Did Renault just take the EV crown? 2025 Renault Scenic real-world review

[@Balwick]

I'm officially old. I never would have imagined I'd be looking at a Scenic and thinking "what a perfect car".

[@TimRodieDrivesStuff]

I’m getting that way too, don’t worry!

[@eamoneejit]

@@TimRodieDrivesStuffThe original Scenic impressed moi. Not really a looker - although the 4x4 model was old-style French quirky - but you could see front & rear from driver’s seat, was comfy, had loads of space and cubby holes for you to lose stuff in.

[@mdshovel]

I have had one of these for 4 weeks - no car is perfect but this is very, very close

[@sensibleblue]

Another brilliant 30 mins of car comedy masquerading as a driving review. For me TR is the best car reviewer out there. You get an objective practical review but get thoroughly entertained in the meantime. Keep going Tim you’re brilliant at this stuff.

[@TimRodieDrivesStuff]

Thank you, you’re way too kind!

[@andybeadle2398]

I purchased one in September, on mixed roads I'm getting 3.7 miles per KWH. A nice relaxing drive, very impressed so far.

[@matsvanzelm7220]

I’ve ordered one three weeks ago. Not the Iconic version because I don’t want the white chairs, it stains to easily. Not the Alpine version because I really like the aluminum stripes on the sides and front of the car. So it’s gonna be the techno version with all options except the glass roof. The car I now drive has a glass roof and I’m not very fond of it. Apart from that, I’m afraid all the light from above will give a lot glittering on the screens. During the test drive I didn’t have a problem with seeing the speed after putting the steering wheel a bit higher. My height is 6’3”. (1,87 m). Thanks for the review, always to learn I’ve made the right choice. Apart from all the things you mentioned I also like the sustainability of the Renault design and materials they used. No leather, lots of recycled materials.

[@MIA-ow2js]

Hey. I'm the same height as you and I always struggle with thigh support in cars. How did you find the depth of the seats? I'm not overly keen on the brands that offer extendable thigh support unfortunately. Thanks.

[@paulwardzynski3265]

Tim, good stuff as usual. Don't you think we are all getting a tad used to saying that a £47k car is seen as good value for money. Go back a couple of years, pre mainstream manufacturers making electric cars, and see what you ICE car you could get for circa £47k - it would probably be something highly desirable from a more premium manufacturer?

[@thatpeskyswan]

Electric cars are a certified rip off, with depreciation and battery degredation they're not worth the paper they're written on in all honestly, too many times we've had customer go buy electric cars only to be extremely disappointed with range/mileage/features/performance n after 3 years they're not even getting 50% of the cars value back, one customer lent a renault zoey on a 4 year lease, guess what? the battery died after 3.3 years (just out of warranty) & renault refused to give any kind of compensation & it wasn't covered under lease terms so it cost them 6k for a new battery and then when they gave the car back they were only to be told the car was worth 5.5k if they wanted to buy it outright, bare in mind they were paying for a 30k+ lease agreement in the first place....! we've had 2 other customers scrap their renault zoey and nissan leaf for the same reasons; very expensive repairs, electric cars also eat wheel bearings/tyres/brakes etc. like no tomorrow (seen it on tesla model 3, model Y, model S & renault megane , reanult zoey, nissan leaf, nissan qashqai e power, golf E, E-up! etc.) so many times. buy a good quality ICE car preferably petrol, petrol hybrid or diesel Euro 1-5 (f*ck adblue) and stay away from these. the shiny plastic and electric gimmick won't last long and they're not selling well either. electric cars' also aren't cheap to xharge either; you have to go on a waiting list to see if you can either get a home charger installed which takes up 2 6 months, you may not even get accepted if the national grid think's itll put to much strain on ur local area and if u want to use a public charger well 1kw can be anywhere from 20-30p to over £1 per kwh, just think a 100kwh battery could cost u up 2 £100 to charge and for what, 200 miles range? 300 mile range? (maybe , if its really warm and u don't need a heat pump but wait you want ac on? say good bye to even more range.) electric cars are a complete piss up that's been greenwashed & glorified.

