Renault’s game-changing Scenic is celebrating 20 years of providing millions of families with innovative, forward-thinking transport. It continues to be the benchmark in the competitive compact MPV sector that it created in 1996.
Now Renault says the success story is set to continue with its fourth-generation model unveiled at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. The new model draws inspiration and influences from 2011 R-Space concept car (pictured ).
Since its introduction, the Scenic has become synonymous with family motoring at its very best, and this fourth-generation Scenic will continue the legacy of its predecessors, taking inspiration from the dynamic R-Space concept car unveiled in 2011 and fusing the requirements of modern family use with sensuous, sporty styling and a functional design.
Perfectly illustrating Renault’s pioneering approach to motoring and vehicle design, the Scenic was conceptualised as early as 1988 by then design director Patrick Le Quément. In 1991 the idea of a small, family MPV was moved forward with the unveiling of the Scenic concept car at the Frankfurt Motor Show – its name being short for ‘Safety Concept Embodied in a New Innovative Car’.
Five years later the Scenic was officially launched and with its introduction came the establishment of a new sector of vehicle –the compact MPV – and a host of technological advances that would feature in future Renault production vehicles.
Ingeniously designed and even developed with the help of Renault employees’ children in order to highlight optimum storage space for items inside, the new Scenic had vast appeal to families who required a ‘car for living’ that combined space, versatility, safety and an element of fun for all its occupants. Such was the success of the Scenic that other manufacturers quickly followed suit and the compact MPV soon became a key vehicle sector, proving so when the softly-styled Renault was voted European Car of the Year in 1997.
Continuing to strike a successful balance between an estate car and people carrier, the Scenic was redesigned in 2003 – the second-generation model building on the success of the original with even more user-friendliness and innovative design coupled with the availability of five or seven seats. Again, the Scenic was at the forefront of its sector, making travel more leisurely for parents and children alike and, in particular, scoring five stars in EuroNCAP tests to make it the safest vehicle in its category.
The current third-generation model arrived in March 2009, continuing the formula of its predecessors but now with more emphasis on elegance and travelling comfort and convenience. The latest Scenic and larger Grand Scenic provided the perfect opportunity for those who crave versatility but who do not wish to compromise on style or motoring pleasure. Once again, it reaffirmed its class-leading status with such highlights as best-in-class knee room in the second row, the most generous third row in the compact MPV segment, the biggest storage volume around the cabin of up to 92 litres, and another maximum five-star score in EuroNCAP crash tests.
Now, with the official unveiling of the fourth-generation model just days away, the success of the ever-popular Scenic is set to continue for many more years.
