When off-road vehicles were still called Jeeps and sports cars Porsche, so the world seemed a bit more sorted, a certain Chrysler Voyager set out to conquer families in North America. And the Renault Espace the ones in Europe. The minivan generation was born, in the case of the French in 1984 a rectangular hut of mobile simplicity, inside around the six seats as empty as the state budget, so that all the school bags and footballs and backpacks could simply be thrown in. Renault has already mastered the ingenious reduction to the essentials in the R4, in the first Twingo, also in the first Kangoo. For the edition of the sixth generation, one could have hoped for a minibus, from the idea about the same as VW tries to establish the T7.

Holger Appel

Editor in business, responsible for "Technology and Motor".

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Renault, however, soberly introduces figures. In the relevant segment D, 53 percent of customers currently opt for an SUV, while only four percent choose what is called monospace in French. And so the new Espace becomes an SUV. There remains nothing but the name. In terms of talent, a larger Austral is created, which still struggles a little with its popularity, but drives more accessible in the region of the VW Tiguan than would be expected at first glance. That's why the Espace can be granted a similarly pleasant appearance on the road, Renault initially showed it statically.

More compact, lighter, more comfortable

The new Espace, which is planned for spring 2024, is 4.72 metres long and thus noticeably more compact and lighter than its predecessor. In the back row, fellow passengers sat uncomfortably, which will be better in the future. There are up to seven seats, with the rearmost two narrow places of dark existence for the short haul. The family remains as usual in view, they can move the back seat by 20 centimeters and thus create space for suitcases or feet, up to 1800 liters of luggage should fit over the high-looking loading sill.

A three-cylinder petrol engine is used as the drive, diesel is no longer available. The turbo engine has a displacement of 1.2 litres, which are key figures that throw us back to the time of the R4. Here, however, two electric motors rush to the rescue, a powerful main unit and a gentle starter generator. In the ensemble, they conjure up 199 hp system power, which are used for a top speed of 175 km/h. The standard consumption is 4.7 liters, which will be hard to achieve.

Of course, the full hybrid allows short distances of electric driving, in the city probably even some of them, and it also appeals to those who do not have a charging facility at home, because he does not need one. The designers have dispensed with all-wheel drive, but for the purpose of better juggling in the urban jungle, an all-wheel steering including multi-link axle is available on board, which steers at 5 degrees at the rear and thus shrinks the turning circle to compact car level.

Up to date and the zeitgeist

Inside, the new Espace looks like all Renaults these days, solid, without surprises. The powerful centre console offers plenty of storage options, but installs the driver and front passenger. The steering wheel, overloaded with control satellites, takes some getting used to, the real head-up display is just as pleasing as the large panoramic glass roof.

Friends of the Espace, who have read so far, maybe sit down and let the new concept work its magic on them. He disappears into the crowd, has become remarkably arbitrary in appearance and certainly not an outburst of pleasure from head of design Laurens van den Acker. But at the height of time and the zeitgeist. If you ask where the character actors are, company boss Fabrice Cambolive says: "We build cars that we can sell." The pragmatism is understandable in view of the near-bankruptcy that Renault faced not so long ago. But does he carry a smile into the future? As a consolation and fortunately for the car fan, there will soon be the reinterpretations of R5 and R4, prepared in a modern way, yes, but with a sober balance sheet charmingly opposing DNA of the gendarme of St. Tropez.