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By Jonathan Crouch

Renault's Megane E-Tech Electric gets a useful package of mid-term improvements. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 49

The Megane E-Tech Electric was the first properly class-competitive modern-era Renault EV - and has been usefully enhanced as part of this update. It now goes further, charges faster, looks smarter and offers better value. But the competition in the family hatch and compact crossover EV segment is fierce.

Backgroundword count: 108

Having relied for almost a decade on its relatively old-tech ZOE supermini to sustain its EV fortunes, in 2022 Renault launched the first of its much more competitive modern-era electric models - the Megane E-Tech. Which four years on, got the comprehensive package of updates we look at here. It still sits on the same CMF-EV platform used by the Nissan Ariya, but bolts to it a larger, longer-ranging NMC battery which - for the time being anyway - should keep this Renault up with the class competition. You still might be tempted to find a couple of thousand more for the more practically-orientated Scenic E-Tech model though.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 254

The 220hp front-mounted motor of this Megane remains the same. What's different is the battery that energises it, which has switched from Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) to Tesla-style Lithium Ferro Phosphate (LFP). That change and an increase in the size of the pack from 60kWh to 67kWh has boosted range between charges to 310 miles (25 miles further than before). A crucial change because it allows this Renault to keep parity with its closest European segment rival, the Volkswagen ID.3 Neo, which in volume 58kWh form manages 307 miles. Renault continues to promises that this car's sporty looks will translate into a sporty drive, though the substantial extra 100kg of weight delivered by the new LFP battery isn't going to help in that regard. The French brand says that it's tweaked the suspension (and the steering) to compensate. With the most urgent of the provided 'MySense' drive modes ('Sport') engaged, 62mph can be dispatched in 7.6s (just 0.1s slower than before) en route to 99mph. And as before, just one drivetrain is available - so no twin motor variant; Renault says that would have meant design compromises which would have added further weight. Also as previously, there are selectable settings (four of them) for the regenerative braking system, the left steering wheel paddle increasing regen for town use, the right one reducing it for highway driving. The most urgent of these slows the car considerably off-throttle, though not to quite the same extent as the 'e-Pedal' set-up on this Renault's Nissan Ariya cousin model.

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