- Witness to a great adventure

- Interesting and innovative crossover model

- Relatively well preserved given its history

- No reserve

Introduced at the turn of the new millennium, the Scenic RX4 was halfway between a people carrier and an SUV softroader. With increased ground clearance, it had a part-time four-wheel drive transmission from Magna-Steyr: in normal use, it was a front-wheel drive car, with a viscous coupling sending drive to the rear wheels in the event of a loss of grip. Otherwise, the RX4 stood out from the regular Scenic thanks to its large front bumper with built-in fog lamps, side cladding and spare wheel mounted on the tailgate. The whole car looked rather good.

This Scenic RX4 was loaned by Renault’s Communications Department to two young adventurers who wanted to undertake a massive intercontinental journey, in the spirit of the ‘Routes du monde’ trips that Renault sponsored from 1966–1984. The stickers covering the car bear witness to the countries it travelled through, in particular in Latin America, but it does not appear to have been specially prepared for the trip, other than to modify the rear compartment by fitting some luggage nets and removing one seat to create extra space. It still has its original registration certificate in the name of Renault’s management garage and it entered the collection in 2007. For an expedition vehicle, it has been amazingly well preserved, but will need a full service before being driven again.