Renault Megane E-Tech 2024 review

Twelve months ago Renault Australia invited CarsGuide to take a look at a left-hand-drive example of the Megane E-Tech brought here to introduce the new model to the brand's local dealers, supply partners, the media and maybe the odd prospective customer.

At the time, Renault Australia General Manager, Glen Sealey was aiming to position the car in the low- to mid-$70K bracket (before on-road costs).

But some price and spec arm wrestling has obviously taken place over the last year with a finely sharpened pencil now scratching out a price tag reading $64,990, before on-roads.

The big, intricately styled 20-inch rims are pushed out to the corners.

That puts it in the same ballpark as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (2WD 125kW - $65,000) and Ioniq 6 (2WD 111kW - $65,500), Kia Niro EV (S Electric FWD - $66,590), Peugeot 308 (GT Sport Hatch Plug-in-Hybrid - $64,990) and Volvo EX30 (Single Motor Extended Ultra - $64,990).

Not to mention the giant electric elephant in the room, the Tesla Model Y (RWD Single Motor) at $65,400.

But in assessing the Tesla factor Glen Sealey believes European cache counts for a lot with the Megane's target audience and nominates relative newcomer Cupra as a prime adversary, so the Born EV ($59,990), Leon VZe PHEV ($61,690) and larger Formentor VZe PHEV ($64,990) slide into the picture.

The dual screens for media and instrumentation are joined in a single, angled housing.

No matter which way it goes the Megane E-Tech will be offered initially in a single Techno EV60 grade, with the standard features list including 20-inch alloy rims, full LED lighting (including auto adaptive headlights), dual-zone climate control, a 9.0-inch multimedia touchscreen and 12.3-inch instrument display, adaptive cruise control, six-speaker Arkamys 'Auditorium' audio (with digital radio), wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay connectivity, keyless entry and start, auto door handles, rain-sensing wipers, interior (64-colour) ambient lighting, plus heated front seats and a heated steering wheel.

Renault says the combined synthetic leather/fabric upholstery is 100 per cent recycled. In fact, environmental considerations feature heavily in the Megane E-Tech's design and construction with the French maker claiming 90 per cent of the car (and 99 per cent of the drive battery) is able to be recycled at the end of its life.

That aside, the price and equipment equation stacks up well relative to the Megane E-Tech's broad competitive set.

Plenty of breathing room up front and multiple storage options.

At a fraction over 4.2m long, just under 1.8m wide and 1.5m high the Megane is a 'large' small SUV that's right-sized for city and urban use, yet its tightly packaged battery and a 2.7m wheelbase free up an impressive amount of interior space.

Plenty of breathing room up front and multiple storage options including a medium-size glove box, carpet-lined door bins with room for bottles, a small shelf housing the wireless device charger under the centre media screen, a lidded box between the seats (which doubles as an armrest) as well as a single fixed cupholder in the lower part of the centre console ahead of a configurable section using moveable barriers to create another cupholder or bigger oddments spaces.

Moving to the rear I enjoyed a surprising amount of head and legroom seated behind my 183cm driving position. Although if the front seat is at its lowest setting toe room for back-seaters is next to non-existent. So, there may need to be some negotiation if taller people are in the front.

Inside, the look and feel is sleek and premium.

In terms of width, three full-size adults across the rear seat will be for short (cramped) journeys only. Best with two, and three up-to-teenage kids will be fine.

Storage runs to door bins as well as map pockets on the front seat backs, although the 60/40 split-folding rear seat doesn't incorporate a fold-down centre armrest so no cupholders in the back, which could be a sticking point on longer journeys.

There are, however, twin adjustable air vents at the rear of the front centre console, which is always a welcome addition.

For power and connectivity, as well as the wireless device charging pad, there are two USB-C sockets and a 12-volt outlet in the front and another two USB jacks in the rear.

For power and connectivity, as well as the wireless device charging pad, there are two USB-C sockets and a 12-volt outlet in the front and another two USB jacks in the rear.

Boot space is deep and relatively generous at 440 litres with the rear seat upright, expanding to 1332 litres with the second-row seat folded.

There are four tie-down anchors and two bag hooks but no spare of any description, which isn't good enough in the Australian context.

Unusually, this EV is rated for towing, which is handy; up to a 900kg braked trailer and 750kg unbraked.

The Megane E-tech is powered by a single 'electrically excited' synchronous motor sending 160kW/300Nm to the front wheels via a single-speed, reduction gear auto transmission.

For the record, a 'current-excited' motor uses the feeding in of electric power to induce the rotor, rather than magnets, avoiding the use of rare earth elements (the mining of which is increasingly controversial environmentally) in its construction.

The Megane E-tech is powered by a single ‘electrically excited’ synchronous motor sending 160kW/300Nm to the front wheels.

Renault quotes a driving range, certified on the WLTP cycle, of 454km and average energy consumption of 15.6kWh/km.

On the roughly 80km launch drive through central Sydney and surrounding suburbs, we saw an on-board reading of 16.4kWh/km.

The Megane is fitted with a thin and relatively light (400kg) 60kWh lithium ion battery which Renault says will charge from 15-80 percent, on a 130kW DC fast charger, in around 30 minutes.

Renault quotes a driving range, certified on the WLTP cycle, of 454km and average energy consumption of 15.6kWh/km.

Switch to AC charging and the Megane's capacity is a relatively modest 7.4kW, down on the more common 11kW, and you're looking at a little over nine hours for a full (0-100 per cent) charge.

Using domestic 10A, single-phase power the wait time is 30.5 hours for a full charge. The charging plug is Type 2 for AC and CCS Combo2 for DC.

The Megane E-Tech received a maximum five-star ANCAP safety assessment in 2022 with particularly strong performances for adult and child occupant protection as well as the effectiveness of its safety assist systems.

Speaking of which, active (crash-avoidance) tech includes AEB (with pedestrian and cyclist detection and junction assist), lane keeping assistance, lane departure warning, blind-spot detection (with emergency intervention), adaptive cruise control (with stop-go), traffic sign recognition, driver attention alert, front, rear and side parking sensors, rear AEB and tyre pressure monitoring.

If a crash is unavoidable there are seven airbags onboard - dual front, dual front side (chest), front centre and side curtain.

The 'smart' rear-view mirror uses a camera located at the top of the rear window and takes some getting used to because, as with all such systems, there's precious little depth of field on the screen.

There are three top tether points for child seats across the second row, with ISOFIX anchors on the two outboard positions.

The car also features a 'Fireman Access' QR code on the windscreen providing rescue teams with rapid access to the car's structural information (battery and airbag location, places for quick and risk-free cutting).

There's also easy access for fire and rescue under the rear seat so the battery can be flooded in case of a fire.