NEW ESPACE: for first-class travel
For more than 20 years, Espace has stood out as the European top-of-the-range MPV benchmark and segment leader. Faced with an increasingly competitive marketplace, New Espace today consolidates that status with a softer design. Versatile and functional, New Espace comes with optimized flexibility thanks to its automatically-attaching sliding rear seats. Meanwhile, the car's enhanced technological features serve both safety and efficiency. New Grand Espace Privilege 3.5i Automatic goes on sale on 23rd September 2006 with a recommended retail price of $84,990
Style and travelling comfort: added elegance and pleasure
New Espace has been restyled with a shift to more elegant, modern lines. The new design of the grille and bumper softens the front, which also features new high-tech design bi-xenon headlamps. New Espace's rear lights have also evolved. When lit, they are reminiscent of LEDs and recall the lines of the front grille and headlamps.
New Espace's dynamic looks are further refined is provided by the design of the new 17-inch Novastella alloy wheels.
New Espace has undergone changes on the inside too. The full range of interior colour schemes has been revised, with the emphasis on charcoal hues. Dark charcoal has been selected for the upper part of the dashboard and door trims, while the lower parts are trimmed in beige or light charcoal according to level. Discreet trims have also appeared on the dashboard and centre console according to trim level, making New Espace's interior even brighter and more welcoming than before while focusing on travelling comfort and quality.
The cleanly sculpted dashboard harmonizes perfectly with the rest of the interior to form an environment where technology is discreetly integrated into the overall design. The dashboard is visible for all passengers and affords a clear display of the driver aid indications and other information. Finally, ergonomics of the centre console has been revised to include closed stowage space and the new navigation system's multimedia controls, which fall easily to hand.
New Espace, where technology serves driving pleasure
The New Espace is equipped with "Follow Me Home" lights which allow the driver to locate his or her vehicle or light up the way when leaving the car. Meanwhile, the boot is equipped with a new boot light which illuminates the load space and the area of the rear of the vehicle.
The range of features that have long ensured the popularity and appeal of Espace has been extended to all trim levels: parking brake assist, rain and light sensors, fuel flap with built-in cap, the Renault Anti-Intruder Device (RAID) and individual controls for the climate control system.
Convivial and versatile, plus personalized comfort for all occupants
The only bounds to New Espace’s versatility are the owner's imagination thanks to automatically-attaching sliding rear seats with folding seatbacks and seat-mounted seatbelts. These are now easier than ever to position in order to draw maximum benefit from the advantages of a totally flat floor and to facilitate access to the third row of seats. When folded entirely forward, the seatbacks become a highly practical table.
Special attention has been paid to the comfort of each and every one of New Espace's occupants. As well as plenty of easily accessible stowage space – even for passengers sitting in the third row of seats – the car features personalized thermal comfort. Preferred settings are memorized by each Renault card. With a total of 14 air vents located all around New Espace, optional independent front/rear controls are available in addition to the independent left/right climate control which takes onboard information collected by a number of sensors which monitor outside temperature, humidity, sunlight and exterior pollution levels measured in the air that enters the heater unit. Thermal comfort is further enhanced by the innovative floor-mounted system which permits a more even distribution of air throughout the cabin as well as freeing up additional stowage space in the dashboard.
Thanks to the car's vast, forward-sloping windscreen, slim windscreen pillars and broad rear window which extends to the vertically-positioned lights, occupants profit fully from New Espace's 5.26 sq. metres of glazed surface.
The Grand Espace model has been chosen for the New Zealand market. It is 20cm longer than the standard model, features more than 190 litres of boot space. And with all the rear seats removed, New Espace offers a maximum load capacity of 3,050 litres.
High-performance chassis and engine
The Renault-Nissan Alliance 24-valve 3.5 V6 combines top-end power (245hp/177kW at 6,000rpm) with low-end response. Some 85% of power is available from 1,200rpm, with maximum torque of 330Nm at 3,600rpm. Acceleration from standstill to 100kph in 8.1 seconds plus its ability to cover the standing kilometre in 28.7 seconds underline New Espace's credentials as a truly modern grand tourer. Equipped with five-speed flick-shift automatic transmission, this version hits a top speed of 225kph.
Handling worthy of this open invitation to travel
The McPherson front suspension has been developed to match the demands of an MPV. From the middle of the range, the combination of variable-assist power steering and New Espace's front suspension with high transverse stiffness gives excellent stability. Its properties permit the use of highly flexible joints without detracting from the effective filtering out of low frequency vibrations for comfortable, noise-free running, while losing nothing of the car's outstanding steering precision. New Espace continues to benefit from the patented Multi Layer Energy Absorber concept which absorbs all vibrations produced by the engine before they get a chance to spread to the structure of the vehicle.
The rear suspension features a torsion beam with high-strength steel trailing arms and a Panhard rod. In addition to ensuring first-class comfort and handling, this remarkably compact set-up permits a flat, functional floor. Its disassociation from the body shell allows it to filter out road-generated vibrations efficiently while carrying heavy loads. The use of spring/damper units combined with a load and ride-height sensing device completes the picture.
On the active safety front, New Espace is equipped as standard with ventilated 308mm- or 324mm-diameter front discs, and 300mm plain discs at the rear. ABS, Emergency Brake Assist, EBD, ESP and CSV understeer control are all fitted as standard. In emergency situations, the ESP acts directly on the engine management system and on one or more wheels in order to regain control of the car and bring it back into line. New Espace also comes with ASR traction control for enhanced pull-away on low-grip surfaces.
New Espace provides optimum passive safety for all passengers. The structural zones of the body employ very high-strength steel which is capable of absorbing more energy in the event of an impact. Occupant protection is enhanced by padding in crucial areas such as the lower part of the dashboard and doors (which are also reinforced with aluminium bars). New Espace is equipped with six airbags that minimize the risk of injury, plus even more efficient anti-submarining systems for all seats. Renault’s third-generation System for Restraint and Protection for front passengers comprises dual seatbelt pretensioners and latest-generation headrests. The rear seats come with Isofix child seat anchorage points and three-point seat-mounted seatbelts with load limiters. These features combine to make New Espace one of eight Renault models to have been awarded a five-star Euro NCAP crash test rating.
For complete ease of mind when travelling as a family, New Espace's active and passive safety features once again make it the benchmark in its segment.
Respecting the environment
The use of aluminium for the doors and bonnet has produced a 20kg weight saving compared with steel. The wings are made of Noryl, a flexible plastic which has the capacity to revert to its initial form and therefore shrug off minor knocks. The rear hatch is made from SMC thermoplastic which allows weight savings to be achieved by permitting the integration of functions such as fixations. It also offers a broader choice of forms. Meanwhile, the seat brackets, rear seat angle brackets and steering wheel frame are made from magnesium. Like the rest of the Renault range, more than 90% of New Espace's is recyclable by weight, while the model also incorporates recycled materials.
20 years at the top
With 48,877 cars registered in 2005 Western Europe, it took an 18.5% share of the top-range MPV market to consolidate its lead. The millionth Espace was sold 20 years after the model's launch in 1984.
Assembled at Renault's Sandouville factory in France, which produces three different top-of-the-range Renault models – Laguna, Vel Satis and Espace – New Espace represents a programme outlay of €121 million.
“The Grand Espace is an alternative to a large luxury SUV’s offering better alround visibility and fuel economy along with more space and comfort. Renault Espace’s 5-Star Safety rating also means you can enjoy first-class travel in safety,“ said Robert Nash, General Manager of Renault New Zealand.
