Nat Barnes takes delivery of our new Renault Scenic E-Tech fully electric SUV.

Renault Scenic E-Tech Iconic

List price (BiK): £45,495 (2%)   Range: 369 miles  On Fleet: N/A  Efficiency: N/A

First Report:

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I’m going to start the opening report on this Renault Scenic E-Tech with an immediate confession. I’m not entering into my six-month ownership of this new Scenic entirely from a neutral standpoint. I have a soft spot for the Scenic, ever since its original introduction in 1996 in people-carrier form, for its sheer practicality and clever touches that made living with it as a family that much easier.

Of course, the world has moved on somewhat in the past 28 years and so have car buyers. MPVs of all kinds are now about as popular as editor Challen with the mistletoe at the Fleet World Christmas party. The car-buying public has switched to SUVs and crossovers, and in turn, so has this new Scenic.

That’s not the only change either. Following the lead of the Megane E-Tech and with the new 5 coming soon, the Scenic has now embraced full-electric power. This is the 87kWh battery model, although a smaller 61kWh version is also available to add extra choice and a more tempting lower price at the same time.

With a 369-mile range however, this Scenic looks like the right car at the right time, especially having bagged the European Car of the Year award early 2024. And, with the highly desirable 5 and new 4 coming out, plus an electric Twingo having been teased in prototype form, there’s no doubt that Renault is rapidly re-establishing itself as a force to be reckoned with in the EV world.

Perhaps more importantly too, the Scenic represents another rung for Renault’s EV family. With all of the brand’s other electric cars, there’s now another EV model further up for a customer to potentially go into. Numerous surveys have shown that very few EV drivers return back to an ICE car, but also that they tend to be less loyal to a particular brand than before too. This way, it’s not inconceivable that a buyer could step from a Zoe into a new 5, then to the Megane and up to this Scenic.

Which ironically is just what I’ve done from the Megane. I’m already loving the extra size of the Scenic and also that additional range, though the first few days haven’t been without problems.

The 20-inch ‘Oracle’ design alloy wheels look great but the ride is quite firm for what is, after all, a company car. The ride I can live with (I think), but what is somewhat harder to live with is the Scenic’s charging unpredictability. As I’m temporarily in a rented house, I don’t have access to a home charger, so all of my charging is done via a three-pin ‘granny’ cable. Three-pin charging isn’t ideal, but it saw me through six months of Megane ownership without a problem.

The Scenic however is rather less happy about the arrangement and effectively goes to sleep anything from 30 minutes to three hours after having started charging. So I have to keep checking on it. Renault has said it’s a known problem and it’s working on a software update, but I’m finding it a little disappointing and not the best of starts. Watch this space.