Slowly but surely, car manufacturers are bringing cheaper electric cars to market. If mass adoption is to take place, then we need more electric choice under £40,000. Renault have experience in the EV sector with their electric Kangoo & ZOE & that knowledge has been used to good effect with the introduction of the Megane E-Tech, an electric car that starts at £36,000.
What is it ?
The Megane E-Tech is a five door family car fitted with a 60kWh battery. It competes with the Volkswagen ID.3, Cupra Born, Citroen eC4, Vauxhall Astra-electric & Peugeot-308 in a sector that is rapidly expanding. It uses the same CMF-EV platform as the Nissan Ariya, but comes fitted with Renault’s own motor, which has some pleasing green credentials, with no earth metals used. Add in that each Megane E-Tech features 20kg of recycled materials in its construction & you have the most sustainable Megane yet.
Engine
The 60kWh battery & e motor produce 217bhp & 300Nm, so it’s no slouch, offering as we discovered that thrilling electric power surge when overtaking. The single-speed automatic transmission makes driving the Megane simple & with front-wheel drive coupled to that torque, you also add some proper old fashioned wheel spinning as you exit a wet junction.
Model range & price
From launch, keeping things simple, Renault are offering the E-Tech with one powertrain & four trim levels; Entry level Equilibre costs from £35,995 & includes a 12.3″ drivers display, rear parking sensors, rear parking camera, adaptive cruise control & a heated steering wheel. We were testing the mid-range Techno with prices starting at £38,495. This features a Google based infotainment system, wireless phone charging, front parking sensors, blind spot warning & active lane centring. There’s also a ‘Launch Edition’, which adds 20″ wheels, Harman Kardon audio with 9 speakers, a digital rear view mirror, a gold front bumper & surround parking cameras, which rolls in at £39,995. And finally the Iconic from £41,995, with 20″enos alloys, around view 3D camera, a heat pump & the gold front bumper. The only optional extra you can add to each model is the colour.
Outside
The E-Tech sits low & squat to the ground mimicking a crossover with it’s highish-riding stance. The front showcases the retro large Renault logo which sits centre in the grille-less front. Smart triangular LED lights sit on each corner, whilst cool pop-out front door handles emerge as you approach the car.The rear also features a large Renault logo in the centre, with a slim LED light bar on either side. The rear window is narrow & sloping & hurrah, you get a rear wiper !
Inside & practicality
Quality-wise, it’s a big step up from what you’ll find in an ID.3. with a selection of well chosen finishes adorning the surfaces. Highlights on our test car included the grey fabric seat finishes & matching dashboard top & handily placed floating phone charger. Practicality comes in the from of a small armrest & under area storage, large glove box & front door pockets, with a huge storage space low down between the front seats & twin USB C ports front & rear.
Front seat passengers benefit from good head & legroom, whilst in the rear headroom is also generous. Sit behind a tall front seat passenger & leg rooms a little tight.
Boot capacity is 440 litres with a compartment underneath for your charging cable. It’s deep & features a high loading lip.
Infotainment
Renault have beautifully designed the curving 9″ infotainment & 12.3″ driver information display which merge into one, very much like similar offerings from Mercedes-Benz. Titled OpenR-Link, it’s a highlight & again, way ahead of VW’s ID offering & much nicer than what you’d find in the MG4.
Google Assistant with over the air updates, takes pride of place but you can also wirelessly connect to Apple Car Play or Android Auto. The front USB’s are hidden in the front of the armrest if you do need these, but the floating smart phone charger is just the right size & easy to reach.
The touchscreen is a little on the small side but works perfectly well. Clear graphics & sharp responses to inputs are also good news. The inclusion of separate climate control buttons which are located underneath the screen is also a plus.
Performance & range
Top speed is 99 mph with a 0-62 mph time of 7.5 seconds. The WLTP claimed range is 280 miles. When we fully charged our test car in February, the display at 100% showed 203 miles. On a really cold morning , this was showing just 150 miles, so be aware of the inevitable EV range up’s & downs.
Driving range & charging
The E-Tech features four driving modes. Eco, Personal, Normal & Sport. Normal we found was best for everyday movement, whilst Eco limits the car’s top speed of 70mph, a useful motorway range saver. Sport does add some oomph but the set-up is quite harsh & we didn’t like it very much.
Via the paddles located on either side of the steering wheel, you can select the amount of regeneration from zero to four. In town or on local roads, the most powerful regeneration setting of four is useful for adding a bit of range to the battery. On a winding B road through the Peak District, the constant speeding up & slowing down through villages provided the perfect scenario to experience how well this works, as we added double digits miles to our range, even in February.
On the motorway the cars ADAS system allows for more range saving. By utilising adaptive cruise control, the E Tech does all of the work for you, meaning you keep your foot off the pedals.
A week & 250 miles of mixed motoring left me with big smile on my face, as the Megane is super-fun to drive, perhaps accounting for my poorly 3.0mp/kWh. Plugging in at night on our Rolec Smart Charger,http://www.rolecserv.com/home-charging & pre selecting the 00.30-04.30 charge time meant that as we never let the range fall below 50%, our Megane was fully charged or close to, every morning, for a cost of £2.20 a pop. The 60kWh battery isn’t the largest but we reckon that if you drive cleverly & never above 70mph whilst utilising the on-board regen, 200 miles is infinitely achievable, perhaps more in Summer.
On the road
The gear lever is located on the right off the steering wheel. Select Drive & away you go. Like all electric cars, there’s instant acceleration, so nipping in & out of traffic is a joy. It’s all done in silence as well.The steering is light & you also sit quite high up, so your command of the road ahead is very good.
Thanks to the UK’s appalling road surfaces, you will notice that the E Tech is fidgety on some roads, something that’s hard to escape in any battery electric vehicle. On the plus side, if you’re lucky enough to hit the open road, in my case the A522 & A520, you’ll see just how well this Megane handles, hugging the road with aplomb, accelerating in an instant & stopping with just the softest touch to the brake pedal.
The regenerative set-up means that you can almost one-pedal drive once you’re used to it & as an added bonus, the E-Tech comes with enough poise & precision to really make you smile. Compared to much of the competition, the E-Tech is a drivers car offering both a lightness & agility that most are sadly lacking. Furthermore, it doesn’t compromise on the French car comfort & soft ride we’ve come to expect, even when it weighs in at a rather portly 1636kg.
Pros
It’s the most accomplished car to drive in it’s class. Design & build quality are first rate. The on board tech is bang up to date & with over-air updates, should remain so. Price-wise it’s extremely competitive. And just 2% BIK.
Cons
Fidgety ride over poor road surfaces. Rear passenger space is adequate only.
Verdict
The Megane E-Tech missed out on our Awards for 2023 as we didn’t get to drive it in time for it to be considered. On this showing, it’s very much a contender next time around, offering boundless fun both in town & on the open road. It may not be the cheapest family EV, but it is cheaper than most of the competition, so another big tick from us. Inside & out it looks good, plus the tech & safety features are first rate. The only negatives are a rather bumpy ride over poor surfaces & with a 60kWh battery, it doesn’t come with the longest range. Neither are enough though, to not make it class leading.
A shaking that 4.5/5
