The Megane Diaries - Long Term Test Review Part 1

Only getting about 160 miles from 80% charge, in this cold spell which is slightly disappointing. But loving everything else about it. The adjustable brake regen on the flappy paddles? A masterstroke. Bravo Renault!

As a Megane E-Tech (Techno) owner since April I can concur almost 100% with Bryan’s review. Mine has been 100% reliable and I have had no tech gremlins. The alarm has only gone off once- unfortunately for my neighbours about midnight - but I now double click the lock button which I am told switches off the internal sensors that can be set off my a fly. I have no regrets about buying the car but I still do feel a little shortchanged. I think it was very unfortunate that the spec, of all models was cut back for the UK market, because Renault needed the car to hit certain price points. This is all the more galling since the recent price realignment (cut). Top of my irritations are the smaller central SatNav/Informative screen especially as the larger screen in the same dashboard appears in the rhd Austral and will be coming in the Scenic. Besides the loss of the heat pump the UK cars lost out on ambient lighting across the lower dashboard and the Google Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control which will slow the car down before the camera reads road signs and before the car approaches roundabout. Minor irritations are the poor quality naff key fob and in the absence of a bigger boot button no remote release. I would also like to see a false boot floor with two height options so as to avoid having to lift items over such a high lip and be able to accommodate flat loads with the rear seats folded. The range has been a little disappointing as it has fallen off more in the colder weather than my previous EVs. I am not entirely convinced as to whether a heat pump would make much difference and justify the additional cost. It obviously helps range when you are running all the auxiliaries from the 12v battery but I guess the biggest loss of range is just down to the main battery chemistry not being so effective in cold weather. What I do like about the car is the comfort, refinement, the Android Automotive/Google tech with the fast responsive screen, the ACC, speed limiter and ability to set the ACC speed to current limit. The overall quality is pretty acceptable although not up to VW standards of the past and some of the Korean efforts. The looks are jaw dropping and whilst this has never been the highest consideration when I have come to choose a car it does bring pleasure when you think other drivers look at you with some envy. The puddle lights also make me smile. I am a little perplexed why I do not see more Megane‘s on the road. Perhaps Renault should have rebadged their C class hatchback - although I understand that Megane was a much loved name on the continent - perhaps like we took to the Clio. A colleague has just taken delivery of a Cupra Born it will be interesting to compare notes. He has though already said he doesn’t like the absence of back lit controls. I took a Born on a test drive before deciding on the Megane but didn’t connect with it as well. It was a bit too similar to the two i3’s that I had run for 8 years - I wanted a bit of a change - and the tech was not nearly as good as in the Renault. There was however the option of a panoramic roof which I have had I all my previous cars over the past 25 years. It is real pity that the Megane was not engineered to accommodate the panoramic roof that is available in the new Scenic. With the dark grey headlining the Megane is a bit gloomy inside. Here endith my response to Bryan’s invitation to Megane owners as to our ownership experience.

My partner is due to take delivery of this car on the motability scheme in February. The decision on the e-tech was made after watching your first video. Coming from an Audi S5, it'll be very different but we're very much looking forward to trying something different. Keep up the great work and keep those reviews coming 🙂

Thank You for video. As A winter car, Megane works great. Living in Finland, we had many days over -30 C. No big problems, of course the battery levels runs quite fast to low and side windows were frozen occasionally. But, as I heard, some electric car owners (Audi,and so)had quite big problems in these artic weather conditions.

Had my Launch Edition for just over a year. In summer I was able to achieve 280 mile range, albeit with mostly cross-country 50mph driving and little 70mph motorway. Deep mid winter did slash that right down to 180. Fortunately in winter my journeys never last more than a couple of hours, so well within even that range. If I'm going on longer journeys [holiday or visiting distant relatives] it's always when the weather improves so overall I'm very satisfied with the range. My distant relative lives in a known 'charger desert' so I just made sure I topped up on my way there so I didn't have to hunt around once there. Then I discovered her neighbour had a charger. We got talking EVs and he insisted I had a free top up there as well!

Thanks for this superbly balanced review.

I Picked up my Megane Techno + on Motability 6 weeks ago and more than happy with it, An absolute joy to drive, yeah the range is a tad disappointing but I kind of expected it during the Winter weather, No alarm issues so far, I love the fact it has a 22kwh charger on board as I know a car park nearby that has free 22kwh charging and just pay to park, which is handy until I get my home charger installed, all in all a very impressive car.

WLTP for the techno+ model is 263 miles, NOT 280 miles. We've had our Launch Edition for a year now, and have averaged 3.8 mi/kWh over that year. So an average range of 230 miles. In the summer we did a long journey from north of Inverness down to Penrith and back with just one stop each way, and averaged 4.4 mi/kWh on A-roads and motorway (M6). Never had the alarm problem, but I understand there’s a dealer fix that involves rerouting wiring in the headlining away from the interior lights.

Didn’t expect to see Lochmaben in a YT video today 😅 Love the videos!

I am swapping out from my Kia e-Niro to a Megane Techno + so always good to read reviews. The Kia has been a great car and as said in the video the range and efficiency is really really good. However having tried a lot of cars I concluded that the Megane was the best looking car, the quietest and most comfortable to drive. I was worried about the boot as we often carry electric folding bikes but I took them along to my dealer and found they both fitted (in fact worked better than it did in the e-Niro). I was concerned bit about the range but frankly given most of my driving is actually sub 100 miles and i charge mainly at home it was not an issue. I actually calculated that the reduced range would be compensated by the faster charging compared with the e-Niro (only once saw 70kwh) so when doing a longer journey would just go to a good rapid charger. I have read about the alarm issue many times and gather that this is being fixed for new cars (get mine in March). Finally I will not miss all the stupid bings and bongs the e-Niro makes (the one thing that Kia really need to fix and didn't in the new version).

