Transcription
Once car of the year as an innovative MPV, now car of the year as a completely normal crossover, or is it more innovative than I think? My name is Bastiaan, and welcome to Electric on Wheels. There it is, the new Renault Scenic E-Tech 100% Electric, please. Renault, in the future, think of better names, because this is terrible, but it doesn't matter. The new Renault Scenic, in terms of size and price, is a competitor to the Kia Niro EV, the Hyundai Kona, but also the BYD Atto 3. The Renault Scenic is available with two different powertrains. For about €50,000, you get a 60 kWh battery pack with enough power to go from 0 to 100 in about 8.6 seconds, and for about €58,950, to do 0 to 100 in 7.9 seconds. Looking at the storage space, there is no frunk, but the trunk is larger than that of the Kia Niro and Hyundai Kona because the trunk is quite deep, as you can see. There are 545 liters with the rear seats up, and if I fold the rear seats flat, there are 1670 liters. As you can see, there is no flat loading floor now, but there is an option for a raised loading floor, which makes that the case. Besides that, there is still a pretty large compartment here below me, and there is a 12V socket here. And because the trunk is quite deep, at least a large suitcase and a stroller will fit. Then, looking at the space in the rear seats, the seat in front of me is in my position. I am 1.85 meters tall, and I have enough headroom and enough legroom, and I can fit my feet under the seat in front of me. Of course, the floor is slightly raised because there is a battery pack there, but I must say, my legs are not very bent. It's actually quite fine in this car. Then there is a flat floor here. The car is reasonably wide, not the widest car there is, but with three not too large adults sitting here, it can be done. Besides that, there are two USB-C ports, separate air vents, compartments behind the seat, and the largest armrest I have ever seen. Look at this, it's really gigantic. Under this armrest, there is another small compartment, two more USB-C ports, two cup holders, and there is this. What is this? This is a holder for a tablet or a phone, so if I take my phone, I can slide it in here like this, so I don't have to hold it while watching a video. The WLTP range of the 60 kWh battery pack is 430 km. That of the 87 kWh battery pack, the one I am currently driving, is about 620 km. But will you really achieve that? Well, during my test period, the weather did change. At the moment, it is 17 degrees Celsius, but I have also had days where it was 25 degrees Celsius. But even during those days when it was a nice 25 degrees Celsius, I couldn't achieve the WLTP range with this car. More than 500 km, maybe more than 550 km is certainly achievable, but that 620 km, yes, I don't think you will achieve that, to be honest. And if you want to know more, check out my acceleration range test. Besides that, there are paddles behind the steering wheel with which you can determine the amount of regeneration, but unfortunately, I cannot drive this car with one pedal. And that brings me to more bad, but also good things. What is good? What is grand? What is bad? And what is simply worthless? Instead of developing their own infotainment system, Renault has gone for Android Automotive, just like Volvo. And personally, I am happy with this decision because it just works quickly and intuitively, and you can even install apps from the Google Play Store. Only the translation into Dutch is sometimes a bit strange. To work around all the driver assistance systems that sometimes don't work well but are activated by default due to legislation, Renault has devised this button. In the infotainment system, I can configure how I want my driver assistance systems. I can also turn them off, and with two presses of this button, they are exactly as I want them. This car has the optional Harman Kardon audio system. I am not an audio expert, but personally, I don't think it sounds great. This is one of the most expensive versions you can buy, but I still have to adjust the seats by hand. Charging at a normal charger can be done at a maximum speed of 11 kW. If you want to fast charge, this can be done at a maximum speed of 130 kW for the small battery pack and 150 kW for the large battery pack. In both cases, it would take you about 35 to 40 minutes to charge from 10 to 80%. The navigation software, Google Maps in this case, will plan charging stops when your destination is further than your driving range, and it will precondition the battery pack when you navigate to a fast charger. I can be very brief about how this car drives, the Scenic, because it is simply a very comfortable car to drive, and there is literally nothing sporty about it. Again, it is a car that takes you and your family or your passengers from A to B with a lot of comfort, and that's it. I mean, it's a French car, so it's also somewhat logical, but don't expect the ultra-soft comfort of a French car, because it still has to deal with the high weight of an electric car. What helps with the comfort is the way this car accelerates, because in some electric cars, when you accelerate even a little bit, you have all the power and boom, you shoot forward. But in this car, it all comes very gradually, and again, that is very comfortable, and yes, I actually like it. It suits this car. Besides that, finding a good driving position is not a problem. The steering wheel and the seat are well adjustable, but the visibility all around, like most modern cars, is not very great. Still one more thing, and that is that this car is front-wheel drive, and electric cars with front-wheel drive tend to suffer from wheel spin when accelerating hard. On a dry road, you won't notice anything with this car, but if the road is a bit damp or wet, let those wheels spin. And if this car had a towbar, it would be allowed to tow 1100 kg. The interior of the Renault Scenic is simply a pleasant place to be, and what is very refreshing is that you have quite a lot of physical buttons. You have a cluster here below the infotainment system for climate control, and where Tesla removes all stalks from the steering wheel, this Renault has not two or three, but even four. Yep, one for your lights, one for your driving direction, one for the windshield wipers, and one for the sound. Combine this with quite a lot of buttons on the steering wheel, and when you first get into the car, you might think, wow, this is quite overwhelming, but it's actually quite nice to have so many physical buttons. How about the storage space? Well, in your door pockets, at least a 1-liter bottle fits. Under the center armrest is a storage compartment. Before that, there is a small compartment with two USB-C ports, which you can also shield with the center armrest. Before that, there is a cup holder, even more storage space that you can further divide, a wireless charger for your phone, and the glove compartment is of decent size. What is less good is the position of the infotainment system screen, because it is positioned quite low, and therefore, when you are driving and you want to look at the infotainment system, your eyes are quite far from the road. I mean, there is a reason why most car brands place their infotainment screens a bit higher on the dashboard. That is because your eyes are closer to the road, so it is safer. Yep, autumn has begun, so I hope to stand as dry as possible under these trees, but it doesn't matter. How happy do I get from the Renault Scenic? Does it make me sad? Is it okay? Does it bring a smile to my face, or does it make me very happy? Well, from the Renault Scenic, I do get a smile. It's simply a comfortable family car that actually does nothing wrong. And that was the review of the Renault Scenic. Thank you very much for watching. Don't forget to subscribe and give it a thumbs up, and I'll see you in the next video.