Renault Scenic ZEV H2 prototype (2008) CAR review

Renault, that so traditional and straight-laced of car companies. It makes sensible family cars and MPVs for sensible folk. The Regie doesn’t do revolution lightly. But, for the past decade, it’s quietly been having an environmental revelation. Why? Because sustainability chimes perfectly with the way its family-orientated customers think, too. Which is how we’ve got this: a working, driveable compact MPV… with a fuel cell. And zero emissions. Wow indeed.

A fuel cell Scenic? How very exotic.

Well, yes, and no. ‘Fuel cell’ sounds space-age stuff, but it isn’t, really. See it as, like Renault, just a range-extender for an electric vehicle. Renault’s equivalent of the Toyota Prius’ petrol engine, if you like. The fuel cell is powered by hydrogen, but unlike BMWs combusting hydrogen, it isn’t actually burned. Instead, it’s electrolysed. Byproduct: water. ZEV, then. Zero-Emission Vehicle.

Why so conventional-looking?

Management wanted people to concentrate on the tech, not the swoopy lines or other-worldly interior. This isn’t technology that’s beyond the realms, but a sensible long-term solution to reduce our dependence on oil. Wrap it up in a spaceship and that’s the perception people will take of the tech. Wrong. It’s much more viable than that.

This Scenic still has five seats, still has the same interior, the same controls as a regular auto. It proves fuel cells can marry to today’s cars, that it isn’t ‘that different’ to drive than a diesel auto. That Renault’s sensible customer set won’t be blown away when, in a decade’s time, it arrives to extend the range of electric vehicles by then already in production.