Double pedantic mode on: You are correct that the Scenic always used to be an MPV, but the current electric one really isn’t - it’s now an SUV.
Auntie Google notes:
The Renault Scenic E-Tech Electric has transitioned from its historical roots as a traditional compact MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) into a modern, all-electric family crossover SUV. While it borrows the long wheelbase and airy cabin space associated with MPVs, its high-riding stance, chunky exterior styling, and raised driving position place it firmly in the SUV category.
Now living in tge UK And have just bught an electric Berlingo. Drove a Kangoo for last 10 years in France through choice. Grat work horses and very easy to get in an out of.
The Kangoo is not available in UK so we got a Berlingo which is virtually the same.
Got a cheap petrol version to start with which we have now traded in for our E- Berlingo.
The brits seem to look on them as disability cars, which they often are and as a consequence the orice of a 2nd hand obe is much less than a fancy set of wheels.
Our Berlingo is just 3 years old and had 4500 genuine miles on the clock with full service history.
It had been used through the disability scheme but no modifications, looks and drves like new.
The range could be better at 175 miles but as we no longer travel great distances it is perfect for us.
The first true multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) or minivan was the Dodge Caravan (and its sibling, the Plymouth Voyager), launched in November 1983 as a 1984 model in North America, closely followed in Europe by the Renault Espace in 1984. [1, 2]
Marketeers . The French often have a very good way with definitions ..and the class of Scenics and Peugeot 3008b were called MonoSpace . Cars which had an increased volume by including the boot in the car not as a seperate compartment ..and then ballooning the height to allow bulky items. The Estate car ..of which the Volvo 740 were the epitome might have done away with the barrier between boot and car body but had not increased the height. So the idea of the MPV was that suburban man could use the same car at the weekend to bring the lawnmower or even built up furniture to the family …
Sports Utility Vehicles SUVs is a US terminology .. but with a different history . After the 1970 s oil crisis the US motor industry were given energy efficiency targets for Cars . But a loophole was left that Cars over a certain weight and size did not need to conform .. Guess which path Detroit choose .
Corona .. I submit that Google is wrong and needs to get it’s AI tested … The VW minibus was both a MonoSpace and an SUV and a MPV , based on what was the Passat chassis and dates from the 1960 s.
And in Oz we had the joy of the Toyota Tarago, the first edition was a sight to behold . My aunt and uncle has 5 kids and had the Mitsubishi version, which I can’t remember the name of but was just as attractive
If we’re going to include dubs then we should also allow the Commer and Bedford minibuses, both of which could be reconfigured in the way the ‘mpv’ would borrow later, moving seats around.
Since The VW was arguably a Multi Purpose Vechicle and a MonoSpace as well as ,based on a car chassis..not a commercial van .It’s hard to argue your view. . The Renault Espace was built-in the Safrane car chassis and the Scenic was initially sold as the Mégane Scenic. Contrast that with the Ford Transit which was unashamedly a van ..with the commercial standard steel work .. a nudge with a slow moving Transit will collapse the metal on a Mégane or a VW.. that was what ended my Scenic
I had to channel my inner vw thoughts and checked with google. (Used to hill climb in modified vw beetles.)
Origins of the Volkswagen Bus
Beetle Roots: The first-generation VW Transporter (Type 2) used a modified Volkswagen Beetle platform and air-cooled engine design when it launched in 1950. [1, 2]
Platform Evolution: Later generations transitioned to dedicated commercial vehicle platforms rather than sharing underpinnings with passenger cars like the Passat. [1, 2]
