Pure car: the new Scenic

You have to hand it to Renault for their pioneering work, creating the everyday affordable and oh-so-versatile offshoot of the…

You have to hand it to Renault for their pioneering work, creating the everyday affordable and oh-so-versatile offshoot of the Megane that's called Scenic and really giving meaning to the now familiar acronym, MPV.

Unbelievably it happened nearly seven years ago and in that time 10,000 have gone on Irish roads, 200,000 have been sold in Britain and total sales tally are over two million. Being in pole position in the sales arena, brought an undoubted advantage and the Scenic managed to outpace most of its latter day competitors. Only the Opel Zafira and the Citroen Picasso came near, the Zafira's appeal enhanced by an extra or third row of seats.

That was then and this is now, and there's a radically different Scenic II readying itself for Irish and European launching. It's due here in mid-September. Second time around, the Scenic comes with a much more rakish design and a less protruding rump than its saloon counterpart. The old Scenic was pure MPV in appearance but that's not the impression with the second generation model: it looks pure car.

Not surprisingly that's what is also being said about Ford's C-Max, that only now is set to lock horns with Scenic. Mindful of C-Max, which will be boosted by Ford's powerful marketing strength as well as other new arrivals like the Volkswagen Touran, Renault's first line of attack with Scenic II has been on style. Putting on the style meant funking up the looks with bold wheel arches , sharp metal creases, very short overhangs at the front and rear and a wider stance. Externally though, it looks smaller than its predecessor but this notion is contradicted once you climb inside.

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Here, the impression is of an incredibly airy and spacious cabin, thanks to a hugely panoramic windscreen, narrow A-pillars and enormous dual sunroofs that, were also a feature of the old model. The car-like impression outside is carried through to the interior. The driving position still manages to feel commanding while the steering wheel has more tilt, like pure car.

The dashboard is quite different to the Megane car range: it's attractive with touch and feel quality that was missing in the old model. There are digital instruments that are harder to read than analogue ones.

Because of extra floorspace, Renault was able to add in another clever though simple trick, one that had us wondering why it hadn't been done before. It's a centre-mounted dual-storage console that slides fore and aft on rails. When it is all the way forward, there is more leg room for the second-row seats. Moving it all the way back, gives access to the storage bins from the back seats. As for actual load space, that has gone up from 71 to 86 litres.

In the rear, there are three individual seats that do all the usual MPV permutations: they fold, come out altogether or reconfigure so that you've got just two with more elbow room. Being French, the bias is very much towards a soft and therefore more comfortable ride but there's not much hint of looser body control.

The engine line-up mirrors what's in the saloon, Laguna and Clio ranges. Petrol units are 1.4, 1.6 and 2.0 while diesels are 1.5 and 1.9 common-rail turbocharged. It's the lowly 1.4 litre with 98bhp that will account for at least 75 per cent of Irish sales, according to Jerr Nolan, for Renault Ireland.

Irish prices and specification levels will be announced in mid-September close to the actual Irish launch. The Scenic II story has another chapter, for a seven-seater version will be launched next March. The success of the Zafira which has had seven seats since its launch, was a compelling factor in offering more body space.