irishcar.com

12 March 2002: Renault showed a brand new Espace Concept show car in a world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show. The car is described as having ‘a strong personality’, with the distinctive Renault stamp the company embarked upon with Vel Satis.

The first Espace was launched in 1984, beginning the European experience with the US ‘minivan’ concept that became the ubiquitous multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) format adopted subsequently by virtually every manufacturer.

In the Espace Concept show car heating and ventilation, for instance, can be customized in both front and rear seats thanks to an innovation: air outlets for each row of seats at the top and bottom of the cabin. In addition to split air conditioning controls on the front doors, controls to adjust ventilation speed are fitted to the rear doors.

All the rear seats are equipped with three-point seat-mounted safety belts and the vehicle displays a practically limitless number of seating layouts. Individual stowage space is now provided for all the vehicle's occupants, including those in the third row of seats. Seats and armrests, upholstered in pale beige leather

The vehicle has the biggest glass sunroof on the market, covering 2.16 square metres, and a panoramic windscreen that extends above the roof line and a vast glazed expanse.

A six-cylinder 180bhp 3.0 dCi turbodiesel engine driving through a five-speed automatic Proactive transmission with flick shift powers the car.