Story was updated on March 17 with the ghost photos from the new Espace’s user manual that briefly appeared on Renault’s website.
While Renault continues the teaser campaign for the all-new sixth generation of the Espace, the exterior design of the vehicle has been accidentally revealed prior to its March 28 premiere. Certain pages of a pdf manual that was briefly posted on Renault’s French website leaked online, showing the family-friendly SUV in its full glory.
The model that has been a pioneer in the minivan segment since 1984, will now morph into an SUV, following the customer’s wishes. Despite the different body style, Renault suggests that the Espace won’t lose its character, describing it as a “comfortable long-haul ride for up to 7 passengers”. From the official teasers and the leaked blueprints that were published on the Wordscoop Forum, it is quite obvious that the sixth generation of the Espace will be a larger version of the Austral.
Read: Everything We Know About The 2024 Renault Espace
The sibling SUVs appear to be identical from the front end up to the B-pillars. From then on, the Espace features a stretched 2,740 mm (107.9 inches) wheelbase, a longer rear overhang, and a more upright tail. Despite the differences at the back, the LED taillights, the sculpted tailgate, and the lower part of the bumper look very similar to the Austral, while the vertical slits and the more upright rear glass are unique to the Espace.
The Espace measures 4.720 mm (185.8 inches) long, which makes it a full 21 cm (8.3 inches) longer than the Austral, but 14 cm (5.5 inches) shorter than its predecessor. The French D-SUV is also longer than the mechanically-related Nissan X-Trail and Mitsubishi Outlander, showing that Renault wanted to stretch it as much as possible, in favor of interior space.
In that regard, the cabin of the new Espace is said to be wider than its predecessor and comes in five-seater or seven-seater layouts. The pdf manual shows how the seats of the second-row slide forwards and fold in order to provide access to the third row. The latter can fold when not in use, freeing up more space for cargo. From the blueprints, the rear legroom appears to be quite generous, as with the boot in the five-seater configuration.
In the latest official teaser, Renault highlighted the massive glass roof of the Espace which measures 1.330 mm (52.4 inches) long and 840 mm (33.1 inches) wide, shedding plenty of light inside the cabin and providing a nice view of the sky for all seven passengers. We also get to see a part of the dashboard, featuring Renault’s OpenR cockpit. Just like in the Austral, it will combine a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 12-inch infotainment touchscreen in portrait orientation, and a 9.3-inch head-up display.
We already knew that the 2024 Renault Espace rides on the CMF-CD architecture, which is shared with the likes of the Nissan X-Trail and the Mitsubishi Outlander among other production models. Engine options will most likely be carried over from the Austral, including mild-hybrid and full-hybrid powertrains producing up to 197 hp (147 kW / 200 PS). As with its smaller sibling, all trims are expected to come in front-wheel drive flavor.
The official debut of the Renault Espace is scheduled for March 28. However, given that we already know what it will look like following the accidental leak, Renault might want to ramp up its teaser campaign. Until then, check out all of the existing teasers in the gallery below.
