Bull's eye? Updated Renault Scenic

The original oval "pupils" in the headlights, LED sections in the taillights, a friendly "mouth" of the front bumper, fresh design of alloy wheels and five new body paint options... If you don't peek at the press release, it's quite difficult to distinguish the updated Renault Scenic and Grand Scenic from pre-facelift cars at first glance. There are more changes in the cabin and engine bay, but almost all of them are unavailable for the Russian market.

According to Renault representatives, for them, a facelift is work on the flaws that have emerged during the first years of the model's operation. And if there are very few such fixes, does that mean there were almost no mistakes?

Only the trim materials have changed. On "Russian" Scenics, instead of a color central display, a regular monochrome one will remain — with clock and audio system settings

Judging by how confidently the Scenic sells, that's exactly the case. In Western Europe, where compact MPVs account for 40% of golf-class sales, the Scenic sold almost 887 thousand units in four years — a true bestseller! This year, the Scenic has somewhat lost ground, its market share dropping from 21% to 18%. But leadership still remains with Renault.

What mistakes could there be? Just minor flaws that took only 66 million euros to fix.

For example, the long-wheelbase Grand Scenic sells almost three times worse than the five-seat Scenic: those who need two extra seats are not so many, and the rest don't want to overpay. The problem was solved simply — the extra seats were removed. This is how the five-seat Grand Scenic appeared, priced exactly between the seven-seat Grand and the "regular Scenic". Removing the folding chairs allowed lowering the trunk floor by 3 cm — and increasing useful volume by 58 liters. Plus, another 32-liter niche under the floor was added — in addition to all the previous "secret" compartments with a total capacity of 104 liters.

The new Scenic is simply filled with such pleasant details. New trim materials, a more powerful climate control system (although the previous one worked well too), an iPod player connector and USB port in the glovebox, Bluetooth support. A front parking sensor can now be added to the rear one. And the optional Carminat multimedia system has gained a convenient joystick under the driver's right hand — almost iDrive in French!

But... On "Russian" cars, there will be no navigation. And along with it — no color screen, no joystick, no 6-disc CD changer...

Not for us either is the new 150-horsepower 2.0 dCi diesel, which debuted under the hood of the updated Megane back in spring. An excellent engine! Powerful torque already from 2000 rpm, when all 340 Nm of torque become available, allows easy acceleration on any gear. And besides the six-speed manual, the turbodiesel also offers a new adaptive six-speed automatic — the first joint transmission created by the Renault-Nissan alliance. A "smart" gearbox, but it sometimes lacks briskness.

The privilege of European top versions — the Carminat multimedia system with navigation, 6.5-inch screen, CD changer on the center console and Bluetooth protocol...	...controlled by a convenient joystick

Finally, the electric power steering has been recalibrated — now its effort characteristic has become smoother, and assistance in the near-zero zone has been reduced. At "zero", the effort on the steering wheel has indeed become "heavier", but the feeling of artificial feedback remains. Most likely, the problem cannot be solved with settings — a structurally different electric power steering is needed, one that doesn't rotate the steering column but moves the rack (for example, like in the steering of all golf-platform cars of the Volkswagen Group).

The shock absorber settings have been slightly adjusted. But I didn't feel any changes on the move. The difference between the "short" and "long" compact MPVs is much more noticeable — the Grand Scenic, with its wheelbase extended by 23 cm, handles bumps more softly and rocks less on asphalt waves. In Russia, the Scenic, like all Renaults, will be supplied with an adapted suspension.

Five-seat Grand Scenic — a 32-liter underfloor compartment instead of the third row of seats and increased trunk capacity of 533 liters. And with the rear seats folded, there's even 1960 liters!		The new adaptive six-speed automatic from the Renault-Nissan alliance is produced by the Japanese company Jatco: compact design without "extra" gears, "smart" control electronics and the possibility of use with all-wheel drive transmission

Will the facelift affect Russian sales? This will become finally clear closer to the end of the year when prices are announced. But the choice of engines for us will remain the same — gasoline four-cylinders with a displacement of 1.6 liters (115 hp) or 2.0 liters (130 hp). Transmissions — the same five- and six-speed manuals or a four-speed automatic.

In the meantime, the Scenic and Grand Scenic are not leaders here — they lag behind, taking sixth place in the class and losing to cars like the Hyundai Matrix, Ford C-MAX and Opel Zafira. In nine months of this year, only 1,193 cars have been sold in Russia. Not much...

The lineup of updated cars: "just Scenic" and long-wheelbase Grand Scenic — in five- and seven-seat versions