Two things made me deeply suspicious of the Renault Espace. The first was that I don't tend to like driving very large vehicles, accustomed as I am to zipping about town in a supermini. The second is that I don't have a sprawling family with which to fill the seats. Coming a few weeks after having the more amenably-sized Scenic in for review, the Espace struck me as being a little surplus to the Neary requirements. Nevertheless, I tried to empathise with somebody with a huge family, weighed down with lunchboxes, Pampers and Beyblades and realised that if you had to buy such a vehicle, the angular Espace makes a rather stylish choice.

The styling certainly makes a bold departure from many of the bland blobs that inhabit the full-sized MPV market. Renault has gone out on a limb with some wacky designs in the past few years but has toned the excess down a bit in the case of the Espace. The detailing is very neat, with rakish scalene triangles formed by bevelled front and rear wings. The headlights are an integral part of what Renault describe as a softer styling theme for the latest Espace and a slimmer bumper and a simpler grille design lose some of the rather fin-de-siecle styling of this model's predecessor. The lights feature Bi-Xenon lamps for better illumination and they also pivot, taking into account steering input and vehicle speed. The interior will be largely familiar but Renault have taken the concept of hiding all the major instruments and controls to extremes. A single central digital display shows most of the main functions, but the stereo controls are hidden under one of a multitude of flaps, as is the optional satellite navigation system. The controls for these features are a little fiddly, although the door-mounted air-conditioning and ventilation controls are well executed. Important safety upgrades have been introduced 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 eight airbags and three-point seatbelts with load limiters that will have Renault executives eating their berets if this car doesn't sail through the Euro NCAP five-star qualification.

Around town, the Espace never sheds the feeling that there was a lot of car protruding behind you, but the controls are pleasantly light, visibility is good and the driving position is even reasonably car-like. With its superior driving characteristics, the Espace leaves behind the image of obligatory MPV lurching and wallowing, instead offering a drive that's reasonably tight. Only blasting it down a bouncy B-road will find the limits of the Espace's suspension travel. The 3.0-litre diesel model I tried has to be the pick of the range - or so the Renault PR man enthusiastically assured me. My first suspicion was that he probably would say that, given that it's the most expensive version on offer. There aren't too many V6 diesel engines about, and having driven this one, we have to wonder why. The big Renault feels effortlessly strong when accelerating as if a giant velvet glove is propelling it. A maximum power rating of 180bhp combines to propel the 3.0dCi Espace to 60mph in a gnat's over 10 seconds and on to a 130mph maximum. If you've got an especially disciplined right foot, you'll average a return of nearly 30mpg from it as well. On a long motorway run, expect to see a range in excess of 750 miles due in no small part to the car's monster 83-litre fuel tank.

From a purely personal perspective I'd have to give the Espace a thumbs down - it's just too much vehicle for my needs. If my husband came home with a red face one day and claimed he had four children from a previous relationship who wanted to move in, then yes, I'd certainly be in the market for a Renault Espace. If, that is, there was enough left over after the psychoanalyst's bills.