Hot on the heels of the seven-seat Grand Scenic, here’s the five-seat Scenic with a shorter body and smaller price tag.

Andy Goodwin drove the MPV in Paris, to see how it faired through town, out in the countryside and on the motorway.

When you step inside the Scenic it’s instantly apparent this is one comfortable environment for driver and passengers.

The front seats adjust every which way and there are huge amounts of glass in the cabin, for a light and airy feel – especially if you specify a panoramic glass roof.

Rear seat passengers sit a bit higher than those in the front, so they get a great view too.

If you want to carry more luggage, the back seats slide or roll forwards liberating a maximum of 1870 litres of space.

As we’ve come to expect from Scenics, there’s a number of cubby holes front and rear, and the glovebox is vast.

Modern interior

Cabin materials have taken a step forward; the dark plastics feeling sturdy and expensive, while the steering wheel is nice to hold.

Under a large sweeping instrument binnacle you find a colour screen with computer simulated speed and rev gauges. Fancy a change and you can cycle through several different colour schemes and styles.

To the right of this is an optional Carminat TomTom, which is integrated into the dashboard and can be updated from TomTom’s online database.

Renault builds safe cars, and we will be surprised if the Scenic scores less than the full five-stars when it undergoes EuroNCAP crash testing.

All models feature adaptive front airbags and curtain airbags, whiplash-reducing headrests, ISOFIX child seat mounting points and electronics to help prevent skids.

The Scenic proved comfortable over all the roads we sampled, and also resisted roll well, displaying quite impressive poise. Important not because the Scenic is a sporty car – but because this decent handling is far less likely to make the kids – and dog – feel car sick.

Small engines the best

We drove a 1.5 dCi 110 Privilege with a diesel particulate filter, but in the UK it’s the 1.5 dCi 106 we’ll be getting for the time being. It’s a good engine, managing 57.6mpg on the combined cycle.

Performance is adequate for an MPV, accelerating the Scenic from 0-62mph in 12.4 seconds.

View our Renault Scenic slide show

Live at the top of a hill and you might want the 1.9 130 or 2.0 dCi 150 or even 160, but for the majority of driving, the economical 1.5 dCi is just fine.

While diesel tends to be the default choice for MPVs in the UK, Renault has provided a good alternative in the 1.4 TCE.

This smooth 130bhp turbocharged petrol engine is a joy to use, and makes the Scenic an extremely quiet cruiser while returning 39.8mpg on the combined cycle and emitting 168g/km CO2.

The 1.6 VVTI petrol produces 110bhp (38.2mpg and 174g/km), while the 2-litre petrol has an output of 140bhp (36.7mpg and 183g/km) and is available only with a constantly variable transmission (CVT) gearbox.

So is the Scenic as good as rivals including the Ford C-Max and Mazda 5? It has age on its side, being by far the newest design, and it also just pips them on practicality and safety. Gaelic charm is present and correct too, but it’s not quite as fun to drive as the Ford.

Key facts

Model tested: Renault Scenic dCi 110 Privilege
On the road price: £18,895
Date tested: June 2009
Road tester: Andy Goodwin