Car Detail

The Renault Espace is a seven-seat MPV where the emphasis is on comfort, style, versatility and refinement. The contemporary-looking cabin is bright, airy and well equipped with safety and convenience features. It also features a flexible seating layout.

The five-door Renault Espace accommodates seven people, each with their own individual seat, in a two-three-two configuration. A versatile arrangement allows the five rearmost seats to be folded or removed as required. Cargo-carrying capacity ranges from 291 litres to a maximum of 2860 litres and the provision of oddment storage is comprehensive.

Every Renault Espace features power steering, an automatic handbrake, two-zone air conditioning, electric front and rear windows, electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors and a CD/radio sound system with fingertip remote control.

Top models also have part-leather trim, automatic lights, climate control, automatic wipers, rear parking sensors, six-disc CD multi-changer, alloy wheels and roof rails.

Safety is uncompromising and the Renault Espace has been awarded a maximum five-star crash test rating by EuroNCAP. As standard, the Renault Espace features two-stage adaptive airbags for the driver and passenger, front side airbags and curtain airbags. Side airbags are also available for the second row.

The front passenger airbag can be deactivated to carry a rear-facing child seat and every rear seat features ISOFIX child seat mounting points as well as a three-point seatbelt. The front seats feature anti-whiplash active head restraints.

To reduce the risk of an accident, the Renault Espace is equipped with the latest ABS anti-lock braking technology, ESP stability control, ASR traction control and CSV understeer control.

As for emissions, the dCi 130 and dCi 150 diesel models are rated at 191g/km of CO2 and the dCi 175 at 197g/km. Both petrol engines fall below 225g/km in manual form.

Each of the five engines in the line-up is available with a six-speed manual transmission. In addition, the 2.0 Turbo 170 petrol engine can be specified with a five-speed automatic, while the dCi 150 and dCi 170 diesels offer the option of six-speed automatic transmission. In all cases they deliver their power to the Renault Espace’s front wheels. The following figures all refer to versions with manual gearboxes, which tend to be the more fuel-efficient.

The strongest diesel engine in the line-up is the dCi 175, which is capable of 127mph performance courtesy of its 175bhp and 360Nm of hauling muscle. Fuel economy is also a strong point, with an official combined average of 38.2mpg.

The other two diesel engines in the line-up offer identical economy of 39.2mpg. The dCi 130 combines that with 114mph pace. The dCi 150 benefits from an additional 20bhp and 20Nm of pull to endow it with 120mph performance.

The Renault Espace also comes with the choice of two petrol engines. The 170bhp 2.0 Turbo has the greater performance potential with 127mph and it can reach 62mph from standstill in just 9.7 seconds. Its 29.7mpg economy is just beaten by the 140bhp 2.0 16V model, which mixes a 30.1mpg rating with 115mph pace.

The Renault Espace entry-level petrol model is the £21,450 Team 2.0 16v140, and the diesel line-up starts with the Team dCi 130, priced at £24,600.

At the top of the range is the £30,000 Dynamique S dCi 175 Auto FAP.  Automatic transmission is an extra £1,500 on diesels and £1,595 on petrols.

Prices are based on manufacturer's recommended retail price.