Renault Espace officially launched

Renault's new MPV, the Espace, was officially launched, with a total of 3 configurations available and an official price range of 27.18-34.18 million RMB. The new car is sold as an import, and also enjoys the "No. Follow" policy (Renault will provide 3 years or 100,000 km warranty, 5 years of free maintenance spare parts replacement, 5 years free assistance and other services). Detailed prices for the new vehicles are shown in the following table.

New car profile.

Bright exterior design

Although the new model is an MPV, it has a different exterior design from the traditional MPV, looking more like a crossover between an MPV and an SUV. In terms of appearance, the Espace adopts the latest design language of the Renault family, with a highly recognisable front.

On the side, the triangular window of the A-pillar is large, effectively reducing the blind spot area of the A-pillar. At the rear, the new vehicle adopts more rounded lines and the tail lights are very innovative, while the new vehicle is also equipped with a bilateral two-exit exhaust, which has a sporty visual effect.

The new Renault Espace is based on the CMF platform and has a higher chassis based on the MPV styling with crossover style surrounds to give it more passability. The dimensions of the new car are 4878/1888/1675mm in length, width and height, with a wheelbase of 2884mm.

Simple interior / 2+3+2 seating layout

In terms of interior style, the new centre console is very technologically advanced, with an 8.7-inch LCD screen complemented by interior ambient lighting, creating a strong sense of the future. In terms of seating, the new car adopts a 2+3+2 layout, but the third-row space feels more like a 7-seater SUV, with general practicality.

Rich safety/technology features

In terms of configuration, the flagship model is equipped with Nappa seats, heated first and second-row seats, front seat massage, one-touch folding of the third row, HUD head-up display, three-zone automatic air conditioning, interior ambient lighting, 8.7-inch centre display, voice recognition, CarPlay, BOSE audio and other configurations.

In terms of safety features, the new car is equipped with front and rear side air curtains, tyre pressure monitoring, reversing camera and automatic parking assistance. As for power, the new Espace is equipped with a 1.8T engine model M5PK401, which has a maximum power of 224 hp and a maximum torque of 300 Nm, while the transmission is matched with a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

New car background.

The Renault Espace was born in 1984, the first generation of the Renault Espace (1984-1991) codenamed J11 was born; the second generation Espace (codenamed J63) was born in 1991, the chassis followed that of its predecessor, although the exterior styling and interior design changed very significantly, compared to the squared-off shape of the first generation, the second generation The Espace has begun to have some softer lines than the squared-off shape of the first generation. The third generation of the Espace (JE0) was born in 1996 and from this generation onwards the Espace began to take a technological approach, with the digital speedometer in the centre console being seen as representative of the radical design; the fourth generation of the Espace (J81) was launched in 2002 and received a mid-life facelift in 2006. The fourth generation Espace continued the good usable space of the Espace models while also increasing the flexibility of the space, with more folding options for the second-row seats and a greater focus on travelling comfort. We are now looking at the fifth generation Espace (code name JR), which was launched in 2015 in the European market, and this is Renault's first MPV in China.

Competitor models.

The new Renault Espace, an imported crossover MPV, does not have its most direct competitor in the domestic market, so we have chosen an imported MPV model in the same situation as it - the Volkswagen Sharan. The Sharan has a good reputation in the domestic import MPV market. Its pricing of 26.98-37.68 is a bit on the high side, but the huge end-user discount gives it enough value for its money.

Full summary.

At present, the domestic MPV market is mostly sold based on middle-of-the-road and practicality, but the Espace brought by Renault this time is a real eye-opener. From a practical point of view, the 2+3+2 seating layout can cater for 7 people travelling at the same time, but the last row of legroom is rather limited, so the last 2 seats can only be used for emergencies; in terms of configuration, the car has certain advantages over similar models, so I believe the car can still win the hearts of some consumers.