Auto Express 1730

Visit autoexpress.co.uk for all the latest new cars news WE’VE written plenty about the ‘Renaulution’ that’s transforming the famous French brand, and the products that are heading our way. Now the latest, the reborn Scenic, is previewed this week on page six. It was launched at the Change Now climate change summit in Paris – an odd location for the launch of a car, but such is the electrification and sustainability journey Renault is on, the organisers asked the company on board. We spoke with Renault CEO Luca de Meo (above) about his plans to create a separate business unit to focus solely on EVs. “It makes sense from an operational and business point of view,” he told us. “If you look at it like a different sport, it makes…

James_Brodie@autovia.co.uk @JPBrods ● Scenic nameplate to return as brand-new, all-electric family SUV ● Eco concept previews latest production and powertrain tech RENAULT has confirmed that it will reboot the Scenic name in 2024, applying the famous small MPV nameplate to a new family-sized SUV. The latest car will be pure electric, and is previewed by this: the Scenic Vision Concept. Penned by lead designer Gilles Vidal, the Scenic Vision represents Renault’s future on three fronts. Its exterior design is representative of what the 2024 Scenic will look like, and is “more than 90 per cent production car” according to Vidal. However, the powertrain technology is more a preview of what Renault thinks it could offer commercially post-2030, while the interior is pure concept-car indulgence. The Scenic Vision is not merely…

AFTER nearly a quarter of a century designing for Peugeot and Citroen, and heading up the styling direction of the Peugeot brand for the entirety of the 2010s, the venerable Vidal’s signing by Renault in late 2020 was seen as a major coup. Q Can you keep the Scenic name when it’s not attached to an MPV? A For me Scenic is not the name of a shape, but the name of a concept. Q Could you have used the electric platform to create a more radical shape such as the original? A It is still a ‘two-box’ shape. But we wanted to resolve something that was an issue for family-orientated cars: they are models that people need, but don’t desire. So what we said to the designers and team…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy ● All-new platform, more tech and space, multiple powertrains ● We get behind wheel of 201bhp pre-production prototype EV THE Kia Niro has been a key ‘transitional model’ for the Korean brand – a vehicle sold as a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid and a pure EV, and thus one that has appealed to customers at various stages of the electrification journey. In the UK, it’s been Kia’s second best-selling model since it went on sale in 2016. But now, with increasing numbers of bespoke EVs on the market (not least Kia’s own excellent EV6), it’s time for an all-new Niro. The core principles remain; this is a car with a variety of powertrains, including two that feature combustion engines. But it gets an all-new platform plus more in-car…

THE plug-in hybrid version of the Niro will have greatest appeal to those who are trying to minimise their company car tax while still retaining the ability to travel longer distances without stopping for recharges. Its technical credentials are solid enough, with a 1.6-litre petrol engine and an 83bhp electric motor giving a combined output of 180bhp. Kia is finalising the figures, but the aim is for the car to manage 40 miles of electric-only running – enough for it to drop into the eight per cent tax band. This could come down to your choice of trim level and wheel size, however. On the road, the experience is a little patchy. The Niro PHEV feels comfortable enough running in EV mode around town – slower than the pure EV,…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk ● Hardcore version of coupé ● Only 100 examples for UK IN its 50th birthday year, BMW’s M division is revealing a bonanza of new models to celebrate. And the latest in a long list for 2022 is the new M4 CSL, a hardcore version of its sports coupé. Securing its status as the most aggressive offering from the division is a tuned engine pumping out even more power, as well as chassis tweaks to contain the extra performance, and an aggressive bodykit. The L in the name stands for Lightweight, and key to the CSL’s focus is its reduction in mass. The car tips the scales at 1,625kg, which is 100kg lighter than a regular M4, while a carbon-fibre boot lid, roof, bonnet and other elements help save…