Electric or petrol - the Renault Megane is a successful compact
Renault has made it clear that, with the launch of the brand-new, fully electric Megane E-TECH, it is not giving up on selling cars of the same name with combustion engines. For at least another 2 years, the range will also include the plug-in hybrid Megane E-TECH hatchback, which we were able to test.
The Renault Megane has joined the group of proven compacts that also includes the Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Corolla and Ford Focus. Many years of experience and the fourth generation of cars bearing the "Megane" badge can be a guarantee that we are choosing a car that should not spring any unpleasant surprises. Now we can also opt for a hybrid version charged from a socket.
The 160 hp hybrid powertrain and the boot
The powertrain features 2 electric motors, a main one and an auxiliary one, combined with a combustion engine and a traction battery. On top of that comes the Multi-mode gearbox. The combustion engine has a capacity of 1.6 litres, and the whole system can produce 160 hp.
The body of the five-door Megane was designed with conventional powertrains in mind. When the hybrid drive was added to the range, the battery pack had to be fitted in somewhere. As in other similar cars, the batteries ended up at the rear of the body. As a result, the boot shrank to 261 litres, and the whole luggage area is considerably smaller than in the purely combustion-engined Megane, which offers 402 litres. A plus for the manufacturer, who found space for the cables at the side of the boot, under a hinged section of the floor. If you want to carry two cables - one with a "Type 2" plug and the other for charging from an ordinary socket - you have to make a bit of an effort to fit them into the compartment provided. Like most similar cars, it cannot be charged with DC power.
Pure, MySense and Sport driving modes
Renault uses its "MySense" personalisation system in its models, which lets you adapt the car to your own preferences. In the plug-in Megane, there are 3 driving modes to choose from: Pure, MySense or Sport. In Pure mode you can drive on 100% electric power at speeds of up to 135 km/h, provided you do not need maximum acceleration, because then the combustion engine will join in almost imperceptibly. MySense mode automatically adapts the type of drive to your driving style and to whether there is enough charge in the battery, while Sport increases the car's dynamism. When driving in town, the car will always try to pull away and accelerate using electric power. You can force this mode (the "EV" button on the centre console), and then you can drive as far as 50 km in town with zero emissions.
It is worth adding that the manufacturer offers a dedicated "My Renault" app for managing the car. Once logged in to your account, you can check the battery charge level and schedule charging and the cabin temperature. All of this is done remotely, from your smartphone.
On the road, the Renault Megane shows that it has been tuned with comfort in mind rather than for sporty driving. Nevertheless, it has to be said that the suspension, while soaking up bumps well, also provides a good margin of safety in corners taken at speed.
Test summary
The French company's plug-in hybrid Renault Megane is a good choice for those who want to reconcile "fire and water". The manufacturer rightly says that "during the working week you can use electric mode, and on weekend getaways hybrid mode, so you don't have to worry about range". The car has no sporting ambitions, but its performance is perfectly adequate on country roads, and the fact that it pulls away "electrically" gives it plenty of liveliness in town and keeps running costs down.
Renault also offers a completely different model called the RENAULT MEGANE E-TECH - click the link. There I described how I drove it from Warsaw to Kołobrzeg.
