Test drive by Renault Scenic since 2009 minivan
Behind the scenes
This year, Renault built several quite high -profile premieres in Russia, somehow updating all its budget cars. It all started, as usual, with Logan. Until recently, the third Megane was considered the most fresh premiere. However, in this status, the hatchback took place only a couple of months in the middle of summer on our market, sales of a new generation of Renault Scenic started. Nevertheless, the French are just right to turn about the output of this car into all bells. We, unlike Europe, have not taken root as a class, and those shares of the market percent that they have today, chickens to laugh. And if you look at the rating table in addition, it becomes scary for our hero at all (even in good seasons the old Scenic barely found one and a half thousand owners). However, the French, it seems, the French did not expect a radical change from his replacement. Of course, the car in all its glory will also be presented on the upcoming metropolitan auto show, but by that time the time will come to summarize the first results of sales, which are unlikely to be recognized at least satisfactory.
And if Russia was somewhere in the center of Europe, the new SCENIC would court no worse than the new Mercedes S-class: there it traditionally protrudes on the rights, if not the legislator of the mod, then at least one of the leaders, firmly holding about 15% of customers in a separate segment . Moreover, with the advent of a new generation, the rivalry will only intensify.
We will deliberately do not focus on the appearance of the third Renault Scenic. The fact is that it is fresh enough, modern, even dynamic in some ways, but very similar to its predecessor. Theoretically, the replacement can even calculate the restyled version. The French and this time preferred not to shock the audience and, having simplified the body architecture as much as possible, decided to recoup on the price tag and comfort. As a result, despite the 8 extra centimeters and the skeleton clearly grown in other directions, the car retained the usual posture, and evolutionary metamorphoses are truly noticeable only in the field of anterior and posterior optics.
In addition, Renault is completely traditional. Is it bad or good? Probably still good, especially since the main group of consumers in this segment is quite conservative. On the other hand, the Opel Meriva with the reverse rear doors that appeared at the same time looks more interesting. At the same time, the Germans are hardly less experienced in organizing space or designing such compacts. The question is different: how much are they going to evaluate this experience? A few weeks have remained before the announcement of prices, but there have been less and less miracles in the world.
It is easier for the French: a classic type and standard price tag, starting from a mark of 730,000 rubles. And then two: two engines, two kP and two fixed configurations with a certain number of additional equipment. Most buyers will have plenty of this, what the Renault Moscow office has been convinced more than once. Theoretically, it was possible to even abandon the 2-liter engine, but it seems that it seems that the desire to preserve the more popular automatic transmission, in the role of which the cuneiform CVT acts, played a role, since an exclusively top engine is aggregated with it. The initial 1.6-liter unit is the same as on Megane and Fluence, only the manual transmission is equipped. True, 6-speed. And it develops not 106, but 110 hp. Yes, and his thrust is higher (by 6 nm). In principle, the difference is small, but in practice, such a Renault turned out to be incredibly easy to rise. The engine is spinning very well, so sometimes it seems as if you are not going in a family single -racer, but in a small subcompact hatchback.
By the way, at the same time, the motor is also surprisingly moderate appetite, at least if we talk about the movement along the highway. He, as usual, exceeds the passport indicators by about a liter, but given a quarter of a ton of excess weight (compared to the single -platform Megane), this is quite acceptable.
Scenic would still save the pedal node from genetic sores is still terrible. The test car was equipped with a basic four and practically did not lose to the potential to the neighbors. But the Frenchmen made the clutch traditionally long and light, apparently, calculated on a fragile female leg. In an elegant crystal shoe, not otherwise. Alas, the princesses at the wheel of such cars go extremely rarely, while under a relatively rude sole, the lever is practically lost. The resistance is zero, so the driver is literally moving on motor memory. And by the sound of the engine.
The noise is the second main problem of this car. In Scenic, everything is noisy, starting from the engine to the stones beating along the bottom. On isolation, the French clearly saved according to the sensations, the motor compartment is an order of magnitude worse than the wheel arches. In the latter, neither sand nor stones are heard, while the aggregate voice hits the eardrum at 3,000 revolutions.
Further worse, next to the motor solo, drums are added in the performance of both front racks, deafly, but tightly converging on each more or less noticeable obstacle. Typically, the claims for the work of suspensions are at the same time. Yes, they could provide comfort more qualitatively for not too flat asphalt are harsh, but in general the smoothness is enough.