[@juxty3102]

Greedflation?

[@drfisheye]

@@thatpeskyswan you can't even spell Zoe. The Zoe battery has an 8 year warranty, so no, it wasn't out of warranty after three years. The average depreciation of new cars is about 50% after three years, so that's completely normal. I installed my own home charger in a few hours, no waiting list. And if you can charge over night you don't need a beefy connection.

[@ChazWyvern]

​@@thatpeskyswanWhat a load of bollocks

[@fraz_the_mediocre]

​@@thatpeskyswan Nice work of fiction you have there. I've got a 4 year old Zoe, and it comes with a 5 year general warranty and an 8 year battery warranty. I also have a petrol car, which I basically no-longer use because driving an electric car is just so much nicer in every respect. You should try it one day, assuming you aren't a bot that just spews out anti-EV fiction onto all car reviews.

[@zynan]

Hello from Australia! I'm a first-time viewer of your channel and am waiting for the Scenic to arrive in Australia. Great review, great humour, interesting sidenotes along the way. More fun than your average KZbinr. Nice work!

[@matthamblett5479]

Great review! Got a iconic ordered and picking it up Friday, I agree it is expensive for most people but if you can afford it like I can it’s a great car

[@BiteSizeWoW]

Speaker system by Car-man Hardon? did you get excited in this review good sir? Also a gamer with the deus ex reference, kudos. Great review

[@DontPanicDear]

Looks good and a very creditable 9/10 😮 Getting rid of engines isn’t a bad thing for Renault (aside from the RS models I guess) Looking forward to your review of the new R5 🤓 You nearly turned Cornish at your vineyard 😮

[@ISuperTed]

Just saw one of these at a petrol station (yes I know - the irony!). Looked great to me. Expensive in high trims but the base version is pretty competitive.

[@ronchaloner]

Just got one of these last Sunday and i'm impressed! Beats my 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan R-Line hands down! Smoother drive, better suspension and more comfortable all round. And i was always anti EV.

[@robfarnes]

Good review. Interesting car. Geography teacher in French is professeur de géographie. Happy days. My order is due in February.

[@lesthedog]

The thing that bugged me with the Megane (and it looks exactly the same here on the Scenic) was that the fancy fabric dashboard reflects in the windscreen so you end up looking 'through' it. It wasn't a deal breaker, but it was my number 1 gripe. Darker fabric would sort this. Nobody seems to mention this in the reviews though. 🤷‍♂️

[@simonstock2526]

I’ve been driving a Mégane for 6 months and have never noticed this

[@Swo_Olley_63]

Dash mat will solve this issue.

[@jib1838]

I feel personally attacked. Almost. I'm sitting here on a shitty sunday eating a very meaty Domino's and drinking slightly flat coke with crying myself to sleep as part of my plan later on...

[@TimRodieDrivesStuff]

We've all been there. Hope you're ok and got the stuffed crust x

[@ALf-mn3qe]

Hahahahahahahahah You can't be more English, I had a good laugh on a shitty Sunday. Greetings from Spain

[@mrmarrow8918]

Great review Tim, and funny 🤣

[@patrickmaloney6440]

I have one on order - base Techno LR model (in red though, so it's faster), and I'm really looking forward to getting rid of my horrendous Merc A180d when the Scenic arrives. Nice review - have subscribed :)

[@TimRodieDrivesStuff]

Thank you! Enjoy it when it comes - and red is faster but a bit less efficient ;)

[@albertlira7443]

Love the interior materials. The looks are pretty nice on it if it's a bit pricey. But, i love that Citroen DS in the video. Quirky and French. Professeur de geographie dash looks great.

[@fragu123]

06:09 ...who supplies the speaker system? Karman Hardon...? 🤔 😂 I always thought it was Harman Kardon.... but hey, what do I know....🤓 Great review btw.

