Holden Colorado vs Renault Scenic E-Tech

What's the difference?

The Holden Colorado Z71 is a pretty decent towing machine, handling all aspects of general load-lugging duties with a quiet reliable efficiency. In simple terms, it kept the whole ute-and-van combination trucking along nicely.

The Z71 is a solid Colorado package all-round with some welcome flashiness to its functionality.

The Renault Scenic E-Tech is lining up against some heavy-hitting competitors, but Renault Australia admits it has one top of mind - the Kia EV5. The Kia’s a quality package and if you’re in the market for a mid-size electric SUV, you’ll no doubt have it on your shopping list. And you should have a look at this slightly smaller car, as well. It has the refinement, practicality and safety to stand up confidently in a rapidly expanding segment.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

The Colorado is a good-looking unit, so it follows that the Z71, the Colorado line-up's top dog, should be the best-looking vehicle in the entire range. And it is. Look at the photos yourself and make up your own mind.

The Z71's black highlights everywhere, the roof rails, side steps and fold-away tonneau cover add functionality to the flashiness.

Under its slick exterior, the Z71 sits on a steel ladder-frame chassis.

There may be no mechanical differences between the Z71 and other similarly-powered Colorado utes, but this is not merely a sticker-pack special – this is something more substantial than that. Don't believe me? Keep reading.

There are some design tips of the hat to Scenics past in this latest electric version, including blacked-out door pillars and a recognisably angular C-pillar treatment.

But despite the fact it debuted at the Munich IAA Motor Show in late 2023, from its slimline headlights and jagged grille to its sculpted flanks and saw tooth rear end, this fifth-generation Scenic looks contemporary from every angle.

A highlight is the large Renault diamond logo sitting at the centre of a faux upper grille, surrounded by a multitude of the same elongated hexagon shape as a cool recurring graphic, the pattern merging neatly into the headlights.

Speaking of which, the LED beams can be set to produce an elaborate welcome sequence as you approach the car.

The interior feels slick and screen-rich but not at the expense of user-friendly physical controls for audio, ventilation and other commonly used functions.

Recycled fabric on the dashboard and headliner looks and feels good while doing its bit to suppress cabin noise.

Speaking of which, the Scenic is Renault’s poster child for the use of recycled materials in its construction and end of life recyclability.

Everything from ferrous components consisting of 37 per cent recycled materials to a bonnet and doors made of up to 80 per cent recycled aluminium.

The dashboard cowling is made from kenaf, a plant fibre similar to jute; the steering wheel cover is 51 per cent bio-sourced; the cockpit uses 26 per cent recycled plastic; the storage bins in the door panels are 45 per cent recycled fibre, the floor mats are 54 per cent recycled plastic bottles and the seat upholstery is 100 per cent recycled fabric. The list goes on and on, but you get the idea.

The Z71 has a Colorado carry-over interior, which is nice and simple, with some Z71 branding stitched in the front seats.

For starters, there are grab handles for the driver and front passenger – I'm a big fan of grab handles.

The dash is a basic layout – but made family-friendly with expanses of tough plastic and soft-touch leather – and it has everything you need. The centre console houses an 8.0-inch colour touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and standard nav.

There is a USB port in the centre-bin, and there's a 12V socket in the back of that bin for back-seat passengers.

The cabin is reasonably comfortable; the front seats – in fact all of the Z71's seats – err on the side of firm rather than being well-cushioned. But, even in the back seat, when I sat behind my driving position, I had ample head- and leg-room.

There are the usual collection of storage spaces around the cabin – sunglasses, glove box, door pockets, seat-back pockets – but a long centre-bin lid impedes access to the cupholders in between driver and front-seat passenger, and there are no cupholders in the back seat's fold-down centre arm-rest.

There are shallow storage spots under the rear seats, one of which contains your jack etc.

Overall fit and finish is impressive without being spectacular, but that's fine with me.

The tray is 1484mm long, 1534mm wide (1122mm between the wheel-arches) and 466mm high. Back there, you get Premium DuraGuard Spray–on tub liner, which seems sturdy and durable, as well as four solid tie-down points.

In terms of how it all works in practice, at just under 4.5m long, close to 1.9m wide and less than 1.6m tall with a 2785mm wheelbase, the Scenic is more compact than the larger BYD Sealion 7 or Zeekr 7X, for example.

But there’s plenty of breathing room up front, with the centre screen angled towards the driver enhancing the cockpit feel for the one doing the steering.

There are large carpeted bins in the doors with room for bottles and a lidded storage box between the seats doubles as a centre armrest. That lid slides forward by 70mm to cover a small storage cubby under the front of it, which is a handy trick.

Locating the gear selector on the right-hand side of the steering column liberates extra space for a centre cupholder and large console storage bin. There’s a generous glove box and a wireless smartphone charger under the centre screen includes a rubberised base and two lugs to stop devices sliding around. Power and connectivity runs to two USB-C ports and a 12-volt socket.

