On paper the Renault Scenic II 1.9 dCi offers a terrific and versatile Mini-MPV that will easily cater for fleet and family use.

Scenic II continues the tradition started by Renault of the tall but short urban vehicle that offers van-like space but with a comfortable interior and car-like handling. It’s a clever vehicle that offers multiple functionalities needed by a small fleet.  
Inside the Scenic has plenty of storage spaces and is extremely flexible. Clever features include covered bins in the floor front and back, under-seat slide-out trays up-front, a chilled glove box, a gigantic central bin between and flip-down trays on the back of the front seats.

Three individual rear seats can fold, flip forward or even be removed, increasing luggage space from 430 litres to an enormous 1840 litres. This is far more than some mid-size station wagons can achieve, and points out the virtues of short but tall. 
The Isofix Child seat anchors are located sensibly at the base of the rear seats but there aren't many other locating hooks or straps in the luggage area which means that luggage nets will need to be fitted to secure larger loads.

Access to the rear seats through wide opening doors is excellent and there are no problems fitting three children in the rear. Three adults could survive for a while, although elbow room would certainly be tight. Two adults are a better fit and you could remove the centre seat to create more space for comfort on longer journeys.

Up front there is reach and rake adjust for the steering wheel, a driver's seat with manual height and lumbar adjustment, a large left footrest, well located pedals and a gearshift mounted high in the dashboard that falls easily to hand.

Although the beige trim adds to the light and airy feel inside the Scenic, the driver’s door trim was looking decidedly grubby on our vehicle which had 6000km on the odometer.

Scenic II also ticks the fleet safety and amenity boxes with six airbags, ABS with ESP, Climate air-conditioning, and utilises a diesel engine with an automatic gearbox which is the preference of most New Zealand customers.   

The 1870cc diesel motor produces 96 kilowatts and has a maximum torque or pulling power of 250 Nm at a lowly 1600 rpm, making it ideal for trundling around city streets or cruising on the highway. It is a common rail turbo diesel meeting Euro four emission regulations and having an overall fuel consumption of 7.1 litres per 100 kilometres and CO2 emissions of 188 grams per kilometre.

We managed 7.7 litres per 100 kilometres over a 500 kilometre test, so consumption was well within the acceptable norm. The proactive four-speed automatic transmission in the diesel Renault Scenic II works well with the punchy engine, and is a lot better than previous efforts from Renault. It puts the power down quite nicely indeed, but in this day and age a five or a six-speed automatic would be better.

The Scenic enjoys a very comfortable ride and brilliant handling for a tall front-wheel driven vehicle, it feels more like a sports car than an MPV. Sadly however the engine noise from the 1.9 dCi is loud and coarse when accelerating, Suzuki also use the same motor in the Grand Vitara but silenced it with a dual mass flywheel. There’s a bit of harmonic rustle around the windscreen at speed but these are minor annoyances in an otherwise very practical and capable vehicle.  

Overall the Scenic dCi makes a very attractive family and fleet vehicle.  Sacre bleu!

Specifications:

Body type                  Five-door MPV                

Drive                        Front-wheel-drive  

Engine Type               Inline four-cylinder diesel           

Engine Capacity          1870cc

Max power                 96kW @ 4250 rpm

Max torque                250Nm @ 1600 rpm

Fuel Consumption        7.1L/100 km

C02 emission              188g/km

0 to 100kph               9.9 sec

Front suspension         McPherson Strut

Rear suspension          Torsion Beam

Roof Rack                  Optional

ABS Brakes                Yes

Air Bags                    6

ESP                          Yes

Air Conditioning           Climate

Lap/diagonal belts       5

Satellite Navigation      No

Electric seats              No

Burglar Alarm             Yes  

Panic Button               No

Boot release               Yes

Cargo Cover               Yes

Boot Capacity             430/1840 litres

Wheel type                16-inch Alloy

Spare Tyre                Full size

Price                         $44,990