Faults:

Crank position sensor causing repeated no start, cleaned OK with WD40 and not happened since. Cost pennies to fix.

Blocked fuel injector, causing severe lack of power/misfire. Cost £115 to replace injector at Renault specialist.

Heater fan 'failed' for a couple of weeks, before starting again.

Snapped rear shock absorber. Cost £45.

A/C inoperative due to faulty weld on the drier. Not fixed yet, but shouldn't be much.

CD changed cartridge jammed in player. Not fixed yet.

Misfire from fault coils. Cost £120 for 4 new ones from a local Motor Factors, and a couple of minutes to change them out.

Read boot button popped out. Cost pennies, it's a simple repair involving replacing an O ring that has perished. It's so easy.

Battery failed to hold charge. Cost £90.

General Comments:

This is the last of the old shape, and looks and feels cosy in Dune with beige/green velour interior. Can't stand 'cheapo' grey in any car.

Good looking, relatively stylish small MPV. Did consider a Citroen Picasso, but the looks were ghastly, and worse, the interior trim quality was horrible. Also my wife didn't like how far away the windscreen was.

Nice interior, but too many squeaks and rattles on rough roads.

More power would be nice, but it's only a 1.6 in quite a heavy vehicle. Its a flexible unit though, you can be lazy and put it in high gear at low revs, or race along at 4,500 revs holding the gears. It can be a noisy unit though.

Most people jump into Citroen Picassos, purely as they see the Scenic as woeful reliability, and too small. My own opinion was that the Picasso is plain ugly, and materials felt too cheap. The Scenic is smaller, but has more style, and felt calming to sit it. As I drive it solely, other than the dogs in the boot, the small middle seat didn't matter to me. The driving position can take awhile to get comfy, but then the miles fly by.

There are complaints about cost of repairs, but I've had the common ones and PITY anyone daft enough to put these simple repairs to garage. I've read reviews where people paid stupid amounts for coil replacement, crankshaft throttle position replacement, or boot button replacement. People, there is NO NEED to be fleeced this way.

There are complaints about gear change quality, but I hate manual cars, but have no real complaint and don't find it vague. It can be a bit recalcitrant when cold, but a quite jab on the throttle sees the gear selected just fine.

I also have an aversion to modern diesels. Diesels just aren't made how they used to be! Someone buying a diesel wants economy, fair enough, but when a stressed modern diesel fails, it's going to be expensive. I'd rather take the economy hit and a more reliable engine. The car's cheaper to buy in petrol form too.

Scenics have problems with sunroofs, autoboxes, and diesels, so I bought a non-sunroof, manual, petrol. It's not been perfect, but it's never left me stranded, and I drive a fast 40 miles a day, dual carriageway to work.

I think you have to be reasonable about repairs, and don't abuse items such as the gearbox, never force gears in for example.

The only concern I actually have is that they all seem to rust from the rear arches, and although mine hasn't yet, I am nervous.

To sum up, I was concerned about running a Renault, but now I'm not.

I average 36 mpg.

Forget the hype and get a petrol one, lacking in torque true, but cheaper, more reliable and more refined than a diesel.

Faults:

On both my Scenics, one of the lightweight rear suspension units has snapped off just under the top fixing position, needing replacement. Annoying when you're on holiday and you end up renting a car.

The other recurrent problem with both cars is the dreaded Renault coil failure, 3 on my first one and 3 on this one. You don't need all 4 replacing and it pays you to always carry a spare from a cheaper source than a dealership, who charge through the nose.

The driver's window will not stop where you want it to.

The eccentric to-one-side driver's seating position can give you back ache on a long run.

The rear window exhaust suction problem defeats the point of having rear windows that open.

General Comments:

This is a great little car spoiled by some fairly big problems that Renault should have sorted out a long time ago.

It's nippy in traffic and great to drive on the motorway, but sure eats up fuel if you put your foot down.

I won't be getting another because of its problems, which is a shame since when it is going OK, I love driving it.