Moving to the second row, sitting behind my 183cm driving position, while toe room is a little tight (with the driver’s seat set low down), there’s heaps of leg and headroom as well as enough shoulder room (and foot room thanks to a flat floor) for three adults on short to mid-length trips. A pair of adjustable centre air vents is also a welcome inclusion.  

Storage includes door bins (again with room for bottles), large and device-sized pockets on the front seat backs and the pièce de résistance is the evocatively named ‘Ingenious armrest’, which includes a storage area and two cupholders at the base of articulated horizontal arms that allow passengers to mount a phone or tablet at various angles in rubberised slots for joint or solo viewing.

It is, indeed, ingenious and four USB-C plugs (two in the armrest, two near the air vents) mean back-seaters won’t be short of power options.

Boot volume with the rear seats upright is useful at close to 545 litres (VDA), expanding to around 1670L with the 40/20/40 split-fold second row lowered. A power tailgate is standard across the range.

There are bag hooks, tie-down anchors, lighting and a 12-volt socket back there, although for V2L (vehicle to load) functionality you’ll need an accessory adapter to plug into the charge port.

Maximum braked trailer towing capacity is a handy 1100kg, but there’s no spare tyre, only a repair/inflator kit, which isn’t good enough.

The Scenic E-Tech starts from $55,990, before on-road costs, for the entry-grade Techno. Then there’s the Techno Long Range for $59,990, BOC, while the flagship Esprit Alpine comes in at $65,990.

That’s sharp relative to competitors and follows the brand getting a reality check with the Megane E-Tech after it launched here in late 2024, Renault shaving $10,000 off its price only a few months later.

Equipment highlights across the line-up include a 12-inch multimedia touchscreen, a 12.3-inch driver display, sat-nav, adaptive cruise control, a 360-degree surround-camera view, all LED exterior lights, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and six-speaker Arkamys audio.

There’s also dual-zone climate control, an electric tailgate, auto-folding side mirrors, cloth upholstery, heated front seats and steering wheel, 48-colour ambient interior lighting, keyless entry and start and 19-inch alloys (on the Techno models).

Then you can fold in over-the-air updates, access to remote services via the ‘MyRenault’ app and Google In-Built that enables voice-control for up to 70 car functions.

The Esprit Alpine ups the ante with 20-inch rims, nine-speaker Harman Kardon audio, synthetic leather and cloth seat trim, six-way power adjustment (with memory settings) for driver and front passenger seats, a massaging driver’s seat, brushed metal pedal covers and facial recognition for seat and mirror settings.

In short, the Scenic is well-equipped relative to its competitive set and cost of entry, with Renault confirming there are mainly demonstrator cars in dealers at the moment, with the majority of stock landing in late May or early June this year.

There are three optional paint choices - metallic ($800), two-tone ($1000) and matt ($1200), the latter exclusive to the Esprit Alpine.

The Z71 has a 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel Duramax engine (147kW at 3600rpm and 500Nm at 2000rpm), six-speed automatic transmission, a part-time 4WD system and a rear limited slip differential.

Like its Megane E-Tech sibling, the Scenic E-Tech uses an excited synchronous motor which Renault says is more efficient than the more commonly used permanent magnet type, with the bonus that it uses no rare earth materials.

The entry-level Scenic E-Tech Techno's fitted with a 60kWh NMC battery. Its electric motor transfers 125kW and 280Nm to the front wheels and Renault claims a 0-100km/h time of 8.6 seconds.

The Techno Long Range and top-spec Esprit Alpine pack an 87kWh battery and a more powerful motor, raising outputs to 160kW/300Nm and lowering the 0-100kmh sprint time to 7.9 seconds.

Our dash display read 7.9L/100km, but we recorded actual fuel consumption on test of 9.7L/100km. It has a 76-litre fuel tank, so expect an approximate driving range of 753km (according to our on-test fuel consumption), factoring in a 30km safety buffer.

On our towing loop, of more than 200km total, the dash was showing 14.5L/100km, but we recorded an actual fuel-consumption figure of 15.5L/100km. Expect an approximate driving range of 460km (according to our on-test fuel consumption), factoring in a 30km safety buffer.

Official energy consumption numbers for the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle are close between the two powertrains at 16.3kWh/100km for the Techno and 16.8kWh/100km for the Techno Long Range and Esprit Alpine, which are bang on average for the class.

Range for the standard Techno is 430km, which is at the lower end of expectations for a medium electric SUV but adding the bigger battery pushes that number out to 625km, which is much healthier and useful day-to-day.

On the launch drive program, which took in some urban but mostly rural B-road running, we saw an average consumption figure of 17.1kWh/100km in the Esprit Alpine, which is pretty good in those conditions.

The car’s 400V electrical architecture allows for DC charging at up to 130kW for the entry model and 150kW for the bigger-battery variants.

