Faults:

I've only had the car earlier this year and recently had to replace the nearside rear wheel bearings. I believe the previous owner towed a small trailer so this may have been the cause of the fault or the high mileage.

A recent leak had developed around the thermostat housing unit. Repaired by my self and car is working fine.

General Comments:

Absolutely brilliant. My Scenic is only the third car I've ever owned and if I could afford it, I'd buy a brand new model.

I'm 6ft tall and there's bags of room; not only in the front but for the back passengers too.

I love the elevated drivers position the car provides and gives you a clear view of the traffic up ahead.

Faults:

Speedometer stopped working twice. Water leakage through the roof via the arial socket / reading light

The timing has repeatedly played up (so that the car stalls for example going round a roundabout and looses power steering).

Most recently a combination of key losing code/battery meant I could not start the car and had to be towed to a garage to have the code reprogrammed.

General Comments:

The scenic is an excellent car in terms of comfort, space, flexibility and driving position.

Unfortunately the reliability of the electrics does not live up to the quality of the design.

Faults:

Rear brake bias valve seized fixed at 90,000 mile service.

Clutch thrust bearing noisy will need replacing soon.

General Comments:

Very practical and flexible.

Diesel engine very noisy and unrefined, slow. Refuses to rev past about 3500rpm in 3rd,4th and 5th gear. Maybe new fuel/Air filter would free it up. My Citroen BX TZD Turbo which is 9 years older is quieter, much faster and free revving and more economical.

Gearbox notchy often baulks changing down into second. Thrust bearing probably a factor.

Reasonable economy for quite a heavy car. Averaged 45.1mpg over 16,000 miles.

Nervous motorway handling in cross wind.

Rear suspension a little soft. This has been rectified in 2nd gen Scenics which handle much better.

Conclusion:

Practical, reliable, frugal and handsome. One for the family not the enthusiastic driver.

Faults:

Nothing, totally reliable.

Paintwork not of the highest quality

Carpets wore through on drivers side.

General Comments:

I really enjoyed having this car - it was supplied to me at 18 months old as a company car, and I have to admit that I felt old. Having come from a 406 that was really good fun to drive, I was dreading the MPV and expected something that was bus-like to drive... but after a week or two, I was throwing it into bends, taking it to the red-line, relishing the driving position, and enjoyed the long-slog ability. So comfy, so sensible, but with a good dose of performance, acceptable economy, and plenty of room this is the ideal family car for the person who still enjoys a drive. Obviously it won't compete with an Elise on a back road, but then would you choose to drive an Elise ALL the time? Neither would I...

And the replacement has turned up this week - another Scenic Monaco, but with the 16v 2.0 litre engine installed.