• Huge array of standard kit
• More available for extra cash

As reflected by its recently garnered five-star Euro NCAP crash test rating, the Scenic lacks for nothing in the fields of safety and driver assistance, boasting more acronyms than you can shake a stick at.

On all Renault Scenics

Grouped under the title Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), they include Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC); the Active Emergency Braking System (AEBS) – which operates at speeds of between 5 and 100mph; Lane Departure Warning (LDW) – a tactile, helm-vibrating alert rather than audible; Safe Distance Warning (SDW); Traffic Sign Recognition with Over Speed Prevention (TSR with OSP); Blind Spot Warning (BSW); a reversing camera; auto-dipping headlamps; front, rear and side parking sensors; and Easy Park Assist – hands-free parking.

In addition to this already comprehensive range of safety features, the new Scenic further adds three new functions:

• Unique to the segment, the Active Emergency Braking System (AEBS) incorporates Pedestrian Detection. Operating between speeds of 4 and 37mph, the system alerts the driver to the risk of a collision between car and pedestrian, automatically bringing the car to a full stop should warnings fail to trigger a response from the driver
• Lane Keeping Assist, which is active between 44 and 100mph, automatically assumes control of the steering should the driver inadvertently drift across a lane

Fatigue Alert, which uses a Bosch-developed algorithm to monitor the vehicle’s path, issuing both visual and audible warnings should driver fatigue be suspected

The rear seating is not as MPV-flexible as that found in the outgoing model. No longer fully removable, the sliding seats are now split just 60:40 instead of into three, making it harder to accommodate the shoulders of three adults without simultaneous reminiscing on life in the front row of a rugby scrum.

Offering merely adequate legroom which falls slightly below the class leaders, the seats feel somewhat upright and compact for long-haul adult occupancy. They may be lowered at the touch of a boot wall-mounted button, or via one of the multimedia system’s endless menus, to give a flat floor. Loadspace is bigger than before and – at 572 litres – claimed to be class-leading.

There’s bags of storage everywhere, including the floor bins from Scenics of yore, a sliding centre console -which can either mate with the base of the dashboard console, or slide aft to separate warring offspring – and a glovebox that opens like a sprung filing cabinet drawer. Small tables fold from front seat backs, and are attended by a mysterious elastic sling like a catapult, which children will ping relentlessly against the seatback until the parent in front is entirely furious.