7 minute read
COVER Renault set to reinvent Scenic
Visit autoexpress.co.uk for your daily news updates
● Scenic nameplate to return as brand-new, all-electric family SUV ● Eco concept previews latest production and powertrain tech
Advertisement
James Brodie
James _ Brodie@autovia.co.uk @JPBrods
RENAULT has confirmed that it will reboot the Scenic name in 2024, applying the famous small MPV nameplate to a new family-sized SUV. The latest car will be pure electric, and is previewed by this: the Scenic Vision Concept.
Penned by lead designer Gilles Vidal, the Scenic Vision represents Renault’s future on three fronts. Its exterior design is representative of what the 2024 Scenic will look like, and is “more than 90 per cent production car” according to Vidal. However, the powertrain technology is more a preview of what Renault thinks it could offer commercially post-2030, while the interior is pure concept-car indulgence.
The Scenic Vision is not merely a hint at what’s to come from Renault passenger cars in the future. The brand is flexing its eco-credentials, showcasing what it claims are several breakthroughs on sustainability in production. As such, the concept is made from 70 per cent repurposed materials, while 95 per cent of the whole car can be recycled at the end of its lifespan.
The Scenic name summons up thoughts of peak MPV popularity in the 1990s. Launched as a smaller, five-seat stablemate for the Espace in 1996, it was a surprise hit in showrooms, cementing the MPV as the most popular type of car of the time. It’s a sector that has nose-dived in recent years, however, and in 2020 the Scenic name was taken off UK sale altogether.
When it returns in 2024, it will be attached to a C-sector SUV. Renault claims it will carry forward the Scenic’s original brief, by being a car aimed at families and their “changing needs” .
The Scenic Vision has a bespoke platform, but the 2024 production car will use the CMF-EV architecture employed by the smaller Mégane E-Tech Electric and the larger Nissan Ariya. This will mean a fully electric powertrain, with batteries up to 90kWh in size enabling a maximum range of more than 300 miles on a full charge, if the Ariya’s specs are anything to go by.
However, the powertrain in the concept does not reflect what will be on sale two years from now. Instead, it is a gaze into the next decade, using what Renault dubs a “one-of-a-kind” hybrid powertrain using battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell technology to drive a rear-mounted electric motor producing 215bhp. It is essentially a range-extender using a compact hydrogen “SUV will carry forward the Scenic’s original brief: a car aimed at families and their ‘changing needs’”
fuel cell to recharge the car’s battery, instead of a small petrol engine.
To create this sort of powertrain, Renault has devised what would be a fuel-cell vehicle, but with differently proportioned electric and hydrogen elements. Rated at 40kWh, the battery is the same as the one used in the short-range version of the Mégane E-Tech EV and is located under the front part of the floor. It holds a much larger charge than the small batteries normally seen in fuel-cell cars, yet it’s around half the size and weight of a battery used in a typical long-range EV on sale today.
It can be directly recharged by plugging in at a charging point, but it’s supported by a 15kW fuel cell in the rear half of the floor for top-ups away from the plugs. This is fuelled by a high-pressure tank under the bonnet, that’s smaller and lighter than in a car with a conventional fuel cell, making it much easier to package. At 2.5kg, it’s half the weight of the tank in the Toyota Mirai.
Renault claims that beyond 2030, and supported by an adequate hydrogen-filling network, a powertrain such as this could cover a 500-mile drive with only a fiveminute stop to refill the tank. There’d be no need to charge the battery, because the fuel cell can recharge the pack on the move.
Measuring 4,490mm, the Scenic Vision is a little shorter than Volkswagen’s ID.4, and a bit longer than the Mercedes EQA. Leaning into the more versatile, practical aspect of the Scenic name, the concept has a 2,835mm wheelbase within its C-sector bodywork –nearly 200mm longer than that of the new combustion-powered Austral SUV, which the Scenic will sit next to in the range. As such, cabin space is generous for the car’s size.