[@derry2210]

With being just over the £40,000 price point it going to fall into the UK luxury car band for road tax, this will add a couple of grand to the price

[@ISuperTed]

Expect prices to drop magically for some trims in March - this used to happen all the time with ICE cars when tax brackets were different.

[@bazurful]

14:58 in the techno version, you have to buy wheels! Well Tim, that takes the cake, where cars come without wheels if you don't order to big package! how dare they! Almost forgot the "professeur d'histoire". And for those wondering about this comment, yes it is slightly exaggerated.

[@mdshovel]

I have had one of these for over 4 weeks now. You can change the dash to put the speed clearly in the centre. It is not full OPD - but that is supposed to be coming in an update. It is an excellent car, more than adequate and above average in most areas. Normal driving I am getting over 4 milesperKwh which is almost double what I had in my previous Volvo XC40 EV.

[@ipb1966]

Great review - Scenic is on my shortlist. But you didn’t mention the cheap, huge ‘key’ with no option of using Digital Key like Hyundai, Kia,BMW have.

[@xFODDERx]

Test drove, and now have Alpine edition on order, great savings on carwow

[@mrm5183]

I pick up mine next week the Espirit Alpine version in matte grey. These are awesome cars I test drove almost all the EVs I this class, narrowed it down to this one and Peugeot E3008 and settled on the Renault. With regards to the speed not being visible I can’t remember that being a problem during test drive but I believe you can get the speedometer on the portrait infotainment screen to the left

[@SuperJJParker]

Speed was visible when I test drove it

[@mrm5183]

@@SuperJJParker it is for me too. Iv had mine for 4 days

[@SuperJJParker]

@@mrm5183 I'm going to be ordering one soon. Beautiful car.

[@mrm5183]

@@SuperJJParker definitely recommended. Can’t fault it so far

[@madse9356]

I tried this today and the new Ford Explorer yesterday. In the driver’s seat I felt really confined. And with 3 steering wheel controllers, I think the design is a bit messy. I couldn’t see the volume controls at all. The low fps in the rear view mirror was distracting. It can’t be more than 25 fps.The google ui wasn’t working wonders for me as well. Overall I’m more convinced the Explorer is the EV I would choose.

[@paulbrown7560]

Nice Citroen DS in front as you started off!

[@jfsecchi]

That Citroen DS parked next to the Scenic !! 😮 Is it yours?

[@brianiswrong]

You would think while designing a new car, a few designers would set the ability for drivers of every feasable shape and build (assuming they fir in the seat they asl designed) would have an unobstructed veiw of the speedo. May a HUD would have been a " cheap" solution for the top of the range model.

[@hughmarcus1]

What it’s got going for it is that it’s not got some of those daft over designed bits around the rear that seems to plague a lot of EVs. I suppose the question is whether it’s actually a Renault under the nice design (bits falling off after a few years & the back brakes seized up 😩)

[@ASTMA193]

Great video, thank you.

[@GR34456]

I test drove the Alpine version of this car . It is a nice car to drive, but I found the seats a little uncomfortable. I ended up getting the Enyag.

[@garnray8568]

47k for that car is okay. Those who trash talk it just based on the price : go take the bus. You won't get a very decent car for 20k. That is just not happening in 2024. Take the bus if you can't afford it.

[@bordersw1239]

Or just wait when it’s 18 months old and sells for £24k.

[@dandylion1987]

@@bordersw1239 Or, buy a used diesel and have a better car.

[@zeymaz8620]

Le bus ? . . Mais pour 30k je peux aussi rouler. . Même neuf. . Même d'occasion

[@newbeginnings8566]

There are many reasons why people won't buy this and the price is just one reason..

[@garnray8568]

@@newbeginnings8566 it's a superb car. You just don't like that it's a French brand.

[@SparkySven]

Very good review. I did +25k km in the Megane E-Tech Iconic (was my former company car and loved it so much) and this Scenic is the same but bigger & more range. The speed is in de middle and perfectly in vision so I hope with Android Automotive OS upgrade to version 12 is will be also. In the Megane you can change the way the center screen is setup, is there no mode that makes the speed be better? :-) If I ever get my own EV this Scenic or Megane will be om my number 1 spot 4 sure.

