Long-term report: What’s the Renault Megane E-Tech like to live with?
The Megane is now a small electric SUV, but does that make it stand out from its competitors? Jon Reay has been putting it through its paces.
It feels like not a day goes by without a new electric SUV hitting the roads. Whether it’s from a Chinese, Japanese, American or European car company, it’s beginning to feel like the only cars on sale these days have been raised off the ground a few inches more than is necessary.
There’s lots of reasons why, of course: chief among them the fact that customers seem to love them. The top five best selling cars last year were all some sort of SUV or crossover, so if you can’t beat them, why not join them?
Well, Renault has other ideas – sort of. They might have launched a baffling number of new high-riding, go-anywhere-looking models over the last few years, but they’ve also remembered that these aren’t necessarily everyone’s cup of tea.
Enter the Megane E-Tech: a medium-sized EV that, unusually these days, is actually shaped like a normal car. And for the next few months, we’re going to be putting it through its paces.
The Megane name has been around for three decades now, and Renault hasn’t changed the formula much over that time. So it’s still a five-door, medium-sized hatchback with room for a small family. It’s still front-wheel-drive, and it’s even still made in France – something Renault is particularly proud of.
The big change is what powers it. There are no petrol, diesel or hybrid Meganes: unlike many of its rivals, it’s gone fully electric. That, says Renault, means you get a far less compromised product – and they might be onto something.
Designing an electric car from scratch means no wasted space, no awkward transmission tunnel down the middle of the car, and crucially, less weight.
If you thought the change in powertrain was radical though, just wait until you step inside. The Megane arrived just as Renault was ripping up its rulebook for interior design, and it really shows.
The old petrol-powered Megane was designed during an era where Renault seemed to have lost its va-va-voom, but this one is properly radical by comparison. You get a square steering wheel, fabric all over the dash (rather than nasty plastic), and plenty of attractive silver details and yellow stitching dotted around all over the place.
Perhaps the most dramatic change is the tech. Renault has binned the (quite awful) infotainment systems they’ve insisted on using for the last decade, and started from scratch with the help of Google.
That means you get – effectively – one giant smartphone in the middle of your dashboard. Google Maps is the standard navigation option, complete with live traffic info (just like on your phone), and even apps like Spotify, Amazon Prime Video and more can be installed for entertainment.
Renault’s team has even started from scratch on the exterior. Once upon a time the Megane was a fantastic-looking car, but in recent years things had become a bit… forgettable. There’s no longer any danger of that: even in the grey-and-black colour scheme of our car, it’s far more eye-catching and futuristic than before – helped by interesting details like fold-out door handles, and enormous alloy wheels that look decidedly concept car in appearance.
As makeovers go, this is Anne Hathaway in the Devil Wears Prada levels of transformation – and no, it’s not available in cerulean.
Alright, we’ve not exactly gone for the cheapest version. Our car is in Iconic trim, which not only means it’s laden with kit, but also gets a decidedly snazzier exterior design (including those enormous 20-inch wheels).
Like all Megane E-Techs in the UK, we’re sitting on a 60kWh battery and a rather sprightly 215bhp electric motor. That puts it ahead of the Vauxhall Astra Electric, both in terms of driving range and performance, but a bit behind more expensive versions of the Volkswagen ID 3.
So what are we hoping to learn from our six months behind the wheel of the Megane? Firstly, after a long time persevering with just the tiny Zoe EV, we want to know if Renault has got the formula of a proper electric car sewn up at least.
Secondly, are those looks – inside and out – just for show? Is the Megane a pleasant car to live with, or an ergonomic touchscreen nightmare?
Thirdly, in battery stakes we’re always being told biggest is best – so we’re interested to see if the Megane’s relatively modest 60kWh capacity is enough for the average driver’s needs.
And finally, do you really need that electric SUV after all? Or is the relatively compact Megane spacious enough for anyone?
The signs so far are looking good: we’re just getting settled into living with the Renault, but it’s already proving to be a comfortable, quiet companion on motorway journeys. Let’s see if it’s got a few more tricks up its sleeves…