The steering wheel is another matter. As it ended in a normal Frenchman, Scenic is controlled quite decently, especially since the Meganovskaya platform has already been based on the basis of the Eastern European roads. As a result, compactiven, even despite the relatively high body, does not walk on the road, and practically does not react to the rut. So here is the main question in the personal preferences of a particular driver: the steering wheel is sharp, with excellent reactions, but, in the opinion of your correspondent, who prefers more dense German lambs, excessively light. Those who appreciate South European settings will definitely like it.
And Renault is still sensitive to the side wind: of course, it does not blow off it, but the trajectory already requires light correction. However, this is relevant exclusively at high speeds, when the tachometer arrow confidently exchanges the second hundred (until that moment, the problem with passive transverse stability, if present, is in an extremely slight concentration).
By the way, by loading the rear axle, you can get rid of this problem almost completely. So hesitate to use for their intended purpose all the trucks available to the driver is definitely not worth it.
Of course, if desired, the useful volume can be increased to 1.8 cubic meters, but the owner will resort to a full -fledged transformation only in emergency cases. The traditional car belongings in Scenic are usually not even placed in a cargo compartment, but in the usual containers like niches under rugs or drawers under the front seats, which together give about 100 additional liters. True, you can fully use them only seven to eight months a year. In winter, as practice shows, the niches in the SCENIC floor become a kind of water collectors to seal the covers of the French for obvious reasons. By the way, this is the only clear design miscalculation, the rest of the interior is magnificent, starting with architecture and ending with functionality.
Here, in terms of passenger capacity, buyers of the third generation compactwane will not receive a tangible increase. The supply of space in the second row here allows even a rather high person to sit down, as they say, behind himself and not resting the crown into the ceiling. The individual similar in terms of dimensions will easily be located nearby, but it is better not to compact the third one in the back of the cabin, and if it climbs, it will not last long (as in the salon of its predecessor, which, by the way, was also far from the ideal, however, however, however, however, however, however, however, however, however, it was far from the ideal. This did not prevent him from feeling relatively calmly in the European market). Scenic starts with a clean sheet again
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Currently, the SCENIC family consists of a compactwane itself and an elongated version with a Grand prefix. The latter is slightly longer and is characterized by an altered rear optics. It is not supplied to Russia because of extremely low demand. In addition, both previous generations were also attended by both RX4 and Conquest crossovers. But if the first was a real rogue and was equipped with an all -wheel drive transmission, the second of the off -road attributes had only increased road clearance and plastic body kit.
SPECIFICATIONS
Renault Scenic III
Dimensions (mm) 4344x1845x1637
Wheel base (mm) 2702
Road clearance (mm) 120
Mass (kg) 1395
Trunk volume (L) 4371837
Slave. engine volume (cm3) 1598
Max. Power (L.S.) 110
Max. Twist the moment (NM) 151
Max. Speed \u200b\u200b(km/h) 185
Acceleration 0100 km/h (c) 12.6
Cf. fuel consumption (l/100 km) 7.4
Price (rub.) From 730,000
Competitors
LEGISLATOR
Despite the rather low demand in the compactwhenes segment, Opel Zafira can boast of a good implementation a year and a half ago the model was sold at the level of the Taganrog Sonata and UAZ Patriot, and this is the best indicator in the classroom. The reasons for popularity are simple. Firstly, the Germans proposed a quite attractive price tag, secondly, a good level of equipment, and thirdly, a fairly wide set of power units. The starting cost of Zafira today is 668,900 rubles, which is at least 60,000 rubles cheaper than the base Scenic.
OLDER BROTHER
C-Max is the second most popular compactwane in our country and part-time one of the closest relatives of Ford Focus. Once he even bore the name of the donor, as, indeed, Renault. Today, the Frenchman, that the American is considered separate models. Partly related to them is that both are delivered to Russia from abroad. But the latter can be equipped with one of three gasoline engines or a 2-liter turbodiesel. True, with boxes here the same AKP story is available only to buyers of top versions. The price is from 721 700 rubles.
VERSION
Toyota Verso is another non -independent compactwane. Initially, it was built on the basis of Corolla, but the latest version received an almost independent platform. In principle, the car was well sold even in the debut for herself in 2009, as a result of which she practically caught up with the old Scenic. And this season, she will most likely overtake the Frenchman. The initial price tag, however, is set almost at the same level from 760,000 rubles, and the differences between machines are minimal in the power line.
material: Vladimir Zhidkov