[@andrewluckett2494]

Professeur de géographie😁

[@TimRodieDrivesStuff]

Tres bien!

[@kirillpetrovsky5830]

Haribo and Doom in one sentence - that's how you know a quality reviewer. And yes, 2016 version is the best one :)

[@TimRodieDrivesStuff]

Haha, I’m just playing the new Doom + Doom 2 repackaged thing. Super shotgun from Doom 2 is the best shotgun in any game

[@garethnoble11]

excellent video

[@Randhyll_Cho]

Does not everything in the UK cost a million units of money? People whinging about the price of this thing are confusing me. Everything here costs one million units of money, so something specced like this is shockingly well priced. Also, I'm glad car makers are moving away from leather everything. Interiors just look more interesting these days. Now we just have to convince them that we want the same total volume of wheel and tire, but with smaller wheels and fluffier tires on our family cruisers. 6.6 review units out of 7 for this review.

[@TimRodieDrivesStuff]

Thank you for the positive unit count. I agree on the cost of everything costing £££units.

[@johnmckinlay9538]

Is this the Renault that has a port hole for a fire hose to fit in - just in case of a battery fire?

[@XavierEtech-eq7vj]

Megane etech has a port hole that allow firefighters to flood the battery pack. This Scenic is based on the same plateform « ampere medium » then I guess there is the same thing on it.

[@Bro4dcast]

Its 4,470 and the megan is 4,2 - how do you get 10cm diff?

[@SnowDrift-bh7wb]

"Yes, you're not going to get 370 miles real world range, but I think 260, 270..." - that's quite a difference, innit?

[@TimRodieDrivesStuff]

Yes, hence me pointing it out! That was at motorway speeds if I remember correctly

[@robsmith6461]

Tim. Just listen to yourself! £47k for top a top spec car God knows how much on a monthly basis. Who is buying these cars apart from companies. Im earning nearly £100k, no kids, and am looking at around £20-25k budget and second hand.!

[@matthewtyler-jones8317]

Yeah you have to get these through your company. The tax efficiencies there doubled my budget.

[@yeahyeahblah]

I'm getting mine through salary sacrifice due to the 2% (eventually going up to like 5%) Benefit in Kind. The top spec car on a four year lease 10,000 miles / year, myself and two other insured drivers, roadside assistance and fully comp insurance comes out around £415 / month going up to around £435 / month at the top Benefit in Kind %.

[@yeahyeahblah]

@@robsmith6461 If you're looking second hand go with a Kia E-niro. They are from £10k - £20k depending on age, spec and mileage. There's one at a Kia showroom near me with 3 years manufacturers warranty remaining for about £17k.

[@pablogodi1392]

you earn 100k and can't buy that car? 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@SuperJJParker]

I earn 57k and I can afford the Scenic. You must be overspending on lots of other things.

[@gregj7916]

40/20/40 rear split.. that's good.

[@stoicapetruliviu8840]

Who needs 3 leavers on the right side of the wheel? And one in the left side?

[@TimRodieDrivesStuff]

Renault does... it's a lot. I don't like their radio control stalk which they've had for donkey's years

[@DontPanicDear]

@@TimRodieDrivesStuff I remember that stereo stalk from the Renault 25 and Espace. Back in the Pre-Tim early/mid 80’s 😮

[@lesthedog]

I drove a Megane with the same. I knocked the windscreen wipers the first couple of times, but after a while you train yourself not to. The radio stalk is definitelya bit 1990s though. 😂

[@stoicapetruliviu8840]

@@lesthedog Scenic "Back to the Past Edition"

[@rogerfinch7651]

Ah Denbies and Dorking 👋 nice

[@TimRodieDrivesStuff]

My favourite part of the world (when it's not raining)

[@davidvestey6014]

I think you said the basic model just misses things like wheels…🤔 No one pedal driving is the deal breaker though, hats the point of an awful without one of the best bits about an EV. You didn’t mention that though…

[@Dean-does-Stuff-81]

cars are just too expensive for what we need them for. I am starting to look around for my next car, and my 2013 skoda fabia 1.2 tsi (chipped) estate, will be hard to beat. I paid 8 grand for it when it was 1 years old... what can I get for 8 grand these days.... not a 1 year old car, that's for sure.

