Renault E-Space Concept Revives the Minivan for Electric Family Adventures

Renault rolled out its E-Space Concept at the 2026 Paris Motor Show as a fresh take on the people-mover that once defined family cars. This fully electric study looks back to the original 1984 Espace, the vehicle that helped invent the modern MPV, and updates that idea for today’s needs. At 4.70 meters long, 2.02 meters wide and 1.67 meters tall, the concept sits low to the ground with short overhangs and 23-inch wheels pushed out to the corners. Its smooth, single-volume shape rejects the high-riding stance of most current family vehicles and instead favors clean, aerodynamic lines that recall both early Espace models and modern architecture.

A U-shaped LED light strip runs across the front and back of this vehicle, framing the body with a true sleekness and an illuminated diamond emblem that looks to be hovering right in the middle, supported by a tidy pattern of small lights. The deep black body panels known as rubé sit against a huge expanse of clear glass that extends far past the midsection of the automobile.



The designers here chose a unique approach, relying on Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s translucent, hyper minimalist style, and the result is a cabin that resembles a large glass bubble encased in flowing metal. To improve airflow, the front bumper incorporates a moveable splitter that dips close to the road when the vehicle is moving. Out rear, the vertical surfaces and a tiny lip spoiler pay reference to previous Espace models while remaining clean and airy.


Double rear-hinged doors that open without a middle pillar swing wide, revealing a flat-floored cabin constructed around six seats that are essentially identical. These seats resemble elegant furniture rather than ordinary automobile seats, with narrow upper portions and shiny shells that appear to float above the floor on hidden supports. If you’re in the back row, you may rotate your chair 180 degrees to face the people in the third row, forming a little social area similar to what you’d see on a fast train.


In a four-seat setup, the middle seats fold completely flat to form a large table. The second row also gets tray tables with 12.3-inch screens that attach to the back of the front seats, which is convenient when you’re facing the right way, but when you want to get cozy, there’s a sliding console that travels along a central spine and holds a small fridge, an air purifier, video game controllers, and even a classic game of Connect 4, transforming the space into a shared living area rather than just a row of chairs.



The enormous glass top and lower side windows allow enough of natural light to enter the interior. The door knobs are wrapped in soft quilted fabric, and there is some ambient lighting running around the cabin base, as well as reading lights on the roof rail, to add to the relaxing atmosphere. The designers experimented with color inside, utilizing red tones on the panels and a lovely coral carpet that fades out from a brighter center. The metal controls resemble elegant jewelry, and the tray tables feature exquisite marquetry work made of straw rather than wood, which is a wonderful touch.


The driver now has a massive new panel in front of them, the OpenR Panorama display, which measures 1,130 by 110 millimeters from pillar to pillar. It’s situated close to the driver’s line of sight and displays all of the important information, but don’t try to tap it; it isn’t touch-sensitive. Instead, there are two flexible screens that spin around the base of the steering column and provide all of the necessary functions.


It’s a fairly clever setup that keeps the passenger side clean and clutter-free. With steer-by-wire technology, they were able to create a tiny wheel with a fixed hub and touch surfaces, allowing them to experiment with the controls without worrying about mechanical limits. The OpenR Panorama display is already scheduled to be installed in production versions of the Rafale and Scenic, so you can know it’s a winner.