At that speed, claimed 15-80 per cent charge times are 32 and 37 minutes, respectively. Not the best, not the worst. AC charge capability is 11kW on all models and a Mode 3 charging cable is included.

The Z71 has a steel ladder-frame chassis, double-wishbone front suspension and leaf-spring live rear axle, so it's more aligned with heavy-duty work than smooth on-road performance.

Having said that, the Z71 is quite settled over most surfaces, including highway bitumen and rough back-road backtop, and at most speeds – rather impressive for an unladen ute.

Steering is a bit floaty, with some play in it, and there is noticeable understeer on corners.

The engine is one of the torquiest in the current-day ute mob – only matched by V6 utes – and it delivers that torque quite evenly and smoothly across the rev range. The Duramax turbo-diesel can, however, be noisy, and because of that it seems like it's working hard, though it never feels too stressed, even when towing a caravan that has a caravan with a tare (empty) weight of 2600kg.

There's plenty of life in terms of acceleration with active pedal-feel but, when it comes time to pulling up to a fast stop on front disc and rear drum brakes, the brake pedals are rather spongy.

The six-speed auto is generally spot-on for all duties, although it did occasionally down-shift with an extra violence of action when it didn't really need to.

Ride and handling are pretty good, with its Aussie-tuned suspension (including traditional-ute leaf-springs at the rear) doing a decent job of sorting everything evenly, and it was only ever rattled by very severe bumps, wash-outs, and ruts at lower speeds, i.e. during low-range 4WDing.

The Z71's on-road performance and refinement are generally not as polished as segment leaders, but that's nowhere near a deal-breaker.

Renault says the entry-grade Scenic Techno will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 8.6 seconds with the more powerful Techno Long Range and Esprit Alpine lowering that number to 7.9sec. So, it’s quick without being scary fast.

It’s certainly nippy in traffic and at the risk of stating the bleeding obvious, quiet. Even in the context of premium EVs the Scenic is quiet and refined.

Suspension is strut front, multi-link rear and the car feels super planted. The launch drive took in some reasonably rapid twisting corners and there’s no hint of lateral movement in the car. Body roll is minimal, too.

Tyres are energy-efficient Michelin e.Primacy (Techno - 205/55x19 / Esprit Alpine - 235/45x20) and the steering is quick with a relatively low number of turns lock-to-lock. It’s never jerky or too sharp. Rather, it means the car starts to turn into a corner the instant you apply steering lock.

That said, the feel between your hands on the wheel and the front tyres on the road is less than intimate.

There are four drive modes - ‘Comfort, ‘Eco’, ‘Sport’ and ‘Custom’. None of them adjust the suspension tune, it’s more about accelerator response and we found Comfort delivers the best blend of right-foot urgency and overall composure.

Most of the braking you’re going to do will be courtesy of the regenerative system and there are five levels, adjustable via steering wheel paddles, including the most aggressive single-pedal mode.

The one-pedal setting pulls the car up nice and progressively and if you do need to use the physical brakes, they’re ventilated discs all around. Some bite on initial application, but even on downhill corner sections, leaning on them quite hard, they perform well without drama.

Under the heading of miscellaneous observations, you can sense the ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) including functions like lane-keeping assist doing their thing occasionally, but it’s all quite subtle, which is a good thing.

The Esprit Alpine’s sports front seats remained grippy and comfortable after a couple of hours behind the wheel. And it’s worth noting the Scenic’s relatively compact 10.9-metre turning circle helps in slow-speed manoeuvring.

Speaking of which, some of the modes in the audio system and external warning sounds for pedestrian safety have been designed by French composer and performer Jean-Michel Jarre, noted for his electronic, ambient-style music. Hats off to Renault for commissioning him.

The Scenic E-Tech has a maximum five-star ANCAP rating from assessment in 2022 with active crash-avoidance tech including AEB (with pedestrian and cyclist detection and junction assist), adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and lane-keep assist, blind-spot detection, traffic sign recognition, a 360-degree camera view, rear cross-traffic alert, driver fatigue monitoring and tyre pressure monitoring as well as front, side and rear parking sensors.

If a crash is unavoidable, there are seven airbags onboard including a front centre bag and for child seats there three top-tether points across the second row with ISOFIX anchor in the outer positions.

Holden offers a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty across the Colorado range, with servicing required every 12 months or 12,000km. Capped price servicing applies over seven years/ 84,000km with the average annual cost over three years working out to be $405.

Warranty is five years/100,000km, which is well off the market pace with many competitors at seven, eight and up to 10 years conditional. The battery warranty at eight-year/160,000km matches the market.

Roadside assistance is included for five years, service is recommended every 12 months/30,000km and fixed price servicing is available at a reasonably sharp average of $325 per workshop visit for the first five years.

Renault has 52 dealers across the country covering major cities and key rural areas.