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No matter how good the Renault executives are, the sixth generation starting now has little in common with the practical Espace pickup trucks of the first four generations. In the past, you could convert the practical van from a seven-seater to a two-seater, rotate the rear seats and stack up to four mountain bikes in just a few simple steps – all this is no longer possible with the latest technology. Escape.
The reason is simple: the new Espace is no longer a minivan, it’s an SUV. Simply put, it’s a slightly longer Renault Austral with which it shares the platform and technology. However, the new Espace still lives up to its name (the room). Despite being 14 centimeters shorter in body (4.72 m), the new Espace offers more passenger space than its fifth-generation predecessor, making it easier to handle.
There is a lot of second place
Above all, passengers in the second row of seats benefit from a comfortable space. As a small reminder of the earlier Espace, the rear seat can be moved lengthwise by 26 centimeters and the backrests can be adjusted 30 degrees. With up to 32 centimeters of legroom, you’ll feel like a first-class passenger even in the second row in the Espace – especially when you use the empty middle seat as a practical center armrest with integrated cup holders.
The new Espace is available as a five-seater or, for the same price, a seven-seater with two additional, retractable jump seats. But trunk volume then drops to 159 liters (maximum 1714 liters with the seats folded, 1818 liters for the five-seater), and the loadspace is relatively high. Also, the two seats in the third row are hard to reach and can only be expected from children for long journeys. Still: without a surcharge, this is probably a practical option for many customers.
Only one driver variant
As a downsizing measure and to ensure the best possible CO₂ balance, the Espace is only available with one drive variant. Three-cylinder petrol engine with a volume of 1.2 liters (which already defines downsizing). That’s because the small unit delivers 131 hp, which isn’t much for a large-capacity SUV like the Espace, which weighs around 1700 kilograms (215 kilograms less than its predecessor). That’s why the small petrol engine is powered by a hybrid module, which is also used in the Renault Arkana, for example. But for the larger Espace, there are two more powerful electric motors. The main electric motor contributes 68 hp (50 kW) to the propulsion, while the starter generator contributes 25 hp (18 kW). In total, this results in a system output of 199 hp and a maximum torque of 230 Nm (0-100 km/h, 8.8 h, 174 km/h top).
The trio of engines uses a similar principle to the drive system of Alpine F1 cars. The central interface to the drivetrain is the DogBox transmission, which is similar in characteristics to a CVT automatic transmission. The relatively powerful starter generator always offers the ideal speed to compensate for the lack of synchronization. According to Renault, the transmission offers 15 gear combinations, including neutral, and must always respond correctly to the relevant driving situation. It must have, because during our test drive the transmission didn’t always seem sure of the ideal state – and it was up and down for the most part arbitrarily and incomprehensibly to us.
Drive with electricity as often as possible
With only two kilowatt hours (net 1.7 kWh) the battery isn’t an energy storage beast, so it’s a matter of driving as often as possible and not all-electric as much as possible. This is also the goal of ongoing improvements to the drivetrain. And indeed: even at 120 km/h on the motorway and on the winding country roads around Porto, surprisingly we were on the road all-electric for the most part with the combustion engine disconnected. However, we could not achieve the 4.9 lt/100 km consumption promised by Renault. However, we still find around six liters, which we find difficult for a seven-seater with rear-axle steering.
Up to 10,000 CHF cheaper
The prices of the new Espace are also great. The basic Techno version, which will be released at the end of the summer, is about 5,000 francs cheaper than the previous comparable model, which was 44,300 francs. And with CHF 49,100, the new top model Ionic is almost CHF 10,000 cheaper than the previous Espace top model. This is an announcement, especially since there are no less than 32 help systems. Not only is the 4×4 available for the Espace, but to the great sadness of Renault Switzerland boss Claudia Meyer. Still, he hopes the new SUV will revive recently stagnant Espace sales in Switzerland.
Source: Blick
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
