2015 Renault Espace Raises Its Game

R.I.P VANS with seats, long live… just what is the Espace exactly? It started off so simply: the first generation made us understand that there was more space than a normal car, that the engine occupied a smaller space and that this probably wasn’t a driver's car. Visibility was excellent, and inside we found more seats than usual. The first Renault MPV was a pleasant surprise.

That was a purely proportional and architectural association, before feature and form implied status and emotions. The new Espace has grown curves out of no-where and the rocker is now knee-height. This, a feature that was once conceived to be stepped upon! But it does not matter, because the result is extremely impressive. The car needed to change, because the world changed around it. Customers now assume the versatility, so the design has to not just stand like a first-gen wall-flower, but engage and convince. This is not easy, and it is why Renault has propagated the crossover trend.

This used to be something rare: a Freelander here, a RAV4 there. Now we live in a world where the Opel Adam Rocks channels the spirit of the Suzuki X90. How can Renault stand by and idly watch as its flagship capsizes without use of inflatables? And inflated is what best describes the shoulder. And the arches. The effect of the raised rocker is to minimize the distance between it and the centre-line, making the car appear sleeker. Renault has also steered around the tendency to add wedge to the shoulder line; indeed the near parallel roof, shoulder, rocker elongates the car, suiting the styling to high speed rather than highly accelerative travel. I like it. It is calming, and steadying.

Who would have thought a mainstream brand that focused on families could be a niche? Yet Renault has done it better than anyone, and a big part of the success is understanding the brand and executing those sculptural surfaces. These are forms that demand to be touched, encouraging a physical connection with the car, while acting as a metaphor for the intimacy of family. In a market where the precision of creases is shorthand for premium, Renault has concentrated on volumes, lending affordable cars authenticity in place of pretension.

But I feel a trick has been missed. The new Espace does much to justify its place in the Renault range and on the shopping-lists of families, yet the final push to Volvo XC90 levels of usability has been shied away from. This is ironic as the Swedish SUV was conceived to offer the flexibility of the French van. Renault might do well to raise the roof, increase accommodation and resurrect the Grand Espace.