Renault has unveiled the latest generation Espace globally in its new avatar as a three-row SUV. The Espace was first introduced in 1984 as a Minivan and went on to gain worldly acclaim eventually becoming one of Renault’s most successful models. The car maintained its body style till the last generation, but it’s life as an MPV seems to have ended as the current generation has been reinvented as an SUV that shares many parts with the Renault Austral.
The Espace shares many of its exterior features with the Austral
Visually, the new Espace looks like an elongated version of Renault’s crossover SUV, the Austral. The MPV is 14 cm shorter than its predecessor. While this may seem like a turn-off to some, the new car is a whopping 215 kilograms lighter as well. The Espace comes with LED matrix vision adaptive lighting that monitors the traffic and weather and changes the car’s lighting accordingly. The car is available in both 5-seater and 7-seater versions and comes with a massive panoramic glass roof as an option.
Inside, the car features a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12-inch touchscreen
On the inside, the car comes with a OpenR link multimedia system that consists of a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12-inch touchscreen along with featuring a 9-inch heads up display as an option. The system gets MyRenault and Google connected services and has 39 onboard apps. The front seats are heated and come with an inbuilt massaging function while the second row can be reclined to 31 degrees. Another feature the car comes with is a 12-speaker sound system by Harman Kardon.
The car comes with MyRenault and Google connected services and has 39 onboard apps
Unlike its predecessor the MPV is only available with a fully-hybrid powertrain that combines a 1.3 litre turbocharged petrol engine with a pair of electric motors. The hybrid unit is called the hybrid E-tech drivetrain and makes 197 bhp and 205 Nm of torque giving the car a very reasonable 0 to 100 kmph time of 8.8 secs. The manufacturer claims that the car will be available with a range of 1100 km. The car comes with rear-wheel steering that inclines the rear wheels by 5 degrees while manoeuvring. The car’s rear tyres will also pivot 1 degrees at speeds above 50 kmph to improve stability for the driver. Among other features, the car also comes with active driver assist along with blind spot and lane departure warning.
Renault will start taking orders for the car from spring 2023
Prices for the Espace are yet to be announced and Renault has stated that it will start taking orders for the car from spring 2023. While the unveil of the car was announced in Renault India’s Instagram page, the manufacturer has given no confirmation of its launch and it is unlikely that the car will make it to the Indian markets.
