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Headlights do look to be high to me too. And that gaiter sound is not right either. If they don't get the test drive vehicles spot on then what are they thinking?
Edited by rtj70 on 16/01/2009 at 22:00
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Nasty dent on the Jetta too.... although I nearly typed Bora. And which one is you:
tinyurl.com/9vzrkv
Edited by rtj70 on 16/01/2009 at 21:58
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Nasty dent on the Jetta too.... although I nearly typed Bora.
Neighbour reversed off her drive straight into the side of it. Claimed she didnt see it :(
And which one is you: tinyurl.com/9vzrkv
Neither!
Oh and back on topic, how do Renault make a leather steering wheel that manages to replicate the feel of Korean plastic quite so well?
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>>>> And which one is you:
>>Neither!
Okay but I wondered if you wanted all of us looking at your photos. But you did post a link to all your photos... do you still want the links to remain? Or I could edit it out.
Edited by rtj70 on 16/01/2009 at 22:47
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There isnt a lot on there, its mostly pix of smarts really!
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"Oh and back on topic, how do Renault make a leather steering wheel that manages to replicate the feel of Korean plastic quite so well? "
Millions in research probably ;-)
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If the sticking glovebox, misaligned headlamps and creaky handbrake gaiter are indicative of the general assembly quality, I think I'll stick with my 4yr old Renault which has had none of these issues, even with 62k on the clock.
I saw the new Megane at MPH back in November, and thought it just looked bland, but then I really liked the controversial 'big ass' styling of the previous version. Had two very positive experiences with the old car as well, with an 05 1.5dCi 106 Dynamique, and our current Megane based MPV.
I would be quite interested to drive a diesel version. Not hugely interested in the petrol models until the Renaultsport version comes out.
Cheers
DP
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I havent noticed anything interesting about the steering feel but I only did a few miles in it last night. The ride is very compliant and also very quiet, better than my quite softly sprung Jetta, and it doesnt seem to roll that much.
As someone said, its utter madness that they give these cars out with faults present, I read they think the quality is as a good as a mkV Golf. Well so far their claim isnt holding too much water.....
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J500ANT - could I be so bold as to suggest that a squeaky handbrake and misaligned headlights are very minor and could easily be ironed out for a few quid?
Of course Renault's been silly to release this to potential buyers, I do agree, but perhaps I'm one of the very few out there who doesn't mind the odd rattle and hum. Put a little waterproofing treatment on to stop the squeak and , if your car was from a dealer you could ask for the headlight issue to be recified immediately.
While not enamoured of Renaults, they do seem to be trying to turn a corner. And, without wishing to be contrary, the faults you've pointed out so far would not put me off any car (unless we're talking big-budget luxury of course when such niggles are unacceptable).
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My point was that Renault have made a big song and dance about this cars quality, yet it has these stupid niggly faults - and then to hand this car out as a demonstrator, its just daft. They also need to provide a "crib sheet" to point out the various features, seeing as there is no salesman to do it for you. I have to say i'm rather fond of the keyless go thing, yet without RTFM I didnt know it did it!
I've done a fair few miles today, it has grown on me. As HJ says, the steering is very precise if a tad light at speed. I havent really found anything "wrong" with it, just a few niggles - the ones i've already mentioned, the fact it defaults to aircon on every time you start it, the gearchange light flashing all the time. I'm not a fan of the digital dash but you could live with it. Stability on the M5 tonight was excellent despite it blowing a gale - that impressed me too.
I think i've been spoiled by the Jetta, while its not as good its not far off really - niggles aside.
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Will a Megane last 24 hours? ;-)
(yes, I have had one in the past)
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Hi J500ANT
Firstly, thank you for trying out the New Megane over the weekend.
Reading your post, I was concerned to learn of the issues with the handbrake gaiter, glovebox and headlamp aim on the vehicle you were supplied.
I'd be very grateful if you'd take a few moments of your time to e-mail me at ecommerce@renault.co.uk with your name, address & postcode so that we can contact Avis and have them identify and correct the vehicle you were supplied. If you could put FAO David in the subject line it will ensure the message reaches me.
