ROAD TEST

Renault Scenic II 1.9 dci

scenic route

Caravan & Outdoor Life June 2004
Winding our way up and over the magnificent Bains Kloof pass in the Capes Limietberg mountains, I couldnt help but think how scenic it is from the Scenic! I also had to think (remember more like it) that I was towing a caravan!
nyone who has not travelled over Bains Kloof has simply not lived. The fact is that this late autumn day was a classically outstanding one, with air so clear you could see the sea in the distance, the forests below, vineyards going brown and occasionally the only sound to be heard was a passing overhead jet. Surely, their views were not as good as ours even though from higher up. Bains Kloof is a narrow, winding road that threads its careful way up the sides of mountains and between seriously beautiful rocky outcrops I am sure that Andrew Geddes Bain, who built this road in the 1850s, had as much fun as we did he with his primitive means and us in the new Renault Scenic II towing the Gypsey Rapier. And a finer towing combination you will be hard pressed to find!

The next level

Renaults Scenic compact MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) was largely responsible for the swing away from ordinary mundane cars to that of a vehicle that provides extra facilities and loads of space: the multi-purpose vehicle. It was and has been the market leader in this segment and now its been further refined. The new Scenic II adopts the body shape of the Megane South Africas Car of the Year and this creates a number of physical advantages, such as a wider track and longer wheelbase than the older model. It, however, retains those short front and rear overhangs that provide less leverage for instability when towing. In addition, the new model gains 26 mm of front headroom plus 22 mm of elbow room, and rear seat knee room is now 226 mm.
output of 88 kW at revs/min. For towing, peak torque is an impressive 300 Nm at only revs/min. All this from a fuel-sipping 1.9-litre engine! This sophisticated turbodiesel is equipped with common rail injection technology, and a variable nozzle turbocharger with vanes whose angle is electronically controlled by engine speed and load. This engine is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, and the short-throw gear lever is now mounted in the centre of the dashboard for convenience. The six-speed transmission takes getting used to: firstly, that there are six gears available and not to stop changing at fifth; and secondly, that engine noise and road speed can leave you comfortable in a particular gear (perhaps fourth and fifth for towing), yet there is so much power that if you are not towing in sixth on the flat you can select this gear and drop the engine revs even further. Braking is another strong point. It has disc brakes on all four wheels: the front are ventilated 300 mm discs while the rear has solid 270 mm discs. A point of interest: a 100 km/h braking stop with the Gypsey Rapier in tow takes a mere 2.9 seconds, and the combination of car and caravan comes to a dead stop, in a straight and manageable line. And if this is not impressive, then a fuel economy of 6.4 l/100 km at 80 km/h or 9.8 litres at 100 km/h should make one sit up and think diesel turbocharging for towing! Tail drop on the towball, generated by the weight of the Gypsey Rapier, is 45 mm, which brought the overall towball height to 435 mm meaning that a drop plate was not needed.

Towing power

Before we get into some of the innovative new interior features, the one aspect that the new Scenic impressed me with was its diesel engines towing power. The 1.9-litre turbodiesel engine displaces 1870 cm3 and delivers a maximum power

Towing suitability

This car is totally at home towing a caravan and, without being derogatory, it is a car and caravan combination that I would happily ask my wife to drive. Stable, easy to drive, excellent economy, great brakes, powerful engine and an interior
suited to long distance travelling what more could you ask for? Oh, two things that I was not really happy with: the speedometer is mounted in the centre of the dashboard and rather than keeping the speed confidential to the driver, it displays this information for all and sundry to see. So expect the odd Slow down! from the Missus in the other drivers seat! The second is an electronic handbrake. I often stalled the car on pull away while waiting for the handbrake to electronically disengage; it took a lot of getting used to.

automatically maintain this height regardless of load or braking: a plus for caravaners. There is also an auto dipping rearview mirror and a cruise control and speed warning system. All models benefit from a three-year / km warranty and a six year anticorrosion warranty. Additional peace of mind is provided by a three-year / km maintenance plan. Finally, the diesel Scenic has a km service interval.

