Рено Эспайс: Тарихы мен эволюциясы

The Renault Espace is a series of automobiles manufactured by Renault since 1984. For its first five generations, the Espace was a multi purpose vehicle/MPV (M segment), but it has been redesigned as a mid size crossover SUV for its sixth generation. The first three generations of the Espace were amongst the first contemporary minivans or MPVs, and were manufactured by Matra for Renault. The fourth generation, also an MPV, was manufactured by Renault. The Renault Grand Espace is a long wheelbase (LWB) version with increased rear leg room and boot size. The fifth generation is introduced with a crossover SUV styled while keeping its MPV classification and body style. Renault described the fifth generation Espace as a 'crossover style MPV' which combines elements of saloon, SUV and MPV, while retaining interior space and practicality of the latter. TOC

The Espace concept was originally conceived in the 1970s by the British designer Fergus Pollock, who was working for Chrysler UK, at its design centre at Whitley in Coventry. Matra, spearheaded by Greek designer Antonis Volanis, developed the design for Simca, the then French subsidiary of Chrysler, with the intent of marketing the vehicle as a Talbot. It would replace the Matra Rancho leisure activity vehicle on the Matra production lines. Early prototypes used Simca parts, and hence featured a grille reminiscent of the Simca 1307 (Chrysler Alpine). In 1978, six years before the Espace went into production, Chrysler UK and Simca were sold to the French company PSA Peugeot Citroën, which phased out Simca within a decade because of falling sales. PSA decided the Espace was too expensive and too risky a design to put into production, preferring to focus on nursing Talbot back to financial health. Installing the PRV V6 had been considered from early on but ended up having to wait until the introduction of the second generation. To make the engine installation as short as possible, the radiator was placed to the left in the engine compartment, with the engine reaching the grille. The compact installation necessitated an extended front end for turbodiesel models as this engine was longer; these have a protruding grille and a correspondingly larger front bumper. Renault improved on Matra's original design by insisting on an entirely flat floor in the entire area behind the front seats. The design featured a body of fibreglass, mounted on a warm galvanised steel monocoque spaceframe, using the same technique and assembly line at the factory as the Talbot Matra Murena. The galvanization process increased torsional rigidity by 60 per cent and bending resistance by 20 per cent, at a cost of a weight gain. The Espace was eventually launched by Renault in July 1984. After a slow start, a mere nine Espaces were sold in the first month, consumers realised the benefits of the MPV concept and the Espace became popular. The introduction of the Espace required the relatively small Matra factory to cease production of the Murena to make room for the Espace. It was sold in the United Kingdom from August 1985. In October 1984 the turbodiesel versions Turbo D and Turbo DX arrived. The minivan was exhibited to consumers at the 1985 Chicago Auto Show, but AMC's negotiations with Matra continued over the vehicle's import pricing. Plans for the Espace to be launched in the United States ended with the purchase of AMC by Chrysler. In 2004, BBC's motoring show Top Gear set up a race between two Espaces, a Toyota Previa, a Toyota MasterAce, a Mitsubishi Space Wagon, and a Nissan Serena. The Espaces came first and second although as Jeremy Clarkson pointed out, Richard Hammond was driving a V6 Espace, giving him a performance advantage over the other vehicles.

Building upon its success, the Espace was revamped in 1988, with most of the remaining Talbot/Simca content being replaced by equivalent Renault parts. The chassis and mechanical components of the car remained largely unchanged. The most obvious cosmetic exterior difference, between the very first Espaces and the revamped post 1988 models, were the changed headlights: the forward slanting lights with orange indicator casing of the original Espace were replaced with backward slanting lights, with a clear indicator casing. Along with the changes in design, a four wheel drive version called Quadra was also introduced.

Brazilian Ford Concessionaire Grancar, in cooperation with Toni Bianco, developed a faithful copy of the original Espace in Brazil in 1990. Called the Grancar Futura, it was powered by four cylinder engines (AP1800/AP2000) from Ford/Volkswagen's local lineup, while using the dashboard from the Ford Del Rey and the Escort's fuel tank. With Renault upset about intellectual property infringement and market liberalization undercutting the car's raison d'être, the Futura came to an end in the end of 1991, after 159 cars had been built.

A heavily revised Espace was launched in January 1991, adopting the Renault family look, to replace the Talbot themed styling of the original. This was essentially a reskin of the original car, with a new dashboard and other interior improvements. The chassis was left unchanged. Matra's facilities still limited production and deliveries were highly allocated during the first few years. New was the option of a V6 engine, the company's 2,849 cc PRV V6 with Four wheel drive ("Quadra") was only available with the 2.2 litre petrol four; an automatic transmission was initially not offered. The second generation saw mostly minor changes during its lifespan. A four speed automatic option was added to the V6. In 1995 a version of the turbodiesel with a variable vane turbocharger was added to the lineup; thanks to this, power increased from Production ceased in October 1996, after 316,419 examples had been built. This generation Espace was also "assembled" in China, where Sanjiang Renault Automobile received nearly complete Espaces and sold them as locally assembled product thanks to loopholes in the Chinese CKD regulations.