I was also sorry to learn that that the instruction sheet was missing from your car. As a result of your feedback all customers booking a car from now on will receive an email with a link to a web based instruction guide for the vehicle. We'll also ask Avis to ensure that cars have instruction sheets in them before they go out.
Once again, I'm sorry for the issues you encountered and I'd really appreciate it if you could e-mail me the details of your booking.
Kind regards
David
Renault UK.
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Oh and there's no lane change (3 flashes) indicators.
On my car (BMW) this can be enabled and disabled via a menu option, maybe the same here?
I discovered this only because the car was delivered with it disabled and I took the unprecedented action of RTFM because it was driving me mad.
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On my car (BMW) this can be enabled and disabled via a menu option maybe the same here?
Yes, I did try going through the menu on the dash, nothing on there nor that I could find in the handbook.
Have emailed David details as requested and i'm expecting a Renaultsport Megane coupe to arrive any day for my assessment ;)
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I have just completed an extended test drive in the new Megane thanks to David from Renault who was able to arrange this for me to help the Charity I work for.
I have previously had 3 Scenics, all diesel, but now drive an Altea XL diesel. Megane I had the test drive in was a six-speed 1.6 petrol Dynamique.
First impressions were of a very nicely put together car, it has lost the rear of the previous Megane but gained a good all round shape. Driving position is very good, the seat having a large range of height adjustment, I am only 5?8? but I was able to increase the height until my head was touching the roof so it should be suitable for most heights to get comfy.
Whilst in my possession, I covered 700 miles and averaged 38.8mpg over this period. Much of this was motorway driving but even then, I thought this was impressive for a 1.6 petrol car that only had 500 miles on the clock. When I take my diesel Altea for a similar drive, I am lucky to get 42mpg!
Car cruised well at motorway speeds though I did sense quite a difference in the noise between 75mph and 80 mph, noticeable enough to make me hang back to the 75 (indicated)rather than push the car on.
As usual with Renaults, the car was loaded with equipment. This one came with twin sunroofs, auto lights, daytime running lights,keyless entry, cruise, speed limiter, elec windows etc etc. The sunroofs seemed a lot more solid than my last Scenic, no sign of the creaking that I experienced that drove me mad enough to decide to trade for the Altea.
I have driven various makes of car and still have not found one that does the remote audio controls as well as Renault. They are mounted on side of steering stalk and control all functions that you need. So much better than the Altea which are mounted on the actual steering wheel and take more effort to use than simply using the knobs on the radio itself!
Megane has a toggle switch next to the handbrake that allows you to switch between speed limiter and cruise control. Again, this is better than the Altea, the speed limiter controls your speed without giving you an audible noise every time you reach it. When using either of these functions there is a display on the dash showing your pre set speeds. When you use the cruise on the Altea there is not a single light, warning, anything to show that you have the cruise on! One drawback of the Megane, the controls for the cruise are on the steering wheel but these are not illuminated so at night they are hard to find. Something I am sure Renault could remedy very easily.
Another poor design of the Megane is the aux sockets for ipod / mp3 player input. The Altea has a standard headphone type socket that you plug into, the Megane has a twin red/white sockets that you need to get the right cable for. But these sockets are hidden behind a small pull down flap, which, when used, actually pulls down over the cup holder rendering it almost useless, certainly leaving it prone to being broken. This is poor considering there is plenty of space away from the cupholder to locate this.
It was good to drive a car that has warning lights to tell you when you have your side/head/fog lights on, unlike the Seat which does not do this (a trait of most VAG cars I believe)
Interestingly, since my last Scenic, Renault have slightly changed the keyless entry system. My Scenic had keyless entry and when leaving the car you could press the button on either of the front doors to lock it as well as using the buttons on the card if you wished. But now the Megane only has a button on the driver?s door to press however they have now introduced a feature that if you just walk away from the car with the card in your pocket, then the car self locks. This is good as a security feature, however on instances like loading kids and shopping into car then walking to put your trolley away, the car will lock. Or nipping into a shop whilst leaving kids in car, the car locks and then sounds the alarm when the kids move about!!
