Scenic RX4 is another nice little earner

Renault continue to confound. Champions at initiating new trends, they've brought another nice niche earner to the marketplace in the shape of the chunky-looking, 4WD, Scenic RX4.

Renault’s RX4 does in part follow the trend - set in motion by the RAV4 and the Suzuki Vitara and carried forward by Honda’s CR-V, the Land Rover Freelander and Toyota's newest RAV4 - of combining in one vehicle the drivability and comfort of a conventional saloon car with the off-road wherewithal of a busy, short-legged herbivore. The Scenic RX4 differs from rivals though in that it started life as a highly practical and well-packaged mini MPV. Competitors, in the main, come from much tougher ‘go-anywhere’ antecedents.

We’ve said it often enough. The sports utility vehicle market segment where the RX4 is going to do the business is a particularly strange one. Only a scattering of buyers will ever use - even less will actually know how to utilise - the all-terrain capabilities offered by their fledgling SUVs. Off-road driving for these buyers means parking two wheels on the kerb while collecting the Sunday papers.

At the end-of the day as Dave O’Leary might put it, off-road ability is unimportant. Image, however is fundamental. You could say the same for specification - if the overall price of the vehicle is in the client's ball-park. This is a market segment where macho looks and sun-roofs - and all the other creature comfort ‘bits and bobs’ are crucial.

Sitting on big shiny 16 inch alloys and shod with big meaty Michelin XPC 215/65 - 16H all-terrain treads, Renault's RX4 stands big and tall. Hefty bumpers with a built-in 'bullguard'., the hatch-slung spare wheel cover, wide wheel arches and the extensive use of durable, dark-toned, side-protection panels give it an 'in yer face' assertiveness. In comparison to the front-wheel-drive Scenic, the RX4 weighs 175kg heavier.

Equipment fitted as standard includes: air conditioning with full automatic climate control and heat reflecting windscreens, ABS with EBV, power-assisted steering, remote control central locking, drivers, front passengers and front lateral airbags, trip computer, height adjustable steering wheel and multi-adjustable driver’s seat, double optic headlights and front fog lamps, electronic traction control, engine immobiliser, electrically heated door mirrors, twin electric tilt and slide sunroofs, a rear baggage net, electric front and rear windows with one touch electric front driver window, ISOFIX child seat fixings, and a six-speaker x15W Single CD RDS with fingertip remote control.

The drinks cooler box in the centre console, bottle holders behind the rear seats, three independent, sliding and removable rear seats, countless stowage spaces, a rear accessory power point and front seat-back tables reinforce Renault's claim that this is the ultimate 4x4 MAC (Multi-Activity Car) for leisure focused customers.

The nose is new, as is the sump guard. There are also design changes at the rear The electrically operated rear hatch is half-door, half window. The lower door segment opens on side hinges. The window section swings outwards and upwards.

The main technical innovation takes the form of the permanent four-wheel-drive transmission designed in partnership with Austrian specialist Steyr Daimler Puch (who build the M-Class for Mercedes). This comprises a gearbox with twin outputs, a three-section propeller shaft with two intermediate universal joints, a viscous coupling, a rear final drive and two additional drive shafts.

Cleverly, the system continually adjusts the distribution of torque between front and rear wheels, without any action on the part of the driver. Viscous coupling controls the torque distribution to the rear wheels and brings them into play when the front runners struggle or slip. At least twenty per cent of the available torque is directed towards the rear wheels - irrespective of conditions or need.

The Mac Pherson strut and lower wishbone type front suspension set-up, the same found in the Scenic MPV, has been strengthened and developed to withstand mixed road/off road use. The lower wishbones are cast iron and a special anti-roll bar has been added.

The rear section features an entirely new layout mounted on a galvanised sub-frame. The original four-bar suspension is replaced by trailing arms, springs and dampers. And rear wheels are independently suspended.

Engine choice is limited to just the one plant - the "F4R" 16 valve train with variable valve timing. A new 1.9 common rail diesel burner will be added in the first half of the new year - and rumour talks of a gutsy1.6 litre petrol engine for 2002.

With a capacity of 1998cc, the 16-valve engine develops a power output of 140bhp at a speed of 5,500rpm. Maximum torque is 188Nm (139lb ft) at 3,750rpm - with at least 170 Nm on tap between 2,000 and 5,500rpm. Translated to performance, we get a top speed of 112mph, a zero to 62mph time of 11.9 seconds and an average combined fuel consumption of 29.7mpg.

Driving impressions were formed over the course of two outings. A Spanish sojourn racked up 1,200 miles on the RX4's clock. Quickly following another week, this time on home soil, added 900 miles to our RX4 experience data base.

Though bigger and heavier than Scenic's front wheel drive model, the RX4 handled superbly. Steering is well-weighted and informative, and while on-road ride was tighter than your average family saloon car it was still quite comfortable.

Off-roading manoeuvres were purely of the green plain, the country lane, the pothole and puddle variety. Sure, it's now kitted with diff. locks or low ratio gears but with a ground clearance of 210mm, the protective sump guard, the rear independent suspension set-up, the wide track, the stiff anti-roll bar and the generous suspension travel, we found it had more off-road ability than rival vehicles can muster or than Renault's own marketing gurus suggested.