and if you do, considering your preferences such as battery remaining at your destination and charger speeds.
I select the Ionity chargers at Baie de Somme, and the car’s computer brain begins the battery cooling process to optimise the cells for the quickest possible charge. Renault calculates the Scenic can refuel from 15 to 80 per cent in 37 minutes on ultrarapid public chargers**** like these, and considering that will give you way in excess of 200 miles there’s little need to hang around more especially as charging slows over the final 20 per cent. A contactless wave of my bank card and the process begins.
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Sustainability at the heart of the Renault Scenic’s design
The charging Scenic automatically suggests a relaxing seating position with a massage: bliss. Meanwhile the girls lounge like supermodels in the back of a limousine, with Florence slipping off her shoes so she can rest them on the dappled grey textile seat in front. This iconic trim upholstery is 87 per cent recycled** and no leather is offered whatsoever. Equally importantly, 89 per cent of the Scenic can be recycled at the end of the vehicle’s life – including the battery***.
I jump in the back and there’s plenty of legroom or headroom for a 6-footer, all the more impressive given the Scenic measures less than 4.5-metres-long, and the floor is entirely flat to boost comfort for a third back bencher. The boot is equally big too, easily swallowing the girls’ carry-on suitcases, a couple of rucksacks and myriad road trip paraphernalia.
Light floods the cabin thanks to the Solarbay roof which cleverly switches from opaque to transparent eschewing the need for a sunblind which saves weight. My iPhone juices up simultaneously in the wireless charging tray.
Refuelled we head for Mesnil-val-Plage, with Gabriella and Florence eager to let off some steam. It’s a stunning spot: imposing limestone cliffs tower over eroded rocky outcrops. We spend a contented couple of hours playing frisbee, picnicking and paddling.
But we need to get on the road to our Caen hotel. We drive through pretty villages and lush green fields with huge wind turbines making clean electricity ideal for charging EVs.
Up to 30 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems
On the autoroute the Scenic’s many Advanced Driver Assistance Systems******* show their worth. Cameras relay the speed limit to the driver’s display, monitor the road markings to keep the Scenic in lane and sensors along the side vigilantly check for vehicles in your blind spot. Suddenly there’s a flash of red and a Lateral Obstacle Detected warning – I must have been listing left just as a van hurtled up to overtake. I think it’s reassuring to have a digital guardian angel but drivers who find them intrusive can deactivate them in the Perso Safety mode.
After a couple of hours, we reach our hotel. And overnight the Scenic gradually refuels on the Ibis’ slow charger.
Day 3: Renault Scenic vs Paris
The day dawns grey, chilly and occasionally showery. After a couple of hours on the autoroute, the imposing office blocks of La Défense mark the gateway to Paris. We slide through tunnels, blissfully avoid the timesuck périphérique but still seem to be in an eternal stop/start loop confirming Paris as the city of lights – red lights.
Then we hit the Champs Elysées and behold the Arc de Triomphe, surrounded by shoals of traffic swimming in the roundabout’s 14 on and off channels. Devoid of lane markings bar an inexplicable blue ring towards the perimeter, vehicles veer left and right searching for space in this centrifuge.
This ultimate test of city cut-and-thrust is not for the faint-hearted but the Renault handles it well. Electric motors don’t have to spool up like a combustion engine so the Scenic has a good turn of pace and the steering responds quickly off the 12 o’clock position. And thankfully the brake pedal feels firm and bites hard – and you can vary the braking force using steering wheel paddles. That heightens deceleration when you lift-off the accelerator, with the kinetic energy cleverly captured to top up the battery.
We cross the Seine, the kids’ noses pressed against the windows soaking up the view on their first visit to Paris. ‘Look up,’ I say continuing: ‘Hey Google open Solarbay!’ Spectacular animated arrows wash across the glass as an electric current turns the molecules from opaque to transparent, revealing Paris’ engineering masterpiece. Gabriella and Florence giggle and point, and Flo asks Google for its height: more than 300 metres is the reply.
The kids' verdict
We’ve reached our final destination; what do the children think of the Scenic E-Tech 100% electric? They are true believers in electric cars: ‘I think everyone should buy an electric car to look after the environment so children can live in a nice world,’ says Gabriella. ‘I love the seats: you might think recycled materials are “euugghhh” but these are really comfy and have a lovely design.’
‘And it's got a cabin air purifier, which definitely helped with my smelly sister and some smelly car parks!’ she jokes.
Florence’s standout features? ‘I really like Google voice control and the armrest. It’s really easy to use, gives me somewhere for the iPad and with charging cable [sockets] in useful places.’
And my verdict? We’ve driven 521 miles from Essex to Paris without a hint of range anxiety. Relaxing in seats as cushy as armchairs, luxuriating in space, reassured by a ring of safety features and revelling in intuitive, smart technology.
The original safe, spacious Scenic won the Car of the Year award. And its stylish 2024 successor has repeated that feat, as voted by a panel of 61 European motoring writers including me. This road trip has confirmed it as a worthy winner – with a magical power to delight parents and children alike. Anti-boredom comes as standard.
Discover more at www.renault.co.uk
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*WLTP figures shown are for comparability purposes only. Actual real world driving results may vary depending on factors including the starting charge of the battery, accessories fitted after registration, weather conditions, driving styles and vehicle load.
** Google, Google Maps and other related marks are trademarks of Google LLC.
*** Price quoted is Manufacturer’s Recommended Retail Price. Participating retailers only. T&Cs apply
***Charging time may vary depending on charging conditions and charger type.
****87% on iconic, 99% on esprit alpine, 100% on techno. Front of seat and headrest fabric made from recycled seatbelts and PET bottles, excludes back of seat, headrest and armrest.
*Vehicle Family Type homologated in accordance with European directive 2005/64/CE (type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to ensuring that at the end of a vehicle’s life, its component parts and materials can either be reused or recycled or recovered) and as certified by UTAC and certified 89.72% recyclable by CNRV.
Visit www.euroncap.com for more information* Always follow road safety regulations. It is your responsibility to stay alert, drive safely and be in control of the vehicle at all times. You should not solely rely on driver convenience and assistance features. Some features may not work in all conditions and circumstances, and they have speed and other limitations.