Family Road-trip - The Espace Reviewed

We were very blessed to take the trip back to my wife’s hometown @ Sitiawan in a test-drive Renault Espace Grand. Since my dad owns one from the previous generation, it presented a good opportunity to run a comparison test and see how the new model fared. And I came away very impressed. To be honest, the whole family was very much impressed.

This is the Renault Grand Espace which is fitted with a potent twin-scroll turbocharged 2-litre engine. The forced induction upgrade does wonders for the MPV and overtaking on long trunk roads is without hesitation. In fact, I daresay it feels like a 3-litre block from the way it pulls past 4-5 cars with ease. There is no noticeable lag and it’s really a gem of an engine.

Being a 7-seater, I removed two of the rear seats and created an impossibly large boot space rivaled only by commercial vans/MPV’s. I stuffed everything back this trip and still had space for more. The individual air-conditioned controls and vents (especially for the rear passengers) made certain that everyone had their own little space of comfort. I fitted ‘Zeke’s baby seat up front and disabled the passenger airbags and boy was he excited to join his dad in the cockpit. Isabelle, my four-month old on the other hand had her little baby seat at the back with her mom. The panaromic sun/moon-roof was so entertaining for the kids as they could see the clear skies above during the drive on the trunk roads. Brilliant!

I have to say that I had one of the best driving experiences in this Grand Espace and this wasn’t even a sports-car. For long-haul trips with the family, it’s in a class of it’s own. Check out Renault’s website here for more information…

Here’s some location shots to share:

Enjoy!