I’ve had the Megane Equilibre 60kwh since May 2023 and I adore it. It’s fantastic to drive, really comfortable, very reliable, gorgeous looking, and very well screwed together. Two things that took time to get used to, but now feel second nature: 1) gear lever position and 2) brake sensitivity. Renault understate its speed too, car reviewers have clocked its 0-60 at 6.8 seconds. The CarPlay sometimes has issues connecting (especially when two phones are connected and one person gets out of the car). Majority of the time it connects with no issues however. Things I most like: 1) exterior styling (stunning in red, it turns heads); 2) comfort & driving dynamics; 3) 22kwh A/C charging (I’ve access to 22kwh chargers at work and in my apartment block); 4) ease of use (physical buttons!!!). Things I’m not so fond of: 1) although boot is big, it’s very deep and not very long. So, with a big grocery shop, it fills up quickly (unless you’re ok piling your groceries or dropping the rear seats); 2) although I rarely carry rear passengers, it’s quite cramped back there. Not much else! It’s a fantastic car and deserves to sell more than, eg, the ID 3. Note: the trim levels in Ireland are a bit different than UK. Only 3 (equilibre, techno, launch - each available in 40 or 60kwh). From what I’ve seen, our equilibre comes better equipped than in the UK, due to only having 2 permanent spec levels (launch only available at, ahm, launch).

I've had a Techno+ since September. There's definitely been a drop in efficiency since the weather turned colder but I don't do many long journeys so it's not an issue. Did one longer trip of ~350 miles in the first month and range was looking like 220-230 miles. Doing it again after Christmas so the difference will be interesting. I've had no issues with the alarm.

Great video and having had a launch edition since Jan 23 I agree with all of your early observations: I love the ride and handling (drives like a proper "warm hatch"), the build quality, looks, composure on the motorway and the switchgear. The launch edition added the camera option for the rear mirror and Harmon Kardon speakers. The latter i love but the camera for the mirror is a bit of a gimic - so Techno is i think the sensible buy. With regards to range, having previously had an original ioniq I've been disappointed with the miles per kwh figure, and this is exaccerbated by the fact i originally put a confirmed order in before the full UK spec was announced - so had initial disappointement over the smaller screen and lack of heat pump. That said - you say your car has a heat pump and i'm seeing similar range to you in winter; around 160-170 miles in mixed driving when the temps are around zero, but up to the heady hights of 230-240 miles in summer. I've had little reason to rapid charge doing most of my top ups at home - but have seen 120kw for a brief spell when i had reason to do so. In the last week i've just had the alarm retro fitted by the dealer at first service, as the parts weren't available when the car was delivered. I've just experienced the random false alarms you mention (and are commented on in the forums) so the car's back in tomorrow to (hopefully!) get it sorted.

Interesting to hear about the alarm issue with the car. I have a 1 year old Renault Arkana which is the full hybrid. Love the car but I’ve also had alarm issues. I ah e found that if I disable the “walk away” feature and press the button on the drivers door or the button on the key card to lock it then I don’t get the random alarm activations. I mentioned the issue to my Renault dealer and they couldn’t find an issue. I too love the adaptive cruise control. I use it all the time. It’s particularly good in crawling traffic on my commute into the centre of Sheffield of a morning. Set it at 30 and I rarely touch the accelerator or the brake for the last 4 miles into town. Awesome system.

Had the Equilibre for a year and 12,000 miles, to replace a Zoe & old diesel for dinghy towing. I don't have any motorways or even dual carrarigeways nearer than 50 miles away so most of my driving at 50ish or less and I expect 4 mpKwh, about half that towing. Put in a false boot floor and took out the middle head-rest. I'm old enough to remember when cars went no faster than 60mph so I'm happy to avoid fast roads and take more scenic routes. Usually just me or one other in the car so back seat is not an issue but plenty of space for camping and dinghy gear. Suits my life very well.

Bought my car one year ago and really like it. Tested a couple of bigger cars (Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5) before going with the Renault. During the summer months I managed to get 480km from a full charge. I drove in Eco mode, turned the air conditioning off and used full regeneration. However, during November and December, I am getting 310/330km from it.

Bought an Iconic early December with 1500 miles on the clock. Did a 200 mile round trip to see family after a week and tried to charge at Banbury on the way back. Wouldn't charge! Made it back home with 7% left. Also the paddles don't work and no icon on the screen. In tomorrow to hopefully get sorted. Lovely car to drive, sport mode handy when required. Heats interior really quickly, a boost in this weather. No alarm issues. Overall, pleased as long as the faults can be rectified.

Great review as always. After having the Techno+ for 2 months now, range is definitely an issue for me as well. 80% charge only gives a range of 165 miles so my max range is only 206 miles. Recent temperatures locally haven’t been over 14 deg though so hopefully once it gets warmer things will improve. Other than that, I love the car. It is comfortable and full of driving assistance gadgets which regularly get used to great advantage

Ive ordered the Scenic Alpine Trim, been told it will arrive around July, excited :)

Had mine since September last year, 2 day old car we took from Newcastle to Wetherby and back on one charge 100% returning with 24%, same trip same speed and conditions I had to stop to charge as claimed it would be uncable to make journey. First trip 230 mile range to 100% and have struggled to get anywhere past 170/180 to a full charge since. That being said it's never been above 10c for months and I don't do that journey often, overall happy with the car, but on the few times i've used a rapid charger it's not went above 70/80 kwh! Great video by the way!