Renault Espace/Grand Espace

Damian

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Mar 14, 2005
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I have a Renault Grand Espace, although the 2.2dCI.

From personal experience, when they run they are great cars, very comfortable, solo driving on motorways give good fuel returns and are a pleasure to be in, but the problem is you never know how long the good feeling is going to last!

Towing they are good but fuel economy drops considerably, about 23 or 24 mpg is the best I have got out of mine.

Parts and service are expensive, in fact from dealers the parts prices are horrendous, like
 

Damian

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Mar 14, 2005
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Forgot to add, in What Car reliablity study, the RGE came out second to last for reliablity, beaten only to last place by Land Rover.
 
Thanks - we are about the same length at the moment, so length is OK. We need a 7 seat something that can pull the weight, so any other suggestions would be welcome as well. We have been impressed with the 5 star crash test rating to be honest on it, and that is what has sold us after seeing a crash on 5th gear between a Disco and an Espace, and the driver of the Espace walking away, while the Disco driver would have serious injuries at best.
 
Sep 23, 2007
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hi kate

my oldman tows with a grand espace 2.2dci its fantastic loads of power good on fuel around 29-30 mpg out pulls the 4x4s up the long inclines on the motorway
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Hello Kate,

I use a Grande Espace 2.2dt (Phase 3, the last but one design) so whilst it is not a true comparison to the model you are contemplating, I can confirm that my model is a fine tow car, but you do have to be particularly careful with regard to the weight limits, because of the way Renault tend to specify their load capacities.

I have owned two Espaces, and driven others, and I do find them to be comfortable, and the children like them because they are high of the ground, and have large windows. This seems to reduce problems or travel sickness.

I do agree with many of the issues already posted by others, particularly with the cost of spares, but I cannot agree with XXXXX comments about towing on wet grass, Yes it is easy to induce wheel spin, but with care it has not been a problem for me, I do not imagine it is significantly any worse than any other front wheel drive vehicle.

It is worth looking at alternatives, and there are some other makes that offer large interiors, two that instantly come to mind are the Kia Sedona and the Chrysler Voayger ( also available in the Grand version) - Even the Mercedes Vaneo. Slightly smaller, there is the Ford Galaxy and similar models from VW, and Seat. Other rivals are available for Citroen, Fiat and Peugeot.

Whilst NCAP testing results do present a way of assessing the relative crash survivability, they are far from the whole story. Suffice to say that many other recent MPV's have now archived promising and improved NCAP results, so don't be blinkered by just looking at NCAP scores.
 
Jan 10, 2009
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i tow a baily senator carolina with the latest espace a rare 3.0 turbo diesel it tows the very heavy van easily and returns an asstounding mpg. around 35 solo (mainly local running) and nearly 30 towing. it has been a little troublesome but with 180 bhp and standard auto it goes really well.
 
Jul 11, 2006
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We considered a Espace before buying a Kia Sedona but the reliability of the Espace put us off.

The towing ability of the Sedona is superb since it can tow 2000kg and has a kerbweight of 2189Kg (post 06 diesel auto). It has 7 separate seats (2, 3, 2) and is extremely good value - lots of toys for little
 
Mar 8, 2007
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Dave E

I am interested in the Sedona as a replacement for my Espace.

What is the MIRO of your unit and what sort of MPG do you achieve

best regards, Martin
 
Jul 11, 2006
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My MIRO is 1410Kg and MPTLM is 1800Kg. It handles this van superbly well and has very good acceleration. It's done 8,000 miles (about 1,000 towing), fuel consumption is around 30mpg solo so far.

I used to tow this van with a Toyota Previa, the Sedona is a much more relaxing and enjoyable experience.
 
Aug 10, 2008
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Martin. I am not the biggest believer in those reliability surveys, but if one is, then the sedona, is the worst for reliability in 2008. http://www.whatcar.com/NonCar/75881243591.jpg
 

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