Diesel-engined models account for more than 90 per cent of all Espace sales so it’s no surprise that the engine line up of the Espace Dynamique consists of four diesels and one solitary petrol unit. The Dynamique trim level is generally marketed as having sporting design cues although Renault is smart enough to know that a boy racer Espace isn’t going to fool anyone so has kept the Dynamique-specific bits agreeably restrained.

The exterior features 17-inch Tellus alloys, chromed exterior door handles and roof bars and a body-coloured windscreen base. The interior includes special upholstery with red stitching, two-tone red and black seatbelts that sound a bit Mel and Kim but actually look very smart, and a four-spoke leather-trimmed steering wheel. There’s also a punchy stereo with a dash-mounted six disc autochanger.

The Dynamique, like all other Espace models, is first and foremost a family vehicle, and safety is the number one priority. Therefore, it comes as no surprise to find that it includes features such as seats with the safety belt built-in to provide maximum comfort and safety irrespective of the positioning of the seat or angle of recline. Also a standard fitment is the ‘slide and lock’ system, which consists of sliding seat rails set in the floor allowing infinite movement within the cabin to maximise practicality. The Espace ensures you and your family not only travel in comfort but also secure in the knowledge that every model comes with a top five-star crash test safety rating from Euro NCAP. That much is money in the bank.

Important safety upgrades have been introduced to the latest Espace line-up including rain and light sensors, "See Me Home" lighting, front and rear parking assist, a tyre pressure monitoring system and Emergency Brake Assist to beef up the response of the anti-lock brakes. The Electronic Stability Program has also been improved, with the addition of understeer control. Otherwise there’s the three-point seatbelts with load limiters and curtain airbags that cover all three rows of passengers as well as the more usual twin front and side balloons. The four outer passengers in the rear also get chest airbags, making the Espace a vehicle that must be quite magnificent to crash in.

Renault has strengthened the range of powerplants on offer with the addition of a punchy 175bhp dCi unit. Able to accelerate a standard wheelbase Dynamique to 60mph in a fraction under ten seconds and on to a top speed of 127mph, this state of the art common rail turbodiesel is also capable of turning in a combined fuel figure of 38.2mpg, quite something when you consider the Espace weighs as much as a Mercedes S-Class. It’s a testament to Renault’s engineering that a vehicle this big and rapid will churn out just 200g/km of carbon dioxide.

Three other diesel engines are offered; a 120bhp 1.9-litre dCi, a 150bhp 2.2-litre version, and the flagship 3.0-litre dCi powerplant that rather surprisingly still manages 30mpg. With a prodigious slug of torque at its disposal, it makes an awesomely relaxed high speed cruiser in the best Gallic traditions.

The 2.0-litre turbo petrol powerplant might prove of minority interest to Espace Dynamique buyers but it’s still an intriguing piece of engineering. Thanks to what Renault call a ‘twin-scroll turbocharger’ which improves efficiency by limiting the re-aspiration of burned exhaust gas, there’s a hefty slug of pulling power (some 250Nm) available from just 3,250rpm. Still, you’d expect a certain amount of noise with all that turbocharger puffing and whirling. In actual fact, it’s not too bad. The acoustic solutions have come courtesy of modified valve timing, a special tensioner for the camshaft drive toothed belt and a twin-mass damper which reduces noise from the rotating assembly.

This generation Espace is an evolutionary advance over its predecessor rather than anything manifestly revolutionary. What is surprising is that Renault have, if anything, toned down their recent excess of novelty and have restored some normality to the Espace. Whereas the MKIII model was built around a radical spaceframe chassis with composite parts, the MKIV Espace instead opts for a more conventional steel monocoque platform shared with the Laguna. Only the wings and tailgate are now made of plastic composites, the doors and bonnet being fabricated in aluminium with a steel roof.

The Espace Dynamique may be sporty in name only but make no mistake, this vehicle has a lot of substance top fall back on. Whoever said big MPVs had to look like frumpy boxes would do well to run the rule over one of these.