2012 Renault Grand Scenic review

As the name suggests, it is bigger than a standard Scenic and can therefore seat seven adults compared to just five, making it ideal for chauffeurs, taxi drivers and those with large families.

When the third row of seats is in position it takes up almost the entire boot. However, it’s easy to remove by simply pulling the red strap at the back of each seat to push them down, creating a reasonable amount of room.

In the winter months my 50-mile daily commute is often delayed by road works, accidents and bad weather and the Scenic copes well under this pressure. Its frugal 1.5dci engine is surprisingly nippy when the opportunity arises. However, when crawling through endless traffic jams, the six-speed automatic gearbox doesn‘t seem to like first or second proving much happier in the other gears.

It takes a little while to familiarise myself with the placement of the speedometer, which sits nearer the centre of the dash and is all digital, which can be difficult to navigate at night. The Grand Scenic does feel a bit cumbersome to drive and its size makes it awkward to reverse although there are sensors to alert the driver to unseen obstacles. But it handles motorway driving well and the diesel engine is hardly audible from inside.

Parkers, the car experts, write: “Renault claims to have invented the compact people carrier with the Scenic in 1996 and its third generation model remains among the best of its type.” The publication goes on to say that compared to the standard Scenic “the used market prefer[s] the versatility offered by the Grand Scenic and its seven-seat layout”.