The majority of the engines in the range are economical and even the 2.0-litre with its CVT gearbox can return a useful 37mpg while service intervals are long too with oil changes recommended every 18,000 miles or two years. Components such as the air filter and sparkplugs only need replacing every 37,000 miles. Renault offers a servicing plan for new buyers, where you can pay a fixed amount every month to cover your car for three years or 36,000 miles of servicing plus maintenance.

Insurance ratings are competitive too with the Extreme models group 5 going up to group 10 for the diesel Privilege models.

The most efficient engine in the range is the 1.5 dCi 106 which emits just 135g/km of CO2 – very low for a seven seat people carrier. It also returns an impressive 55mpg. The 1.4 TCe is also commendable for a 130bhp petrol engine at 173g/km. An improved 1.5-litre dCi engine, available with stop/start as standard, was introduced in February 2012. Emissions for this engine are an impressive 105g/km, which helps lower road tax and company car tax costs significantly.

This has been an Achilles’ heel for Renault in the past, but the company is committed to becoming one of the best manufacturers for reliability and durability. The Grand Scenic is one of the models that should benefit from this renewed commitment so should perform much better than previous models.