THE Renault Grand Espace MPV is not the kind of car that will get your pulse racing on any given day.

But on a nice straight road, with the children strapped in and quiet for a change, it will offer a level of commute that almost matches what a pampering Mercedes S-class can manage.

And it seats two more than the Merc too. In that department, no car comes close to what this seven-seat pioneer can do.

Whichever seat you occupy in the car, you get decent space. You can convert the middle seat in the second row into a mini table if you don't need to carry seven people. In this mode, the six remaining seats can have individual armrests.

Each seat is well-padded and supportive. Partly because of this, Renault has not found a way to stow them away. So, if you want more cargo space, you would have to physically remove the rear row. It's not hard to do, but where do you leave them if you do not live in a landed property?

Most of the other MPVs have fold-flat third rows.

However, most of the other MPVs don't have 14 air-con vents - something you will appreciate in the Espace, especially between March and October.

What Espace owners appreciate most however is the car's glassy construction. The driver gets the largest and most uninterrupted front view, thanks to its wide windscreen and generous front quarter windows.

Unlike the jumbo wing mirrors found on some SUVs and MPVs, those on the French car are slim, elegant and unobtrusive. Despite that, they are designed to give decent rear view.

The Impulsion variant tested here comes with a sunroof. The Espace's transparent nature just makes it that much more roomier.

It must be a French thing, because the Citroen Picasso is like that too.

The Espace here is a facelift of the car launched four years ago. Besides cosmetic tweaks to the grille, bumper, rear lights and wheels, the latest version has one fundamental change.

Its body panels are made of either plastic or aluminium, shaving 20kg off the car's weight. This construction was employed in the preceding model, but Renault picked steel before reverting to the lighter materials.

Inside, the seat brackets and steering wheel frame are made of exotic magnesium.

Its engine is the same but has been tuned to produce a bit more power. Hence the Espace is now 0.2 seconds quicker at getting to 100kmh.

Besides its excellent accommodation for seven, the car is easy to get in and out of, even if you use the third row of seats. However, if you are in a vertical parking lot, access is limited to whatever space is available for the car's big doors to swing out to.

So the facelifted Espace is just as spacious and comfy as before, looks more modern with its new grille and wheels, is lighter and a bit zippier.

And it is fantastic on runway-like roads.

But what happens when you take it down Old Thomson Road or South Buona Vista Road? Predictably, the Espace is more cleaver than scalpel here. As long as you keep it below 60kmh, it is just fine. Go faster and it begins to heave and list - not unlike any MPV its size.

Its saving grace in situations like this is its excellent visibility.

If you want a seven-seater that drives better, the Ford S-Max is a good choice. But it is nowhere as spacious or luxurious as the Espace.

Oh, one last thing. The car costs far less than its original launch price of $170,000 in 2004.

RENAULT GRAND ESPACE 2.0T
Price: $145,000 with COE
Engine: 1,998cc 16-valve inline-4 turbo
Transmission: Five-speed automatic with quick shift
Power: 170bhp at 5,000rpm
Torque: 270Nm at 3,250rpm
0-100kmh: 10.6 seconds
Top speed: 197kmh
Fuel consumption: 10.2 litres/100km (city-highway)
Agent: Wearnes Automotive