[@eamoneejit]

Totally agree. In 2014 we’d had low inflation for a while, but not recently. £8000 then is now £10,710.68, according to the Bank of England. However new car prices seem to have gone up much more than general inflation, and with the discontinuation of models and variants reducing choice, good luck buying an equivalent Skoda for under £13000. I bought a 3 year old Golf in 2016 for £11,500 but there’s nothing like that now, even inflation adjusted.

[@Dean-does-Stuff-81]

@@eamoneejit It is even worse here in the Netherlands where I live now.. They have a luxury goods tax on cars. This can be 30 percent of the value. So a 18,000 pound car in the uk is probably more like 28,000 euros here...

[@eamoneejit]

@@Dean-does-Stuff-81 We have a form of luxury tax in the form of extra VED on new cars over £40,000 which includes this Scenic but also other ordinary stuff like Astras, which shows how bonkers their prices are. Not as high as 30% though. I’ve seen other comments from Netherlands saying classic cars are taxed heavily there too.

[@yauyh88]

The price is very high, the electronics display also looks rather outdated and the specs are pretty low for the price.

[@temporaryone1]

9:30 possible to fit and adult between the two child seats? Guessing no.

[@timrodierides]

Not really unless you’re super skinny!

[@gorfonibla1060]

£47k for a Renault Scenic? When did motoring journalists decide that was an acceptable price for this type of car?

[@garnray8568]

dude, for what car offers, 47k is more than acceptable. Go check Audi or BMW prices and come back. If you think you are still going to get a superb car, that offers all that Scenic2024 offers, for just 20k, you are completely wrong. This is 2024, not 1990.

[@bordersw1239]

@@garnray8568.its £20k more than an Octavia estate. How much do you think it will be worth in 5 years time compared to the Skoda?

[@ridehead8771]

Lol it's not 2005 anymore wake up

[@gorfonibla1060]

@@bordersw1239 my point exactly. Plus it’s an EV, so it’s value will bomb in 12 months. Buy a nearly new one for £22k soon.

[@xFODDERx]

​@bordersw1239 1) £21k for a base price octavia, £47k for top of the range Scenic, base scenic is £36k with some respectable comfort levels which you don't even start to get until a £30k octavia. 2) cost per mile, 70p charge at home gets you 40miles, this costs £7 in the octavia. At 40k miles this is £7000 vs £700

[@Isomoar]

Do car companies make cars that are not SUVs anymore? 😅

[@TimRodieDrivesStuff]

Sadly quite few

[@RoscoeColtrane]

I do like this SUV's cockpit design, even if the buttons are few.

[@V_Dubya]

Is that your Citroen DS Tim?

[@TimRodieDrivesStuff]

I wish!

[@philipcrossley1279]

You don't think £47k is too bad. I do. But then I think almost all EVs are far too expensive. And most ICE cars are unnecessarily costly too. It's undeniably a very good car in most respects though. It's not what I would immediately have said is a Scenic. It's another SUV and not a mini MPV, so if you think the new Ford "Capri" is actually a Capri in anything other than name, you will be happy to call this a Scenic. Should be called a "Megane+" or something. All that said, I'll be front of the queue if they ever start giving them away!😂

[@NigelRudyard]

Nice, but ...... motoring journalists seem blind to the price inflation that have driven (no pun intended) most of us out of the new car market.....

[@TimRodieDrivesStuff]

I'm not blind to it - everything's got more expensive. I can't get a McDonald's hash brown for less than £1 anymore (£1.50!). Everything's got more expensive. I do say this in most of most of my videos but it gets boring after a while.

