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Renault Megane E-Tech Electric

The independent definitive Renault Megane E-Tech Electric video review
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    RENAULT'S RETURN (some text hidden) SECTIONED_new_renaultmeganeetechelectric_2023

    By Jonathan Crouch

    Renault's Megane E-Tech Electric might well redefine what you imagine an affordable family Hatch EV to be. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

    Ten Second Reviewword count: 54

    It's took a long time for Renault to deliver a proper follow-up to its ZOE EV, but the Megane E-Tech Electric was worth the wait. Family hatch-segment EVs often tend to be either rather boring or ever-so-slightly weird, but this one's stylish and engaging. A new kind of Renault for a very different era.

    Backgroundword count: 137

    Who would have forecast back in 2012 when Renault launched its little ZOE full EV that it would be a full decade before we saw another mainstream Renault passenger car EV product in our showrooms. Yet that's what's happened, as the brand over-stretched itself and has been overtaken by nearly all its volume rivals in the electric vehicle segment. But the fightback starts here with this car, the Megane E-Tech. It sits on the same CMF-EV platform used by the Nissan Ariya and should reach a large audience. Thanks to the success of the ZOE, one in five Renaults sold in Europe has been electric. But this is what Renault calls a '2nd generation' EV, it's development rushed through by the brand's ambitious CEO Luca de Meo, who likes to describe this as 'the GTI of EVs'.

    Driving Experienceword count: 243

    Renault promises that this car's sporty looks will translate into a sporty drive and there's lots about the design and engineering of this model to suggest that might translate into reality on the tarmac. The new power steering system has a super-sharp 12:1 ratio. And there's an uber-thin 60kWh battery that, along with a particularly light electric motor, allows this Renault to save about 100kgs in weight over its rivals and can be mounted even lower in the chassis than it would normally be in an EV. That platform is the Nissan Renault Alliance group's stiff new CMF-EV set-up, notable here because it mounts the drive motor at the front. Rival VW Group EVs from Volkswagen, CUPRA and Skoda sit it at the back. This Megane's single front motor produces 216bhp of total output, the highest in the segment, though if you use too much of that, you won't get near the quoted 280 mile range figure. In fact we didn't even manage to get within 80% of that on this test, even with maximum brake regen selected from the steering wheel paddles. And the most frugal 'MySense' drive mode selected (the others are 'Comfort', 'Perso' and 'Sport'). It's tempting to use a bit of that power because unlike most of its rivals, this Renault's quite an engaging little thing to punt about. Surprisingly (given the huge 20-inch wheels most variants have), the ride's OK too - and refinement's exemplary by segment standards.

    To see the full road test text contact us on 0330 0020 227

    Pictures (high res disabled)

    Statistics (subset of data only)

    Min

    Max

    Price:

    £30,000.00 (At 20 Dec 2021)

    £40,000.00 (At 20 Dec 2021)

    Max Speed (mph):

    99

    0-62 mph (s):

    7.4

    Electric WLTP-Rated Driving Range (miles):

    292

    Length (mm):

    4210

    Width (mm):

    1780

    Height (mm):

    1500

    Boot Capacity (l):

    440

    Scoring (subset of scores)

    Category: Hybrid, Plug-in, Electric & Hydrogen

    Performance
    80%
    Handling
    80%
    Comfort
    80%
    Space
    70%
    Styling, Build, Value, Equipment, Depreciation, Handling, Insurance and Total scores are available with our full data feed.

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