Renault Scenic E-Tech long term test review

Renault Scenic E-Tech long term report 2: Are electric cars useless in the cold?

Key details:

Spec: Renault Scenic Iconic Esprit Alpine | Price: from £35,495 (£40.495 as tested) | Mileage: 1,629 | Test miles per kWh: 3.1 | Report date: 12^th December 2025

I’ve never run an electric car for a long period through the depths of winter, but I’ve tested plenty in the cold and heard all the doom mongering. And as we approach Christmas, it’s time to see how our Scenic E-Tech is getting on.

First, the theory: why do electric cars lose range in winter? It’s primarily due to the chemistry inside the EV battery pack. Chemical reactions inside the lithium-ion cells slow down when the pack’s core temperature drops, so it can’t release as much energy. This means a battery has to work harder to achieve the same results.

Then you’ve got to factor in heating the cabin and demisting the windows, which further reduces range. Happily, Renault provides a handy real-world simulator on its website for its EVs showing the effect temperature and different roads has on the Scenic’s range.

The calculator shows that, with the outside temperature at an ideal 20 degrees and an average speed of 50mph, the Scenic will manage an impressive 370 miles on a charge. Drop that to 10 degrees and activate the heating, though, and that drops to 315 miles, while at 5 degrees it’s 290 miles.

In a worst-case scenario in the UK (zero degrees, heating on and an average speed of 70mph on the motorway) it drops down to just 210 miles of range. Activating Eco mode only adds 5 miles to that, but turning the heating off and just making use of heated seats ups it to 235 miles.

So what about our car? Well, our average efficiency has dropped a little from 3.3 miles per kWh in late October to 3.1 in mid-December, equating to a respectable 270 miles of range in winter. Bearing in mind that at least 70% of my driving is at 70mph on the motorway, that’s not bad at all – with the caveat that it has been an unusually warm winter so far, so we’re expecting it to drop a bit further in time.

There is also one way in which electric cars are simply brilliant in winter, and that’s pre-conditioning. Like many EVs, the Scenic allows you to activate its heater (along with the heated seats and steering wheel) using a smartphone app. It’ll activate for 15 minutes, or until the cabin reaches a set temperature.

The result is no standing about in the freezing cold waiting for windows to de-ice and de-mist. Instead, I can have an extra few minutes in bed before my commute, then step out to a wonderfully toasty and charged up car.

That’s an absolute godsend if, like me, you a) hate the cold and b) often don’t leave for work with a lot of time to spare. It’s a shame then, that the MyRenault app occasionally refuses to activate pre-conditioning when asked, meaning you must go outside in the freezing wilderness to turn the car on. Argh.

Happily, it works more often than not, and after a recent app update we’ve not had the issue return. All of this means that (so far at least) my fears of terrible efficiency and driving around with the heating off to save charge are well and truly unfounded.

Renault Scenic E-Tech long term report 1: Living with an EV in winter

Key details

Spec: Renault Scenic Iconic Esprit Alpine | Price: from £35,495 (£40,495 as tested) | Mileage: 527 | Test miles per kWh: 3.3 | Report date: 5^th November 2025

The pace of progress in the electric car arena is fast. Every month it feels like there are more affordable, longer range, more technologically advanced models arriving onto the new car market. But is newer always better?

The Renault Scenic E-Tech is a couple of years old now – a lifetime in today’s tech-savvy era. But even with a glut of new rivals, we reckon the Scenic remains one of the best family-sized electric cars you can buy today.

That doesn’t mean Renault can’t improve on it, though. It’s recently launched some tech upgrades for the 2026 model year including a new one-pedal driving mode, facial recognition, bi-directional charging and other tech and kit upgrades.

Does that improve the package a great deal? Well, we’ll put all that to the test, as we’ve taken delivery of an upgraded Scenic E-Tech for six months. Yes, we’ll be running an EV through the depths of winter and into spring to see the real effect of the cold on the Scenic’s real-world range, efficiency and charging.

Of course, we’ve opted for the bells-and-whistles Iconic Esprit Alpine version to sample the full roster of kit on offer. That now includes six-way electrically adjustable front seats, a massaging driver’s seat and new upholstery, among other bits.

That’s on top of the 20in alloy wheels, Harmon Kardon sound system upgrade, heated seats and steering wheel, surround-view camera, smart rear-view mirror and Renault’s fancy opacifying panoramic glass roof. More on some of those bits in later reports.

We’ve gone for the distinctive Matte Shadow Grey paint (hopefully that’s good at disguising winter grime) with a contrasting black roof. Renault doesn’t charge you any extra for that paint option, but this top-spec trim only gives you a single alloy wheel and upholstery choice. It's a nice spec, but some choice of extra colours wouldn't go amiss - even if we love the blue fabric used in the door bins and for the carpets.

Every Scenic still gets a 220hp electric motor powering the front wheels, and an 87kWh usable battery pack for a strong official WLTP range of 381 miles - not the longest range electric car out there for below £50k now, but more than a lot of similar family SUVs.

Our efficiency for the first few hundred miles (with 70% motorway, 30% town/country roads) gives us a real-world range of 287 miles. While that’s well short of the official figure, it is getting cold and rainy, and our motorway-heavy drive takes its toll. In our experience, that's a decent figure for an EV of this size - and it helps that it weighs less than two tonnes, unlike some.

With a heat pump fitted as standard, we’re keen to see if the Scenic can avoid dropping too many miles of range as the wintry weather starts to set in. Stay tuned to find out.