The manufacturer has resisted using the electric platform to design a car with INSPIRATION Renault’s diamond-shaped logo has inspired many details in the Scenic Vision’s angular shape and styling, as well as a whole new lighting signature
ECO CONCEPT The newcomer has been designed with sustainability in mind, using recycled materials and with a viable projection for end-of-life disposal
OFFICIAL
DESIGN Exterior indicates styling direction of 2024 Scenic, and is “more than 90 per cent production car”
Vision of Ren a
OFFICIAL Brand’s latest SUV concept resurrects famous
an unconventional shape. Instead, the Scenic is still a ‘two-box’ design, although some concept-car exuberance can be found in the rear-opening back doors and the deletion of the B-pillar. Large, 21-inch aerodynamic wheels also feature.
The shape and many styling details will only be toned down slightly for production. Gilles Vidal claims that the angular styling of the Scenic Vision has been inspired by Renault’s diamond-shaped logo, while the model introduces a whole new lighting signature for the brand designed around this theme. Further neat touches include C-pillar lighting and an illuminated logo on the tail-lights. Its black paint is a further point of interest; concepts are rarely finished in dark colours, but the black pigment seen here is made using recycled carbon fibres.
The car’s doors are opened by pressing a touch-sensitive Renault logo panel where the B-pillar should be; this reveals the future-gazing four-seat interior. The cabin is also where the most obvious elements of the Scenic Vision’s sustainable construction are found, namely the materials used and the composition of the floor, which is made out of 100 per cent recycled plastics from food packaging and industrial waste.
No leather is used in the upholstery, such is the focus on recycled materials. The space is predominantly white as a result of the elimination of dyes in the fabrics, which are entirely made from recycled plastics. Some colour is found inside by the use of dichroic panelling. This can split light into distinct beams of different wavelengths, creating a natural rainbow-like pattern of colour that shifts depending on the viewing angle.
Facial-recognition software automatically configures the interior to passengers and drivers it remembers, altering seat positions, infotainment preferences, music and more. Four ‘widget’ -style small screens take the place of one large central touchscreen and are totally customisable, while the centre of the steering wheel is a screen, too. In total, ten ‘widget’ panels are dotted around the cabin for control of various functions.
shifts depending on the viewing angle.
Facial-recognition software automatically configures the interior to passengers and positions, infotainment preferences, music and more. Four ‘widget’ -style small screens take the place of one panels are dotted around the cabin
TRIM
Cabin focuses on recycled materials, with the mainly white space being a result of the elimination of dyes in the fabrics
GILLES VIDAL
Vice president, Renault Design
AFTER nearly a quarter of a century designing for Peugeot and Citroen, and heading up the styling direction of the Peugeot brand for the entirety of the 2010s, the venerable Vidal’s signing by Renault in late 2020 was seen as a major coup.
QCan you keep the Scenic name when it’s not attached to an MPV? A For me Scenic is not the name of a shape, but the name of a concept.
QCould you have used the electric platform to create a more radical shape such as the original? A It is still a ‘two-box’ shape. But we wanted to resolve something that was an issue for familyorientated cars: they are models that people need, but don’t desire. So what we said to the designers and team is: “Okay, this is a Scenic that if people see it in the window of a dealership or on the Internet, they can fall in love with it – just for its looks. ”
QHow complete is the car’s exterior? A More than 90 per cent production car. The biggest wheelswheels willwill bebe 2020 inches.inches. AllAll thethe designdesign themesthemes youyou seesee onon thethe car,car, allall thethe featuresfeatures aroundaround it,it, areare thethe realreal ones.ones. Q Q HowHow viableviable areare thethe recycledrecycled aspectsaspects ofof thethe design?design? A A ThereThere areare companiescompanies dedicateddedicated toto recycling,recycling, butbut ifif youyou visitvisit theirtheir placesplaces theythey willwill recyclerecycle thisthis andand thatthat becausebecause it’sit’s easyeasy andand viable.viable. AgainstAgainst thethe wallwall youyou willwill seesee thethe bitsbits theythey don’tdon’t botherbother recyclingrecycling althoughalthough itit isis possible,possible, becausebecause itit takestakes tootoo muchmuch timetime soso itit doesn’tdoesn’t happen.happen. ThereThere areare a a lotlot ofof leftoversleftovers thatthat areare untouched,untouched, unfortunately.unfortunately.