Revamped interior

This new Scenic II is packed with innovation, from electronic key card to hidden hidy-holes in the floor plan, to 98 percent of body panels made from double-sided galvanised sheet metal, from electric powered steering to renewable materials for the environmentally minded motorists. Weve mentioned the new fasciamounted gear shift that frees up floor space in the front of the vehicle, but in addition it allows for an optional sliding console storage facility, handy for placing all cellphones, wallets, house keys, caravan keys and so on. A double floor allows seat slides to be recessed lower, leaving more footroom for the occupants, while the three rear seats feature headrests that fold away into the top of the seat backrest for better drivers visibility, if need be. Aircraft styled flip-out tables are provided on the rear of the front seats. The front passenger seat on the Expression version of the basic model Scenic can be folded flat to form a hard-surfaced table, as is the case for all three rear seats across the range. This allows a multitude of options for loading large items into the rear of the car. And the Scenic II is also the only compact MPV with an opening tailgate window. The interior design is clever, with every possible area of free space within the cabin area transformed into stowage space, whether in the front and rear door panels, the front side armrests, the front and centre armrests and even in the front footwells. In addition to the optional sliding centre console (15 litres capacity), there are four underseat drawers with capacities of 5.5 litres in the front and 3 litres in the rear. Two underfloor compartments front and rear hold 3.5 litres and 11 litres respectively. Other technical innovations (some optional) include bi-xenon headlights, which adapt beam height at low speeds and
CARAVAN:GYPSEY RAPIER(LICENCE MASS 860 KG : GROSS KG)
RENAULT SCENIC II 1.9dCi DIESEL

TOWING PERFORMANCE

ACCELERATION

4 /cm3

Common Rail injection, (SECONDS)

SPECIFICATIONS

ENGINE
CYLINDERS/CAPACITY FUEL SUPPLY BORE/STROKE Compression Ratio FUEL REQUIREMENT POWER I.S.O. (kW/revs) TORQUE (Nm/revs)
80.0/93,0 mm 18.3:1 diesel 88 @ 300 @ 6-Speed, manual 3.41 to 1 1.84 to 1 1.257 to 1 0.94 to 1 0.73 to 1 0.60 to 1 front Variable rate electric rack and pinion 3.2 10.7 m ventilated discs 300 mm disc 270 mm mm kg kg N/A 650KG 205/70 R15 96S 480 mm 45mm no 60 l
0-60 km/h 0-80 km/h 0-100 km/h

7.7 14.2 18.8

OVERTAKING ABILITY

(SECONDS)

TRANSMISSION
SHIFT TYPE 1ST GEAR 2ND GEAR 3RD GEAR 4TH GEAR 5TH GEAR 6TH GEAR DRIVE WHEELS
60-80 km/h 80-100 km/h 100-120 km/h

7.8 5.5 11.5

SPEEDS IN GEARS

(KM/H)

CONTROLS
STEERING TYPE TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK TURNING CIRCLE FRONT REAR
1st gear 2nd gear 3rd gear 4th gear 5th gear 6th gear

140 135

BRAKING ABILITY

BRAKES (ABS ASSISTED)

MEASUREMENTS
TOWCAR LENGTH TOWCAR TARE MASS GVM GCM TOWING CAPACITY UNBRAKED TYRE SIZE TOWBALL HEIGHT TOWBALL DROP (80 kg load) DROP PLATE NEEDED FUEL TANK CAPACITY
60-0 km/h 80-0 km/h 100-0 km/h

1.18 2.43 2.91

FUEL CONSUMPTION

(LITRES/100 KM)

80 km/h 100 km/h

6.4 9.8

OPTIMUM FUEL RANGE
(KM/TANKFUL - 60 LITRES - TOWING)

937 km 612 km

SUSPENSION
FRONT REAR Independent MacPherson struts, coil springs and stabiliser bars Torsion beam withprogrammed deflection, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar.