Renault Scenic XMOD first drive

As well as taking the trouble to facelift the Scenic, Renault has added a new model to the popular MPV lineup: the rufty-tufty XMOD, a peculiar creation intended to gatecrash the crossover sales bonanza.

Although it may be papering over the hole where a proper SUV-shaped contender would sit (Dacia gets that), the car does have notable antecedents - not least the short-lived and four-wheel-drive Scenic RX4. 

Update: Fourth generation Renault Scenic unveiled at the 2016 Geneva Motorshow, with the aim of redefining the MPV sector

For the sake of cost, the XMOD doesn’t send power beyond the front axle. Instead it receives a new traction control system roughly comparable to Peugeot’s 'Grip Control'. Dubbed Grip Xtend, Renault’s version comes with three operating modes - Road, Loose Ground and Expert - assigned to a similar centre console selector. Like the recently reviewed 2008, the ASR’s revised software code is backed up by a set of Continental mud and snow tyres. 

To help it live up to its rugged billing, Renault has clad the XMOD in extraneous off-road flippery, including beefier body mouldings, modified front and rear bumpers and black roof bars. Underneath it shares the Scenic’s revised engine range, comprising three petrol engines — most notably the new 1.2-litre TCe — and two versions of the familiar 1.5-litre diesel lump. In 108bhp format, tested here, the Dynamique TomTom model is reportedly capable of 68.9mpg and emits a lowly 105g/km CO2. 

Testing the XMOD’s ability in the sticky stuff obviously means finding some sticky stuff to put it in. Therein lies a problem: playing Scott of the Antarctic on a Surrey byway is probably asking a bit much of the Scenic - Renault isn’t claiming proper mud-conquering ability - while tackling less tricky ground is always undermined by the nagging suspicion that any old MPV would generate sufficient traction to see you back onto tarmac. 

Certainly that’s the impression with only wet grass or a gravel track underfoot. Here the XMOD romps along without even troubling the Grip Xtend system - nothing less than we’d expect from a Mégane, frankly. It takes a few inches of mud for the software to even hint at its wider benefit. Without engaging the ‘loose ground’ setting, the Scenic tends to bog down as the on-road ASR kills the power it thinks is solely responsible for spinning up the front wheels. 

Turning the Xtend dial duly turns the hinderance into helper. Renault insists this is thanks to a judicious juggling of brake and torque delivery, but behind the wheel the end result seems less than subtle - more often than not it feels like you’ve just been given free reign to throw more throttle at the problem (making the difference between ‘loose ground’ and brake effect-only ‘Expert’ virtually indistinguishable). Either way, it’s ultimately left to the Continentals to get you free from the dirt.

Their capacity for doing so is real enough. The car’s modest ground clearance helps keep ambitions realistic, and in the toughest conditions we could find on a summer’s day the XMOD valiantly struggled rather than surrendered. An unkind observer might argue that fitting mud and snow tyres to a standard Scenic with switchable traction control (Renault’s usual dash-mounted button is deleted on this model) would render a comparable level of ability. That’s as may be, but at least the XMOD’s mouthier presence can lay claim to some length of trouser.