The Renault Espace has long been one of the biggest players in luxury French family travel. Consider its history: the minivan exemplar has been plying Europe’s roads since its near-simultaneous debut in the mid-80s with the Chrysler minivans over here in the States.
Many variations on the Espace’s appeal have moved the car upmarket over the years, without reclaiming much if its initial sales volume from its first few generations.
The new Espace is a seriously low-volume seller at this point, and will not be made in right-hand-drive since being dropped from the UK price lists two years back.
The unfortunate part of the Espace makeover is that it is now *thisclose* to being an appealing crossover versus a nerdy minivan. The nose and profile are still dead give-aways to the car’s mommy-mobile origins.
Our private theory is that the current Nissan Pathfinder is an Espace underneath, so it is too bad that the new model’s transition into crossover was not more thorough.
2015 Renault Espace
RENAULT REINVENTS THE ESPACE AT THE 2014 PARIS MOTOR SHOW
The 2014 Paris Motor Show sees Renault take the wraps off the new Espace. This large, elegant and innovative crossover, which combines a strong design and seductive appeal, is based largely upon the concept car that was revealed a year ago at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Like previous generations of the model in the course of its 30-year long career, a brightly-lit, comfortable and modular interior are the cornerstones of the new Espace which will also appeal thanks to fluid lines, as well as to its occupant-friendly cabin and floating centre console. Both the five- and seven-seat versions feature ingenious interior modularity and meticulous attention has been paid to detail with regard to the new car’s design and build.
The new Renault Espace will make its world premiere at a press conference led by Mr. Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of the Renault Group, at 11.00am on Thursday, October 2nd, on the Renault stand at the Paris Motor Show.
To mark the occasion, Renault and its partners Publicis Conseil and DigitasLBi have created an original digital presentation package which combines both video and 3D elements that will provide internet users with an immersive experience as they discover the new Espace’s interior and exterior designs in successive phases.
There are no plans for the New Espace to be sold in right hand drive markets.
The public will be able to access this on-line unveiling at www.crossover.renault.com 
Tom Burkart is the founder and managing editor of Car-Revs-Daily.com, an innovative and rapidly-expanding automotive news magazine.
He holds a Journalism JBA degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tom currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina with his two amazing dogs, Drake and Tank.
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