I found issues with the keycard that were all of my own making. My Scenic had keyless entry and electric parking brake so when you pressed the stop button the handbrake automatically came on. However this Megane didn?t have an electric handbrake but several times I failed to apply the handbrake, thankfully with no bad consequences! I thought this a very strange human behaviour, its almost 2 years since I traded the Scenic but my brain still had the message that by pressing the Stop button the handbrake would come on!!
Overall, a really good car, one that makes me miss my Scenic again. I know Renault have perceived issues with quality and electrics, I personally have never had an issue with the electrics on any of my Scenics that I can remember. I would strongly recommend the Megane to anyone who is looking for this size of car.
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HJ, to be honest never took a note of the size of wheels but I would guess they were 16 inch.
I was pleased with the ride comfort, as I have said before on various threads I am not the type of driver to push cars to the limit on bends etc so cannot comment too much on that. What I would say is over 3 days I drove 700 miles and at no point did I feel any discomfort. When I first got in the car I felt the lumber support across the seat was too hard but I did not alter this at all and, as I say, did not encounter any back pain.The car just felt very solid and did what I wanted it to do and I arrived at each destination feeling refreshed without the need to get out and stretch legs, back etc that I have sometimes felt in the past.
I am obviously more used to driving MPV style cars so higher position in these maybe leads to more "wallowing" in corners but I certainly didn't feel that in the Megane.
What I would say is that this is the first petrol I have driven for a number of years and it is very noticeable that I have became a total "diesel convert". Driving style definitely is different, found myself having to down change far more than in a diesel engine, especially from 6th to 5th when needing to do some quick overtaking on the motorway.
On a separate note, from a marketing perspective, I didn't know about this test drive offer until I saw this thread. I think it is great that David from Renault has previously contributed to this and obviously he, in turn, has had some feedback from those that have taken the drive, perhaps more detailed feedback than they would get from Joe Bloggs going into the showroom would do.
Perhaps this is something that HJ could take forward with other manufacturers?
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I have driven various makes of car and still have not found one that does the remote audio controls as well as Renault. They are mounted on side of steering stalk and control all functions that you need.
I couldn't agree more.
Overall a really good car one that makes me miss my Scenic again. I know Renault have perceived issues with quality and electrics I personally have never >> had an issue with the electrics on any of my Scenics that I can remember.
I have very mixed feelings about Renault after our Scenic. The car had so many good points - comfort, design, engine, refinement, equipment levels to name a few, but had far too many niggling problems at 60,000 miles. I also own a Volvo S60 which cost about the same new, and that has done over twice the mileage without any of the interior creaks, worn trim, intermittent niggly faults, and without a bill of much more than half the last one in that we got on the Scenic in its entire history after the Renault's clutch release bearing / concentric slave cylinder grenaded itself with no warning.
I was also shocked that not one professional mechanic I spoke to outside a Renault dealer view Renault cars with anything other than contempt. Horrible to work on, unreliable, and badly made, according to the "experts".
I think Renault have an uphill struggle with this new model, however good it is.
Edited by DP on 29/03/2009 at 03:42
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Maybe I'm missing something but I don't really see why the Renault audio controls are any better to many others I've experienced. I mean it's hardly rocket science is it, you want one control to adjust the volume, another to select different CD tracks, another to skip through radio channels and perhaps another as MUTE. Yes I found the Renault controls to work very well but so do they on other vehicles I've driven.
I agree 100% with DP's points, our experience was an unfortunate blend of excellence bordering on brilliance, ruined by lousy build quality and ropey electrics. If Renault can slay these dragons then I think they could do extremely well. Maybe they have and we shall soon found out...
The New Megane is a very likeable car but ultimately rather dull after the MK2 and doesn't seem to move the game on at all. In all the car tests I've seen it's come out as average. The general consensus seems to be it's a much better car than the MK2 but the Focus and Golf are still better. It's all opinion of course and people can draw their own conclusions but I don't see the MK3 sweeping across Europe as Renault did with the MK2. Somehow it's a bit too dull, too unRenault-like, ultimately competent but just a little disappointing.
I am not anti-Renault BTW, on the contrary we've run quite a few and used to be very pleased with them but the quality seemed to take a nose dive circa 2000. I believe in giving second chances though and we are currently looking at the New Megane but we want the 2.0dCi so we've got a bit of a wait :-(
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