Renault E-Space Concept First Look: The Espace Is Back As A Six-Seat Living Room

Filmed at the Paris Motor Show 2026 · Photos & video: Aristotel Cristina

Renault’s E-Space Concept puts six individual seats on a flat floor, a fridge in the console and a screen across the full width of the car. It’s a world premiere from Renault’s Paris press conference, and a tribute to the 1984 Espace.

That car invented the European MPV forty-two years ago. The electric E-Space brings the idea back as what Renault calls a “voiture à vivre”, a car to live in.

No Pillar, One Big Opening

At 4.70 m long, 2.02 m wide and 1.67 m tall on 23-inch wheels, it’s a big, upright box, but a sculpted one. Double rear-hinged doors open with no central pillar, so the whole side of the car opens up. In person, that’s the moment that stops people at the stand.

A U-shaped light signature wraps the grille around an illuminated logo that seems to float, and the glass dips below a low waistline. At speed, the front splitter lowers for better aerodynamics.

Seats That Turn Into A Table

The six seats sit in three rows and are styled after the designer Pierre Paulin. The second row swivels 180° to face the third, or folds flat into a table. A sliding console carries a fridge, an air purifier, game controllers and a Connect 4 game.

The driver gets a steer-by-wire wheel with a fixed hub. There’s no dashboard as such, just the OpenR Panorama screen running the full width of the car. The all-red cabin uses bio-based materials, from straw marquetry and wool carpet to a steering wheel made partly from castor oil and organic cotton.

The Screen Is The Part You’ll See Again

Renault says the E-Space doesn’t preview a production model and won’t replace the current Espace. So the six swivelling seats stay on the stand. One piece is coming, though. The OpenR Panorama screen goes into Renault’s next top models, starting with the next-generation Rafale and Scenic.

“We designed this concept car as a tribute to the 1984 Espace – the very first MPV.”

Alexandre Malval, Renault Brand Design Director

Our Take

With both sides open, nothing stands between the doors and the whole cabin is on show, three rows of red seats ready to swivel. It’s the best argument for the MPV we’ve seen in years, and a reminder that SUVs took over the space the original Espace created.

We hope the seating ideas survive. For now, the place to look is the next-generation Rafale and Scenic, where the full-width screen arrives first. The rest of Renault’s Paris stand, including its electric Turbo, is in our Paris Motor Show 2026 hub.

Source: Renault.

Independent editorial. No manufacturer paid for or reviewed this article.