The Renault Scénic II (Type JM) was a pioneer and an absolute best-seller in the compact MPV segment in Europe. Launched in 2003, it stood out with its divisive design inspired by the Mégane II, exceptional modularity (individual seats, multiple storage compartments), and high-level comfort. It was available in a short version (5 seats) and Grand Scénic (5 or 7 seats). However, its reputation was heavily tarnished by catastrophic reliability problems on Phase 1 (2003-2006), affecting both electronics (dashboards, hands-free cards) and mechanics (turbo and engine failures on early dCi diesels). The Phase 2 (late 2006-2009) facelift corrected the vast majority of these defects and introduced the excellent 2.0 dCi engine, making late-production models infinitely more recommendable.
The Renault Scénic II is a vehicle with two faces. Phase 1 (2003-2006) models equipped with 1.5 dCi (82/100) and 1.9 dCi (120) diesels are to be absolutely avoided: they accumulate the worst mechanical and electronic flaws of the decade at Renault. However, if you target a Phase 2 (2007-2009), the assessment changes completely. The 2.0 dCi 150 hp is a model of robustness, as are the petrol engines (1.6 and 2.0 16v). The purchase is therefore conditional on a drastic selection of the year, the engine, and verification of the maintenance history (especially the cleaning of the windshield cowl).