The space race that never ends

RoadTest/Renault Espace:  It's the grand-père of the MPV generation, launched in 1984, and as time takes its toll, its undergone a style makeover, attempting to leap forward ahead of the wagon trail of other MPVs on the market.

The Espace is the most design-conscious of the people carrying set, the Range Rover equivalent for school-run mums.

This, the fourth generation, differs from its predecessor in terms of space, but more importantly in quality finish. While others have caught up in terms of snappy seat plans and functionality, Renault seems to have made a conscious decision to retain the Espace's position at the upper end of the market.

The Espace has sought to be an MPV for those who may have the large family but don't want to drive around in a minibus. Yet in previous models the finish and styling seemed to prove a hurdle to its ultimate goal. And with the imminent arrival of a seven-seat option on the popular Megane Scenic, optimum functionality will be on offer from its stable-mate. Therefore, the Espace needed to reassert its market position as a plusher seven-seater. The new model has inherited much from the flagship Vel Satis. Previously it was built in conjunction with French coachbuilder Matra, who initially came up with the MPV idea. Now, however Renault will build it alongside the Laguna and Vel Satis.

There are clearly inherent savings to be made by bringing it in-house. But Renault is also aiming to beef up production for what it hopes will be increased demand as the initial thrill of multiple movable seating arrangements wears off and motorists seek to combine the MPV flexibility with a bit of panache and style.

The work of Renault designer Patrick Le Quement is evident in its radical new look. There are clearly design takes from the Vel Satis, particularly the lights, which work well, even if the front nose is shorter than the executive hatchback.

But the changes are not just aesthetic. The vast expanse of glass, particularly if combined with the enormous glass sunroof - the biggest on the market, with a surface area of 2.16 sq metres - gives a truly outdoors feel to the interior. The sweeping windscreen adds to the look of the front but also tapers nicely to give the driver exceptional visibility. In total there's nearly 7.5 square metres of glass in the new Espace, a glazier's dream.

The new model is also larger than its predecessor, according to Renault, and only fractionally smaller than competitors like the Peugeot 807 or Citroen C8. More importantly, it also offers more luggage space. For all its qualities, with seven-seats in situ there certainly isn't luggage space for seven travellers unless you move up to the Grand version, 20 cm longer and with more interior space.

Of course, every MPV must have a fancy seating trick and the Espace offers two rearmost seats that can be slid all the way forward to the mid-seat position (with middle seats removed). There's also ample legroom in the middle row, and these three seats individually slide back and forth. The swivelling front seats of old - which could be turned to face the rear passengers and give an office or camper feel to the Espace - are no longer standard, but optional. Plush as it was, the previous Espace never quite shook off the reputation for rather cheap plastics in the interiors of the first versions. The new model feels solid and well engineered and much more in keeping with the target market.

Plastics and switches all feel of a superior quality, and the optional leather trim on the test car added to the feeling of corporate opulence rather than the usual minibus fare. One niggling let-down in the quality of finish is the flip-up picnic tables, which feel cheap and flabby.

The dash is clean and sharp, and the digital display is useful, if hard to read when caught in the sunlight. There's a wealth of cubbyholes and even up front there are three separate gloveboxes. Having the radio controls through a stalk at the steering wheel is a step too far in terms of aesthetics, however, and the remote control provided will be easily lost, particularly if, as is common with owners of MPVs, you have some mischievous children in tow.

The new Espace comes with a host of electronic gadgetry, such as automatic bi-xenon lighting, automatic parking brake and Renault's hands-free card key, all adding to its user friendliness and sophistication.

It also holds the honour of being the highest overall scorer in the Euro NCAP tests. As can be expected from a car firm that plays up its safety record, the Espace has eight airbags, including two curtain airbags covering all three seat rows, the de rigueur piece of safety equipment at the moment. It also features the usual alphabet soup of safety gadgetry, such as stability control systems (ESP and ASR) and braking assistance (EBA, ABS and EBD).

Our first expedition in the Espace involved parking in a multi-storey in Dublin, something that usually challenges MPVs in terms of handling. While it took up every inch of the needle-tight bends, its most remarkable feature was a turning circle, which caught us by surprise several times on the first day. When things were getting particularly hairy as we jostled with bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic in the middle of last week's deluge, the Espace proved impressively agile.

Overall ride and handling qualities are good and it never felt unduly uncomfortable on rural back roads, the only concern being its width. In the depths of last week's thunder storm and driving rain it held its own admirably, anchored to the road and despite its bulk and slab-like sides, there wasn't any noticeable shudder in the cross winds. Our test car was powered by the four-cylinder 2-litre 16V turbo engine which delivered a comfortable power output with useful pulling power at lower speeds, and more than adequate for our general needs, if a little lacking in verve for motorway driving.

It's well matched with a six-speed manual gearbox and offers a smooth changeover, even if the ratios of the lower gears are a little low. But the two combined offer plenty of overtaking potential. On motorways we happily slipped into sixth gear, lowering engine noise and fuel consumption (we managed 26.7 mpg over the week) by about 6 per cent without a punitive effect on performance. There is also a diesel option, a 1.9-litre dCi offering 120 bhp and a better pulling power, as is the wont of diesel engines.

All this premium comes at a price, of course. Starting at €39,990 for the entry model Espace and reaching €54,500 for the range-topping Grand Espace, some versions are more expensive than Renault's flagship Vel Satis. Owners can take comfort, however, from decent residual values.

The new Espace has a stronger personality than many of the others on the market, with the obvious exception of the likes of the Fiat Multipla. But with talk of BMW and/or Mercedes coming out with a partial people carrier in the next few years it will face more stiff competition for the premium spot. But in the meantime, vive la France!