A high performance prototype (P46) called the Espace Biturbo Quadra was also proposed by Matra in 1990, before the second generation Espace entered production. It was to use the same engine that was later installed in the Safrane Biturbo, which produced around
However, it never entered production due to the concern of its stability, and only a single prototype remains today. The estimated performance figures of it were: 0 to 100 km/h around 7.5 seconds, top speed above 230 km/h.

In 1995, Renault displayed a show car called the Espace F1, which was created by Matra to celebrate both the tenth anniversary of the Espace and Renault's involvement in Formula One racing. Though it resembled an Espace with substantial bodywork changes, the vehicle had more in common with a Formula One car. The vehicle used a lightweight carbon fibre F1 style chassis in combination with a carbon fibre reinforced Espace J63 series body (as opposed to fibreglass on the standard model). Powering the Espace F1 was an (upgraded from its original rating of ) 3.5 litre, forty valve Renault RS5 V10 engine, as used in the 1993 Williams Renault FW15C. As with an F1 car, the V10 engine was mid engined (as opposed to the conventional front engined layout) and the power was transmitted to the rear wheels via a six speed semi automatic gearbox, also used in the Williams FW15C. The engine and transmission allowed the Espace F1 to accelerate from in 2.8 seconds, in 6.9 seconds and carry on accelerating to a top speed of
With the use of carbon ceramic brakes, the Espace F1's deceleration was no less impressive than its acceleration, and could accelerate from and brake to a complete halt in under
This version of the Espace was featured in driving simulator game Gran Turismo 2. Frank Williams was a noted passenger of the Espace F1, chauffeured by Williams driver David Coulthard. The Espace F1 currently resides in the Matra Museum in France.

The third generation Espace arrived in December 1996, with the long wheelbase Grand Espace coming to market in the beginning of 1998. The most notable feature of the Espace III was the radically futuristic interior (including an elongated and centrally mounted dashboard, digital speedometer and radio/CD display). Once again, the Espace III featured a plastic (GRP) body over a galvanised independent steel chassis. The Espace III received a facelift in September 2000. In November 1999, a smaller, 1.9 litre turbodiesel had been added to the lineup. The Espace III shared much of its running gear with the Laguna of the same era. Although Renault badged, the Espace III continued to be built by Matra. A number of third generation Espaces were used as bases for NGV and taxi conversions for the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and the Kuala Lumpur Sentral transportation hub in Malaysia, rebranded as Enviro 2000s. The third generation Espace was the last Espace to be built by Matra (the short lived Avantime was subsequently produced on the same production line). During 2001, Matra and MG Rover discussed a possible deal to build reskinned Espaces, as well as market them. However, the deal failed to happen. Production ended in September 2002, with the final production number being 357,120.

The fifth generation Espace was unveiled at the 2014 Paris Motor Show in October 2014. It abandons the conventional large MPV design of previous generations, instead having crossover SUV styling. The car is based on the Renault–Nissan Common Module Family architecture developed by both Renault and Nissan. It is offered with the latest version of Renault's R Link 2 information system (voice control, navigation, Bluetooth and radio), engine stop start, emergency brake assist, lane departure warning and road sign recognition with speed limit alerts, 360 degree sensors, reversing camera and a hands free parking system. The Espace V is only available in markets with LHD, with RHD vehicles not built nor sold, as with the Renault Talisman. In June 2017, the 1.6 liter petrol engine was replaced by the larger 1.8 TCe. In September 2018, both of the 1.6 liter R type diesel engines were replaced by larger, more powerful 2.0 liter engines from Nissan's MR engine family. An updated Renault Espace was commercialized from Summer 2020. This update comprises a new interior, additions to assisted driving options, an updated EasyLink infotainment system and a new dashboard. The petrol engined models were taken out of production in October 2020, leaving only two liter diesels. The lower powered diesel was discontinued in January 2022 and currently the Espace is only offered with the Blue dCi 190 EDC engine with
Vehicle production of this model was halted in March 2023.

+Petrol enginesModelYear(s)DisplacementFuel TypePowerTorqueCO2 EmissionsTCe 200 EDC703/2015–06/2017Petrol 8.5 s 140 g/kmEnergy TCe 225 EDC707/2017–10/2020Petrol 7.6 s 152 g/km
+Diesel enginesModelYear(s)DisplacementFuel TypePowerTorqueCO2 EmissionsdCi 13003/2015–08/2018Turbodiesel 10.8 s 119 g/kmdCi Twin Turbo 160 EDC6Twin turbo diesel 9.7 s 123 g/km2.0 Blue dCi 160 EDC09/2018–01/2022Turbodiesel 10.5–11.0 s 147–152 g/km2.0 Blue dCi 190 EDC10/2020–current 10.6 s2.0 Blue dCi 200 EDC09/2018–10/2020 9.1 s 148 g/km

The fifth generation Espace was preceded by the Initiale Paris concept car, which is similar to the production version. The concept was unveiled in September 2013 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It has crossover SUV styling and various luxury elements, previewing also the new Renault's Initiale Paris luxury sub marque. The car incorporates an aluminium–poly(methyl methacrylate) roof, which has a map of Paris. The engine is a 1.6 litre diesel unit.

Unveiled on 28 March 2023, the sixth generation Espace is heavily based on the Austral, sharing most of the body panels including the front end.