The handling is amazing. Renault Senic..What's better than the competition is
Jul 08, 2025
|
This year's cars selected by each region are more than 100 new cars released a year, and among them, the best vehicle is selected among those that meet certain conditions such as sales, so the award history alone has been verified to some extent.
I decided to look for the reason while test-drive to see if it deserved to be selected as the European Car of the Year. Senic is currently a fifth-generation model.
The first generation was released in MPV form in 1996 and received a lot of love. Currently, there is no similar genre in Korea, but it will be understandable if you think of the old Daewoo Motor Rejo and Kia Carens. Such a Senic has completely changed since the fifth generation.
It has been reborn as a fully electric vehicle, and the genre has also been changed to a subcompact SUV. It was developed based on the CMF EV platform that was also applied to Nissan Arya. Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV5, Volkswagen ID4, and Kia Niro are among the competitors. The front-wheel drive base is more similar to EV5.
It is characterized by a slightly compact size compared to competing vehicles.It has a full length of 4470 mm, a width of 1864 mm, a height of 1570 mm, and a shaft holder of 2785 mm. Senic is under pre-contract with three major trims. The prices of up to 52.9 million won, 57.9 million won, and 62.5 million won are expected after tax benefits with Techno, Techno Plus, and Iconic.
When applying electric vehicle subsidies based on the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the techno trim is expected to be purchased in the mid-40 million won range, which is expected to be compared to models such as Kia EV3, EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5, and Volkswagen ID.4.
The model to test drive today is the Iconic, the top trim. It is a model equipped with an optional Solar Bay panoramic sunroof that costs 2 million won. Even if you don't explain many things, Senic's strength starts with its exterior design.
Although design is an area where there are likes and dislikes and evaluations are clearly divided by individuals, many can agree that Senic's design completeness is high.
Like an electric car, the grill part is blocked, but the digital graphic in the shape of the Renault emblem is filled with digital graphics to give a difference from an electric car in which the grill part is simply blocked.
The horizontal slim headlights are a compliance look. The Daylight, which looks like it is split in half with the Renault Lozange emblem, becomes a front point in addition to the detailed graphic. The
side is a sluggish impression. It is an electric vehicle downproposition by reducing overhang and increasing wheelbase ratio. The two-tone roof of the Iconic trim makes the body look lower.
The peak of the lateral design is on the wheel. In the case of electric vehicles, designs that seem to be blocked are often used to enhance aerodynamic performance, but it is generally inferior to the wheel design of internal combustion vehicles.Senic's 20-inch wheels are French-designed avant-garde design while maintaining aerodynamic performance, as if looking at a work of art.
In addition, the Michelin Crossclimate 2 was worn as a pure tire, which is divided into all-weather tires. Typical four-season tires have significantly lower snow performance in winter, but 3PMSF-certified all-weather tires are also capable of responding to winter road surfaces.
In some European countries, it is legal to wear these certified tires in winter, and these conditions are also met. Until now, there have been no cars in Korea that have applied all-weather tires as pure, but if applied to the official launch model, it will be the first model.
The rear side also has a simple Renault-like design. Tail lamps are positioned long and thin from side to side around the new Lozangju logo. Clear type is applied to deliver an electric vehicle down image. The turn signal is of a sequential type.It reflects the latest trends well and has excellent visibility.
The trunk space is 545 liters, and the capacity itself is simple. The width of the left and right is narrow, which makes it regrettable in terms of usability. Due to the short battlefield and overhang, parts such as rear wheel suspensions seem to occupy the left and right sides of the trunk space.
The interior has applied the open R link system of Renault's latest vehicles.It is a combination of a 12-inch horizontal screen and a 12-inch vertical screen. Due to the proportion of vertical monitors, the actual size boasts a best-in-class 774 square centimeter area.
Even if you don't know the number of inches, it is convenient to operate on a wide screen when facing the actual center monitor, and the emergency lights and air conditioning buttons are placed separately as physical buttons at the bottom for excellent operability.
In the case of the digital instrument panel, the feature recognizes the limitations seen between the steering wheels and displays key information in a smaller range than the actual screen. The focus was on practical usability rather than the splendor of graphics.
Electronic gears are column type. It is characterized by being set at a higher position than competing vehicles in a similar manner. The operability is intuitive and has a good feeling of operation. It is close to the wiper control switch, and the audio adjustment lever below it is applied to cause a little confusion until you get used to it.
For the first row seats, recycled artificial leather was applied. It was comfortable for a long test drive because of its excellent touch and seating feeling, especially the ideal position of the headrest. In the case of row 2, there was no shortage of space with a wide legroom, flat floor, and ample headroom like an electric car. It is regrettable that there is no reclining function.Press the start button to go for a test drive.The single motor applied to the front wheels is a normal level with a maximum power of 218 horsepower and a maximum torque of 300Nm.
The relatively lightweight tolerance weight of 1855-1915kg shows a cheerful acceleration. Although acceleration is not as fast as an electric car, handling adds to the joy of agile shipping as a European car.
The battery is highly reliable because it is equipped with LG Energy Solution's 87kWh capacity battery. Compared to competing vehicles, the capacity is slightly larger. The maximum charging mileage is certified as 460 kilometers.The total cost is 4.4 km/kWh, but in reality, a higher record is possible.
In the case of suspension, it is harder than domestic cars in the same class.It delivers a luxurious sensation when crossing a typical bump. It is a type that reads more of the road surface when it meets a rough road surface, and the overall focus was on a sleek driving sense rather than softness.
Rehabilitation braking is subdivided among European electric vehicles.In the case of Volvo EX30, which was recently tested, only one-pedal on-off stage 2 could be set up. There are some similar vehicles, but in the case of the Senic, it was possible to set up five levels.
If you pull the left paddle shift, the regenerative braking intensity increases, and if you pull the right, it goes down. Stage 5 of regenerative braking from 0 to 4 is set to one-pedal driving and can be stopped during maximum deceleration. The strength compared to competition cars is the sense of physical break.
In some electric vehicles, physical brakes may be relatively less reactive or lower in performance while increasing the proportion of regenerative braking. In the case of Senic, the braking force of the physical brake was set relatively high. Electric cars are heavier than internal combustion vehicles, so there were many vehicles that felt sorry for the braking sensation. I'm satisfied with the good reliability of braking force.
In the case of the Senic, it can be evaluated as an electric car that makes good use of the characteristics of European internal combustion, such as its excellent exterior design, European car down handling, and brake sense.
It is regrettable that there are few bold attempts like Tesla, but if the novelty of electric vehicles comes as awkward or the tendency to prefer the familiarity of internal combustion vehicles, an electric vehicle that can give high satisfaction is sufficient.
In the case of advanced trims, the price after tax benefits is around 60 million won, and there are many competing vehicles. If you think about the cost-effectiveness while tasting the Renault Senic's excellent driving sense, it seems okay to choose a medium trim or less.
One line review
Advantages - European car-like handling and brake sense..Outstanding among electric cars
Disadvantages - High price of higher trim..If you want cost-effectiveness, recommend a medium trim or less
N2MT07||text parameter is needed (text 파라미터가 필요합니다.)
Editor Song Moon-chul mc.song@carguy.kr
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
