Remember the age before SUVs were considered family essentials? The age when airy, elegant, space efficient design using lightweight materials was considered more appropriate than implied off-road machismo and armoured vehicle protectionism?
Zut, just put the big wheels on it Henri
Renault no doubt does, having done rather well off the back of generations of Espaces and Megane Scenics before the world went crossover crazy and decided elevated ride heights and 21-inch wheels were more important than interior space or practicality. And Renault responded with the Scenic RX4. With a shrug and concession that it needs to follow fashion rather than try and lead it it's seemingly reinvented that car - thankfully without the boot-mounted spare - as the new Espace, launching next week at the Paris show.
It promises us "like previous generations of the model in the course of its 30-year long career, a brightly-lit, comfortable and modular interior are the cornerstones of the new Espace which will also appeal thanks to fluid lines, as well as to its occupant-friendly cabin and floating centre console." Just with bigger wheels and more ground clearance.
As previously seen as the Initiale Paris concept
The production version of the Initiale Paris concept that was unveiled last year in ... Frankfurt, the new Espace marks the return of La Grande Renault to the motoring landscape. Does such a car stand a chance in a world dominated by ever more powerfully built SUVs? We wish them luck.
Back in its comfort zone Renault is also going to be showing a rather smart looking B-segment EOLAB concept, but has chosen to announce it with a 13,375-word press release that, frankly, lost us after the first few hundred words. Which is a shame because it sounds like a rather interesting and relevant attempt to slash weight and improve efficiency in the kind of Clio-sized cars Renault continues to sell in decent numbers.
EOLAB looks rather smart, promises much
It's more of a concept than the similarly pitched
Peugeot 208 Hybrid FE
that we drove last year but follows a similar path of weight saving, aerodynamics and electric assistance albeit taken to greater extremes. In this instance that equates to the mythical 1l/100km (282mpg) fuel consumption figure, a kerbweight 400kg less than a regular Clio, a combination of a 1.0-litre petrol engine and electric power and a host of exotic materials like magnesium and titanium in its construction. How will it achieve all that for the price of a regular supermini? Not sure but think of it as Renault's attempt at bringing some of the
VW XL1's lightweight eco tech
to a more everyday level, just without the £100K pricetag. It apparently "previews a feasible B-segment car for within the next decade" which sounds ambitious but, from a skim read of the epic press release, rather interesting.
Anyone willing to invest the time in reading it and digesting it for the good of all PHers is most welcome to give it a go - see here. Failing that we'll see if we can get someone at Renault to summarise it in 30 seconds on the show stand at Paris and report back.