The Scenic impresses on first viewing – overall it looks like a large family car without straying into the bulbous proportions of the typical SUV. It has sharp lines and creases and the front end is done particularly well, Renault succeeding better than many rivals in designing an acceptable nose when it no longer needs a traditional grille.

Step inside and the roominess is apparent, both in front and back and particularly above one’s head – our correspondent’s rather tall driving partner on the launch event was suitably impressed at not having to drop the seat as far to the floor as possible.

In the rear there is plenty of room for three but if one needs to carry only two a neat trick is to drop the centre armrest – both passengers get their own, plus USB sockets, cupholders and clever holders for smartphones and tablets that can be swivelled for either joint or individual viewing of screens.

A concealed central trap door opens into the boot space for carrying long items without folding down any seats. Said boot offers 545 litres of space that increases to 1,670 litres if one does fold the rear seats.

The interior is well put together with quality surfaces and airy and bright too, though admittedly we were driving the top-spec version with the impressive ‘Solarbay’ sunroof. This is segmented and one can choose to have part or all of it opaque at a time. It also saves weight and space compared to a normal sunroof, while half of it is made from waste glass and 90% recyclable – sustainability is a constant theme running through this car.

The front or the cabin is dominated by a pair of 12-inch digital displays, one ahead of the driver and the other forming the central multimedia infotainment console. As mentioned already these are naturally aligned to the products of Google – from Google Maps to Google Play and Assistant, and using them is quite impressive, with big clear displays in particular.

There is an oddity – the driver’s display is divided into three with vertically angled lines, said angles apparently replicating those in Renault’s diamond logo. The left of the three screens shows one’s speed by means of a big digital number, and the angle crops off the bottom right of the second digit – not enough to make it unreadable, but it’s slightly odd…

Our test cars were fitted with the higher-power drivetrain and it admirably fulfils the brief. Acceleration at just under eight seconds is more than swift enough in this market and the smoothness and unflustered progress that comes with an electric powertrain is as expected.

On the road the ride is generally competent. Driving modes of Comfort, Sport, Eco and ‘Perso’ (personally customisable) are available. The car is a little floaty if pushed on in comfort mode but more precisely placeable in Sport, though as one would expect in this market it’s not exactly optimised for competitive rushing along B-roads.

Four levels of battery regeneration are available and these are accessed via paddles mounted behind the steering wheel. They work very well and one pedal driving is easily possible.

At slow speeds the car emits a pedestrian-warning noise that we are told was especially created by French electronic music superstar Jean-Michel Jarre – he was also responsible for the ‘welcome sounds’ that play as one enters the car.

Overall this is an impressive entry into the market from Renault which does all that its target market might expect it to with no vices. Certainly those fleet buyers who have previously been drawn to the likes of the Kia Niro, Volkswagen I.D.4 or the Skoda Enyaq could benefit from taking a look at the Renault Scenic.