Renault Scenic - Boot space, comfort & practicality

The Renault Scenic might have the same platform as the Renault Megane, but its wheelbase is 10cm longer than the Megane’s at 2,780mm, and it has a much wider track, so there’s enough space inside for a typical family. As in a lot of EVs, there’s a flat floor in the back and rear cabin space shouldn’t be an issue even for tall adults. 

A central armrest features a pair of cup-holders, and there are stands that fold out to hold phones and tablets, plus a pair of USB-C charging sockets. We expect these will be used mostly by children, and with this in mind, they seemed reassuringly sturdy. There are also a load of useful storage compartments around the cabin with over 38 litres in total - including a large 6.6-litre area in the centre console.

Dimensions and size

Remarkably, the Renault Scenic is one of the smaller offerings in its class, coming in at only 4,470mm in length, 1,864mm in width (2,085mm including the side mirrors), and 1,571mm in height. That should make it easier to slot into a parking space than the Skoda Enyaq, which comes in at 4,649mm in length, 1,876mm in width, and 1,616mm in height.

How practical is the Renault Scenic?

Seats & space in the front

There’s also a good range of adjustment to the steering and the seat of the Scenic, but it’s a little odd that on the top-spec Iconic version with full electric adjustment, you can’t adjust the angle of the seat base for better thigh support. Electric lumbar support is standard across the range to help with back support.

Up front, the visibility looking forward is fairly good thanks to a lofty driving position and a relatively low-cut dashboard. The A-pillar tapers in towards the bottom, although it’s still a chunky bit of metal and quite obstructive at junctions. What’s more of an issue is rear visibility because the rear window is narrow, and you don’t get any windows at all in the rearmost roof pillars, creating a huge blind spot. You’ll be making good use of the standard fit reversing camera and sensors when parking in order to make up for this omission. 

There is plenty of space for a pair of six-foot adults up front in the Scenic, and there’s a decent amount of storage for all your odds and ends. We appreciate that the front door pockets are lined to help prevent small items, such as keys, from rattling as you drive.

Seats & space in the back

Anyone unable to make a Renault Megane E-Tech work because their family doesn’t quite fit in the back should take a look at the Scenic instead. There’s sufficient head and leg room for a six-foot adult to sit behind a similarly-sized six foot tall driver, although we did find that the high floor of the Scenic means that there isn’t much space to slide your feet under the seat in front.

We also found that the seat base in the back of the Scenic isn’t angled very much, which means there isn’t much under thigh support for rear passengers, which might become an issue on longer trips. The floor is flat, though, so a third passenger won’t have to straddle an annoyingly large central tunnel.

As with most family cars, you get two ISOFIX points located on the outer positions of the rear seat.

Boot space

The boot, meanwhile, measures 545 litres with the second row of seats in place, rising to 1,670 litres if you convert the Scenic to a two-seater. Those numbers trump the capacities of both the Volkswagen ID.4 and Hyundai Ioniq 5, so it’s clear that Renault is targeting outright practicality as the Scenic’s USP. There’s a fair load lip and no variable-height boot floor to get around this. And at least there are a couple of shopping-bag hooks on the sides of the load bay, along with a power socket, plus a vast void below the boot floor to store the charging cables in.

Towing

All versions of the Renault Scenic have a maximum braked towing capacity of 1,100kg. That’s above two-wheel drive versions of the Volkswagen ID.4, but someway behind the Kia EV6, which can pull a caravan or trailer of up to 1,800kg.