Written by: Martin Ward
Thursday, January 22, 2009 

The all new Megane is literally all new as no body panels have been used from the previous model. Renault took a gamble when they launched the previous model as they expected that everybody would have doubts about its design initially but would soon grow to like it. They didn’t and sales worldwide suffered because of its styling. The large boot just didn’t work and they even tried using its excessive proportions in TV ads to help sell it and try and make it look normal. None of this worked and so it was back to the drawing board. Renault didn’t try and re-style the old car; they simply started again. Expensive but it had to be done.

 

The car we have been testing is the Expression 1.6 petrol which is the lead in model into the range. It costs £13,700 which for this size of car is not overly expensive. Like the exterior, the interior is also all new with improved quality, which it did need. All the plastics are good and the fit and finish throughout the car is also very good with the door panel fittings being very consistent and much better than the previous car. The seats are comfortable and on a journey this week to Gatwick and back (around 460 miles), I still felt as comfortable when I got out as I did when I got in. The seats are very supportive and coupled with a fairly soft ride; it all made for a nice place to sit, hour after hour.

 

With this being the base car, you do not get all the specification or the power you get in a more expensive model. However, it is certainly not basic as it has standard equipment you would not expect to find such as steering wheel radio controls, air conditioning and front and rear electric windows. The engine is a 1.6 litre petrol that produces 100ps and whilst it is not powerful, it is not dangerously slow. Renault say it has a top speed of 118mph but on the M1 it was alright at 75mph in short bursts when needed but it was much happier at the motorway speed of 70mph. There would be very little chance of being caught for speeding on a motorway in this car which in itself is a positive - go any faster and the engine just seems to be working overtime as it gets noisy as the revs get higher. Once you know the car’s limits then you stick to them and you soon get used to it. The 0-62mph time is 10.9 seconds but in reality it does seem slower than this. Renault quote a combined fuel consumption figure of 42.2mpg and on the journey down south and back it achieved 39.9mpg which at motorway cruising is a good result for a 1.6 litre petrol. The Co2 emissions for this car are 159g/km.

 

The new Megane is a good choice. It is well built, looks so much better than the previous car and it also looks to be reasonable value for money. Like all cars with this engine you constantly seem to want to change up to 6^th gear which isn’t there. CAP Monitor predicts a future value in 36m/60,000 miles of £3,975 or 29% of cost new.

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