Sentimental Scenic
by Richard Myers
T
he Renault Scenic RX4 is a funny old creature,
falling firmly into the bracket of ‘just too darned crazy for the time’. Along with the likes of the Fiat Multipla, Rover Streetwise and the Isuzu Vehicross, it was either way too early for the buying public at the time, or was such a weird concept that nobody really got it! All of the above were actually pretty decent cars, but unloved and often ridiculed at the time. The Multipla’s crazy bug eyes and 3 seats up front design is now a firm cult favourite, and the Rover Streetwise was a decade too early, after all who now hasn’t got a soft roader in their line up? The Dacia Sandero Stepway is a hugely successful Streetwise clone. Renault can be credited with starting the whole family MPV thing, with the original Espace back in 1985, which is a rare beast these days, and can change hands for eye wateringly huge sums, especially the Quadra 4x4 version. Always pushing boundaries, Renault came up with the Megane Scenic. Again a car designed from the ground up with families in mind, rather than a van with windows and extra seats. The early Scenics were marketed as a trim level of the Megane saloon/ hatch range, not as a model in it’s own right. Even on this 2003 RX4, Megane badging can still be seen faintly on the rear C pillars. The Scenic was an instant hit, selling zillions across Europe 98
THE MUD LIFE MAGAZINE
and the UK. It kick started the MPV revolution and prompted Citroën to jump on the bandwagon with the Picasso, closely followed by every other major manufacturer. By the late 90s, 4x4s were the in thing. Even Mondeo 4x4s were available, and Renault needed to keep up. Hence the RX4 was born as a pumped up Scenic, with a permanent 4 wheel drive system by Austrian company Steyr-Daimler Puch. Unfortunately Puch used quite new technology available at the time, the viscous centre coupling with rubber propshaft donuts to transfer drive to all 4 wheels; not dissimilar to the system in the first Freelanders, and, as per the Freelander, it was rushed into production to meet the rapidly rising demand. We all know how well that turned out for the Freelander! The two cars, while intrinsically decent vehicles, suffered from temperamental drivetrains that were so sensitive to minute outside factors, such as different makes of tyre, or millimetres of difference in tread depth, that could ultimately lead to catastrophic 4x4 system failure. RX4 sales never set the world on fire, in any country, resulting in a very short production run between 2000 and 2003. Was it too soon? Was it too complex? Was it too unreliable? Was the world ready for it’s moon buggy look’s? In reality it was probably a combination of all these factors.
