Renault recently released the 2024 model year of the Scenic E-Tech electric SUV, the car will be available in the European market early next year. Scenic E-Tech is a small electric SUV, the size of which is comparable to the Toyota Corolla Cross, Nissan Prowler, or the Hyundai Kona, claiming that the range of up to 620 kilometers.
The Scenic is a well-known Renault vehicle lineup, sold under the name “Scenic” in China. Now in its fifth generation, the Scenic has been officially transformed into an all-electric model, using a specialized EV platform shared with Nissan.
The Scenic E-Tech is based on Renault’s Scenic Vision concept unveiled last year, which utilized hydrogen fuel cell technology, and features Renault’s new branded front design with distinctive arrow-shaped daytime running lights. There’s a bit of Peugeot in the car’s design, which isn’t surprising since Renault’s current design director, Gil Vidal, jumped ship from Peugeot.
Design highlights include 20-inch alloy wheels, hidden door handles and an optional Esprit Alpine version with sportier bumpers and trim, and the option of two-tone paint.
At 4,470 millimeters long, 1,864 millimeters wide and 1.57 meters high, the new car is about 45 millimeters longer, 29 millimeters wider and 54 centimeters lower than the gasoline and hybrid versions of the Nissan Escape, respectively. Thanks to a dedicated electric vehicle platform – CMF-EV – the same as that used for the Megane E-Tech and the Nissan Ariya, the wheelbase is 2.78 meters, some 11.5 centimeters longer than that of the Prowler, increasing interior space.
Inside, there’s a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster up front and a 12-inch infotainment touchscreen running Google Android. There’s also a wide panoramic sunroof, which Renault calls “Solarbay,” which uses “dispersed liquid crystal polymers to vary the transparency of the glass,” and adjusts the transparency of the glass depending on weather conditions and time of day. Renault says they are “the first carmaker to offer a mass-market panoramic sunroof that can be fully or partially opaque in segments”, and that the sunroof has four settings: fully illuminated, fully darkened, illuminated in front and darkened in the rear, or vice versa. Renault claims the sunroof adds 30 millimeters of headroom and is six to eight kilograms lighter than a conventional sunroof. Half of the glass is made from recycled materials and 90% of the glass can be recycled at the end of its life.
Renault also highlights 38.7 liters of storage space inside the car, including the glovebox (4 liters), door storage areas (13.6 liters), an open center console storage area (6.6 liters), two cup holders (2 liters), a storage area under the center armrest (3.4 liters), two pockets behind the front seats (4.8 liters in total), and the rear seat armrest (3.6 liters). The trunk space behind the rear seats is 545 liters.
The “standard range” entry-level Scenic has a 60kWh battery and 125kW / 280Nm electric motor, accelerates from 0-100km/h in 9.3 seconds, has a top speed of 150km/h and a claimed WLTP range of over 420km. The Long Range version is upgraded to an 87kWh battery and 160kW/300Nm front-mounted electric motor, with a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 8.4 seconds, a top speed of 170km/h and a claimed WLTP range of 620km. DC fast charging at 130kW and 150kW adds around 350km of range in 30 minutes (50kWh for the top model). The new car also claims to have the fastest steering ratio in the class, a 10.9-meter turning radius and four levels of energy recovery.
For assisted driving, the new car offers adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking and lane centering assist. Renault also says that 24% of the Scenic E-Tech’s materials (and 90% of its mass, including the battery) can be recycled.
