Okay, so there's this family I know. Parents in their early 40s, two sons approaching 10. The second car in the household is an old Renault Kangoo, which makes a lot of sense, certainly to them. So much sense, in fact, that the first car in the household is another old Renault Kangoo. A simple, van-based MPV may not be ideal for some people, but for others it's the obvious choice to such an extent that they would blink at you if you tried to suggest they buy anything else.My friends will probably keep their old Kangoos until they drop. (Until the Kangoos drop, that is. Not my friends.) When that sorry day arrives, and they suddenly find themselves considering the purchase of a new car for the first time in years, my guess is that they'll be straight back to their nearest Renault dealership asking for the latest model.And that model is going to come as something of a surprise to them, because although the basic Kangoo principle has never changed, one major feature certainly has. I don't mean the looks, particularly, though they are certainly different - not better, exactly, and very possibly worse, though the true beauty of a Kangoo is contained in its personality rather than its outward appearance, and if you are put off by this you are really missing the whole point of the car.No, the real change is in the amount of space. The old Kangoo was roomy enough, but the new one is extraordinary. Seating four large adults is a simple matter, and there is so much headroom that Renault has been able to create vast storage compartments above the skulls of the front and rear occupants while remaining confident that nobody who does not qualify for the Guinness Book of Records is likely to be inconvenienced by it.There are many, many places to put things, but even if there weren't the Kangoo would still be an immensely practical machine. Luggage capacity with all the seats in place is 650 litres, and when you fold down those in the rear that figure skyrockets to 2600 litres. For comparison, the equivalent statistic for the Laguna Sport Tourer is a relatively measly 1593 litres.It's only fair to point out that the Kangoo's considerable advantage over the Laguna is mainly down to the fact that it is so much taller, and if you don't have tall things to carry the extra 1007 litres isn't necessarily going to be much use to you. Then again, if any group of motorists is above-averagely likely to need to carry unusually tall things from place to place, it surely must be Kangoo owners.The Kangoo, like its French rivals the Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Partner, dates back to the 1990s (every model mentioned having been replaced by another of the same name since then), and in those days you more or less had to accept that they weren't going to be great to drive, and their lack of power was an important safety aid rather than a time-consuming nuisance.Not so nowadays. Although its high centre of gravity naturally leads to considerable body roll, the current Kangoo tackles corners willingly, and comes closer than you might expect to being fun to drive. More impressively, it rides very well indeed. No, it rides supremely well. Once more, no - this, ladies and gentleman, is the smoothest-riding vehicle I have driven in 2010. Frankly, I'm not sure I can recall anything better from the last five years.Who would have thought it? And who would have imagined that a 1.5-litre diesel engine could provide such performance for something with so much wind resistance? Actually, I would have imagined it myself, since the 1.5 dCi unit has so often in the past been one of the highlights of any Renault or Nissan fitted with it. But even I was surprised. Before checking, I had persuaded myself that the test car must have had a 1.9 dCi, but it didn't. No Kangoo does. The only engines available are this one - in 68bhp, 86bhp or, as here, 106bhp forms - or 90bhp and 105bhp versions of a 1.6-litre petrol unit.I'm not saying it's quick. 0-62mph in 13 seconds and a top whack of 106mph are not startling figures. But this is as much performance as you need from a Kangoo, and the splendidly set-up chassis can cope with it easily.The budget Kangoo is the Extreme with the less powerful petrol engine, which currently costs £11,870. At the top of the range comes the £15,480 106bhp Dynamique TomTom, whose equipment levels include satellite navigation and manual air-conditioning. They don't, however, include metallic paint, alloy wheels or rear parking sensors, and you have to pay over £1000 for all of those together.ESP (Electronic Stability Programme), which safety organisation Euro NCAP has been insisting for some time should be standard on more or less any car, is also an option for higher-specification Kangoos at £305, and it's not available at all on the entry-level Extreme. Engine 1461cc, 4 cylinders Power 106bhp Transmission 6 speed manual Fuel/CO2 51.4mpg / 146g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 13.0 seconds Top speed 106mph Price From £15018.00 approx Details correct at publication date
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