Five generations count for the existence of a car as exemplary as the Renault Espace. When approaching the sixth version of a concept inherited from the 1980s and co-invented - without consultation - with Chrysler, Renault naturally analyzed the reasons for the decline of the minivan. And discarded the nose of TGV and the semi-advanced cockpit that designers once boasted of by offering the road on a wide screen.
If the chiaroscuro photos offered by Renault as a "teaser" still provide little information on a vehicle that will be revealed in the spring, we retain at least this clear break in the line between the windshield and the bonnet. It is therefore no longer, with its two volumes seen in profile, a minivan, but rather an elongated SUV, sometimes dachshund-style since there will be two versions, 5 or 7 seats.
Not enough to make all these secrets around a vehicle clearly derived from the recent Renault Austral, itself replacing the Kadjar, from which it takes up the hybrid platform.
Renault emphasizes the well-shouldered rear fenders for a vehicle that is 14 cm shorter than the current version. "It offers a longitudinal habitability of 2.48 m up to the third row, a slightly higher rating", ventures the decidedly unspoken press release. Will Space find itself, when it celebrates its 40th anniversary, in this sixth version?
It's up to the client to decide, hoping that the interior layout will be as inventive as that of the first Espace, which was transformed into a living room. The prevailing pragmatism of making something new out of what already exists gives reason to doubt this. On the other hand, the European grind requires a reduction in the emissions of a large vehicle and the simple E-Tech hybrid engines of 160 and 200 hp should make it possible to achieve this.
