Renault Scenic II 1.9 dCi

The decision?
============
I made the final decision to go for this car after developing back problems in pregnancy and then having trouble lifting the children in and out of our Mondeo (which I loved!). Thus making a higher up car seem like a good idea.

At first I wasn't convinced when my husband suggest the Scenic. His other suggestions were Zafira and C8. So when I saw them I instantly chose the Scenic! I am not really into 7 seaters and school runs yet as my babies are still under 3!

I preferred the Scenic as it looked much less boxlike than the others and is actually only 5 seats but still has the same flexibility as other MPVs.

Child Safety
==========
I was pleased to see that the front airbag can be easily turned on and off so that a child seat can go in the front and it even has an ISOFIX fitting in the front as well as two in the back.

Three child seats can fit in the back which is a huge bonus when going out with any friends. The zafira etc are all supposed to be 7 seaters but I tried to sit in the middle seat of the second row and was very squashed!! The Scenic really has tons of room in the back and it is a very comfortable ride in the back even with 3 people. I have often sat in the back between my two enormous child seats and I am not squashed at all.

There is a 'childminder' mirror so that you can check the kids in the back without turning round or having to move the rearview mirror.

My children love the car as they get a good view out of the large rear windows. There are pull up sun blinds on the rear window and you can still open the windows when they are up!

Luggage Space and Storage
=======================
The boot was a bit smaller than I had hoped, it seemed tiny compared to our Mondeo but there is so much room inside the car that this hasn't been a problem at all. There are underfloor compartments for the front driver and passenger and also two in front of the back seats.

There is another storage compartment in the boot which is very handy. The glove compartment is huge too!

All the seats have drawers underneath.

There is an automatic handbrake so where normally you have the manual lever there is just lots of space and it makes a big difference in the middle of the back seats as there is no big hump in the middle of the car to fit your legs round!

MPV
====
In the back are three individual seats which all independently slide forward a few inches for a bit of extra room in the boot. They all fold forwards easily and they are all easily removed. The seats can be repositioned so that there are only two seats in the back instead of three

The front passenger seat also folds forwards

Fuel consumption
===============
We are getting about 45 mpg around locally and it goes up a bit on longer journeys.

Features
===========
6 gears
automatic handbrake
start/stop button
Aircraft style tables fitted to back of the front seats
foot lockers
drawers under the seats
3 ISOFIX fixings
3 point seatbelts for all seats
Keyless car
Remote central locking
Height adjustable drivers seat

Bad Points
=========
There are not really any that I can think of, only that it makes me feel very 'mumsy' But that is a pathetic thing to say as I am a mum!!

** Please note we got this car from a car supermarket not a main dealer so can't comment on Renault customer service.