Renault Scenic Bose: Turn Up The Volume

6 September 2017 Redazione News, Tested

RENAULT SCENIC BOSE

TURN UP THE VOLUME

Words: Carlo Brema

Photography: Gian Romero

I’m old fashioned, I got rock ‘n roll in my veins – when as a child I was crying, my parents raised the volume and Led Zeppelin’s notes calmed me down. The passion for rock, the real one, has never gone away, even if the whole days spent in the studio playing my Fender had to leave room for work, I do not feel happy if my ears do not receive a daily dose of decibels necessary to say “even today, has gone”. The new Renault Scénic arriving in test at our office is the one equipped with the Bose audio system, excellent signature in the hi-fi panorama – as is logical that it is, I did not run away from the opportunity to connect my iPad to its USB socket and test firsthand the sound of the new French MPV.

Before talking about the quality of the sound system, however, I appreciated the work done by the Transalpine designers, where the decided but still soft lines chase each other by creating a really successful silhouette, accomplices the large glass surfaces and the big 20 inches wheels, an absolute surprise on a car of this segment. What’s interesting about the wheels, which in most cases are a key detail that improves or worsens the general appearance of a car, is the fact that they’re generous rims in fact with a large diameter, but nevertheless they’re not fitted on equally bulky tires, which instead give space to a set of 195/55, to the benefit of maintenance of the weights and replacement costs. Look at it sideways and you will notice that everything follows a precise fluidity because the high front lines go well with those at the back and that the promised interior space of important dimensions is nothing more than confirmed when you get on board. Just the cabin, familiar to every other model of the brand, offers endless storage compartments, a huge glove box, a raised and tilted manual gearbox lever and a perfect view of what’s around. The load compartment is also abundant and the space for rear occupants is no less, if you are looking for a spacious car you do not need to look elsewhere. The engine of the model driven, a 1.5 turbodiesel has 110hp and is rather elastic, although it does not have sporty ambition or suspension, but the Scénic makes what it supposed to do, milling miles, offering great comfort (thanks to leather seats ), it’s also easy to park (thanks to parking sensors and rear view cameras) and very open in terms of external light in the passenger compartment, thanks to the large windshield divided into three parts, which does not obstruct the view beyond the front pillars and the full glass roof.

Even the central tunnel slides upwards and backwards and allows you to arrange other objects according to your needs, while infotainment is always worthy of praise for its precision and usability – that said, we finally get to the audio argument, which though it is a secondary aspect of a car, being a specific trim, deserves something on its own. Bose, as we have said, is synonymous with high quality and so, without losing any further, once connected to my favorite playlist, I push the play button and raise the volume up as a teenager would do as he can finally listen to his hit list without getting kicked by his older brother. The sound is exceptional, basses (once increased a bit) make my chest strain and the purity of the sounds is the same as that of an aftermarket system of several thousand Euros. Driving on the motorway, I’ve spent several hours at the wheel with music pumping and as time flew by, I basically forgot to be at the wheel of one of those cars that are mainly designed to be exploited as mullets for the transportation of large and bulky families. It does not matter, not with this Scénic, who wants to be my personal “Made in Europe” (famous Deep Purple’s live album), comfortable and at a price just over 30,000 €.

RENAULT SCENIC BOSE (2017-)

Layout   –  front-engined, front wheel drive

Engine  –  4 cylinder 1.461cc – turbo

Transmission  –  6-speed manual gearbox

Power  –  110 hp @ 4.000 rpm

                      260 Nm @ 1.750 rpm

Weight  –  1.505 kg

Acceleration  –  12,4 sec.

Top Speed  –  183 kph

Price  –  from € 29.800