[@NigelRudyard]

@@TimRodieDrivesStuff Fair enough, Tim, but these cars are not high end exotica, and even those of us who are solvent can't afford them. The industry is heading for a fall.

[@Cyberdyne-kg8ku]

Shame you can't have smaller wheels and bigger battery. The economy would definitely be nearer Renault's claims

[@davidbovine]

You can, well if you class the 19 inch wheels on the Techno version as small. Claimed range on that is 379 miles.

[@nyc863]

hmm carwow seems to dislike this car almost as much as Tim likes it

[@matthewtyler-jones8317]

Nothing wrong with the Dashboard speedo position. You are just too tall!😂 thats said it’s one of the reasons I have gone for the Škoda, optioned and the HUD

[@JR-fw2jo]

Who would buy this for £47k? Only a company car buyer taking advantage of tax breaks. And even then only when the lease gets below £400/month which equals £14400 for 36 months so this is worth less than £30k even to them

[@newbeginnings8566]

Once again people have to accept figures that are unrealistic in everyday driving... Go slower, turn the air con off etc.... All this for £47 000..... At £20 000 it would find buyers who would accept the range deficiency.. At £47 000 people are more demanding..

[@Avatar1946]

Looks good.

[@stoicapetruliviu8840]

The only valid opinion regarding french care. Omg those rims. 😮 Designer didn't played NFS Underground😅

[@Avatar1946]

@@stoicapetruliviu8840 The don't look so bad at 70 mph.

[@stoicapetruliviu8840]

@@Avatar1946 😂😂😂 you're sure ?😶‍🌫️

[@blackpool321]

Ooh la la !

[@stevechard3860]

Great looking car, but come on 47k you're having a laff rite 🙁

[@Swo_Olley_63]

Not a bad looking car however no HUD it’s not for me.

[@stiglinneberg751]

The smaller Megane looks way better

[@contra_plano]

But it lacks in small details

[@blackpool321]

Citroen DS in front of you ...

[@TimRodieDrivesStuff]

I was hoping people would spot that!

[@RoscoeColtrane]

Je recherche agressivement une vache derrière la clôture.

[@pepegalego]

I think they have a problem; Too expensive.

[@dalewood7047]

It's like Renault and all other manufacturers don't live on this planet if they think 47 thousand pounds is an acceptable price for a car

[@mrb4408]

47 grand for a bloody Renault SUV. NOOOOOO thanks.

[@shuttayerface503]

To many red smarties? Slow down and relax a bit

[@TimRodieDrivesStuff]

Nope

[@purpleotter10]

Nah

[@skegvegas3887]

You asked so.. those wheels are merde.

[@thesecretone7102]

Kia for me

[@bojankis5999]

I dont get it. Did all france cars are now ev? That is so stupid. Not only that most of the buyers dont have where to charge ev cars every day, but ev-s are less and less desirable. Such a miss in future planing for France car companies. Thay destroy all there legendary models. Scenic it one of tham.

[@gerryheery1388]

I'm glad you answered your own question . you don't get it

[@NotCommanderShepard]

It's a Renault, so no. It didn't.

[@TimRodieDrivesStuff]

Should I review the Normandy?

[@NotCommanderShepard]

@@TimRodieDrivesStuff Are you hitting on me??

[@RoscoeColtrane]

@@TimRodieDrivesStuff Perhaps in Normandy with a basket of baguettes in the boot.

[@jpmalopes]

Another boring EV car advertised as a wonder of technology and spectacular range. When people will stop to advertise these cars as if they were wonders of technology and a step up over conventional ICE vehicles? They're simply not. They are normal cars, with a less convenient power source. That's it. They are expensive, make you live for the car instead of the opposite and if you dare to buy it ( instead of renting) you will simply buy a clock bomb that'll explode in a pair of years because of the depreciation. NOBODY buys a used electric car simply because the buyers with money already have one (new) and the remaining people live in apartments and cannot charge them.