When the opportunity to publicly demonstrate my ignorance about cars about four years ago arose, I was excited – because despite outwardly looking like I’m ‘getting on a bit’ I’m still a child at heart – about all the fast, flash, fantastic machines I was going to drive.

Sports cars, coupes, hot hatches and luxury limousines were all very well represented on a list of cars that I was most eager to put to the test.

One category that didn’t put in an appearance is MPVs. It’s a market that’s been slowly strangled by the rise in popularity of the SUV and crossover but this week Renault’s Grand Scenic has managed to convince me that these family minibuses are still relevant and, perhaps more importantly, desirable.

It was always going to be tough for MPVs when the crossover uprising took hold. SUVs have pretty much all the same attributes but, well, look way, way cooler.

Renault have attempted to address that mismatch by giving the latest Grand Scenic a fresher, more dynamic appearance with big wheels and a swept-back stance.

It’s 20mm wider than the model it replaces, with an additional 30mm between the axles and a rear overhang that’s 16mm shorter. Those changes might seem small in a vehicle that’s 4,634mm long but the overall effect is profound, especially when you factor in those mammoth 20in wheels.

Those wheels give the Grand Scenic a squat, purposeful look yet, conversely, also improve ground clearance by 40mm. Big wheels are seldom a boon for ride quality so, to combat this, Renault have slipped on suitably large shoes, with the 195/55 tyres providing hefty 107mm sidewalls.

They have also kept the tyres relatively narrow and, by choosing the compounds carefully, have earned an A rating for rolling resistance.

Climb inside – and for some that additional 40mm will indeed make it a bit of climb – and the first thing you’ll notice as you sink into the nicely sculpted seats is just how SUV-like the driving position feels.

The steeply-raked windscreen and vast dashboard that meet somewhere close to the horizon help dissipate that sensation somewhat but the gently raised driving position does offer a little of an SUV’s appealing sense of lofty security.

I’ve never been a huge fan of the tablet-style screens mounted on top of the dashboard. I would much rather see them properly integrated into the centre stack but Renault have done just that and yet still managed to make it look like an afterthought, installing their 8.7in display in the middle of an unsightly plastic plinth. I should be careful what I wish for.

Renault’s R-Link set-up doesn’t really do enough to win you over either. Its function is convoluted and confusing. There are touch-sensitive buttons running down the right of the portrait-orientated screen including, oddly, a + and a – that adjusts the volume and a home button that seems to do anything but take you ‘home’.

The system has TomTom sat nav, Bluetooth, 3D sound and Renault’s Multi Sense drive modes as well as Android Auto although, because of the orientation, a lot of the screen real estate is wasted. It’s time Google introduced a portrait mode for their software.

Then there’s the sliding centre console between the seats that, for the most part, seems like a great idea. That is until you want to use the cup holders which are, rather inconveniently, hidden away beneath the dash when the console is in its foremost position.

There’s lots of space for front seat passengers but it’s a case of diminishing returns the further towards the back you are relegated. The middle row of seats slide fore and aft and, in their rearmost position, will comfortably accommodate a pair of fully grown people but that capacity starts to suffer when you bring the jump seats into use.

Those two rearmost seats really are only suitable for younger children, not only because there’s a distinct lack of legroom even with the middle row pushed fully forward, but also because the heavily tapered roofline impacts on the amount of headroom available.

The middle row splits 60:40 and, like the rear seats, can be dropped at the touch of a button. Deploying the rear seats is just a case of pulling on a strap attached to the seat backs. There are Isofix child seat anchors on the two outer seats in the middle row and on the front passenger seat.

Boot capacity is 596 litres with the rear seats stowed. Drop the middle row and that rises to a competitive 1,900 litres.

My test car arrived with a 1.4-litre diesel engine under its bonnet. With just 110hp and 260Nm of torque it might, on paper, appear to be a little underpowered for a vehicle that could, at times, be hauling around a sizeable mass of human beings and that itself weighs north of one-and-a-half tonnes.

Performance figures suggest there might be some logic in that assumption too, with the amble to 62mph taking 11.9 seconds and an almost certainly irrelevant top speed of 117mph.

While it’s impossible to argue that real-world performance feels any different to what those numbers suggest, the Grand Scenic is brisk enough not to frustrate and power delivery is smooth and linear. The manual six-speed gearbox is swift and precise, making the preservation of forward momentum as effortless as possible.

Fuel economy dips markedly when you’re negotiating stop-start traffic but overall, considering the vehicle’s weight, the real-world return over the course of an average(ish) commute is reasonably solid. Refinement is excellent at cruising speeds but engine noise is intrusive when you accelerate hard, so don’t.

The big Renault is a bit of a contradiction on the handling front. It looks, understandably, bulky and unwieldy despite the curves and the heavily tapered roofline but swing through a few bends and its willingness to change direction comes as a welcome surprise. It doesn’t, of course, handle like a lightweight sports car but it confidently managed to exceed my humble expectations.

The steering is reasonably quick and the suspension errs marginally towards firm, lending the big MPV excellent body control. Coupled with the commendable structural integrity and the Grand Scenic’s overall character is one of admirable, yet ultimately doomed, determination because, despite the surprising spring in its step it does have a bit of an Achilles' heel.

At low speeds it struggles to smooth away insignificant bumps, transmitting them with alarming regularity into the cockpit. It’s partly the fault of those huge wheels, even with their deep sidewalls, and the reliance on rear torsion beam rather than something a little more sophisticated.

The Renault Grand Scenic is not without its flaws but there are few cars that are. What is, perhaps, most surprising is where those flaws lie. It is a remarkably good-looking vehicle considering it is little more than a box with a quite specific remit and is surprisingly nimble for its size. It’s also, as you would expect, very practical.

However, cabin refinement can fall below expectations and the ride just lacks that final layer of polish possessed by some of its rivals. The infotainment system could be both better integrated and easier to use too.

Do I want a Grand Scenic? The answer to that, no matter how good it was, is no. Would it find a way onto my list of possibles if I needed an extra row of seats? Absolutely.

Renault Grand Scenic Dynamique S Nav dCi 110

Price: £27,385

As tested: £30,240

Engine: 1.4-litre 4-cylinder

Max power: 110hp @ 4,000rpm

Max torque: 260Nm @ 1,750rpm

Max speed: 117mph

Acceleration (0-62mph): 11.9sec

Combined: 70.4mpg

Emissions (CO2): 104g/km

For more information visit www.renault.co.uk