Renault unveils new Scenic as all-electric compact SUV

Renault has revamped its family favourite, the Scenic, for the electric age. The compact family car first introduced in 1996 has been completely revamped, with SUV styling influence and an all-electric powertrain that its French engineers claim will deliver up to 620km on a single charge. It is due to enter markets from Spring next year.

While it retains a relatively compact footprint, the new Scenic keeps that familiar spacious cabin and an impressive 545 litres of bootspace. Measuring it at just under 4.5 metres long and 1.6 metres high, it’s a substantial car aimed, according to its engineers, at family buyers with typically two active teenagers at home, in need of the sort of space and flexibility these sort of families demand.

On the same CMF-EV platform as the latest all-electric Megane, a larger 87kW battery pack powers the 160kW electric motor driving the front wheels. All will come with heat pumps and Renault says it can take a fast charge up to 150kWh, translating into a 38 minute charging time to get the battery from 15-80 per cent capacity at a superfast charging station. A smaller 60kW battery pack with a range of over 420km is also planned for the range.

Inside and the smart detailing and quality finish that earned kudos in the Megane has been taken further in Scenic, with two 12-inch screens dominating the dash. Renault has also worked with Jean-Michel Jarre to develop vehicle sounds like pedestrian alert noises at low speeds. In terms of safety, there are 30 different active driving assistance systems at play, with new features including a safety score and a “safety coach” that will rate your driving and suggest improvements.

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Some smart touches include a simple plastic holder for smartphones or iPads that can pop out of the rear seat centre armrest to hold screens in place. It’s a far smarter, cheaper and more intuitive approach than expensive in-built screens.

The Scenic also gets a very smart glass roof. The Solarbay glass roof can switch between opaque and transparent in segments thanks to a technology called polymer dispersed liquid crystal which darkens the segments on demand, using an electric field to move molecules. Developed with glass supplier Saint-Gobain, Renault claims its the first application in the automotive world and takes up less headroom than a sliding sunroof, and saves energy that would be needed for heating or cooling the cabin.

With its compact SUV looks, the new Scenic will sit between the new Austral and the Arkana and its an early European all-electric entrant in the burgeoning compact SUV segment. It certainly won’t be the last, with several rivals due to land next year. It may also form the basis for a new SUV-styled replacement for the Nissan Leaf.