Featured review
Renault Megane E-Tech Electric (2022 on)
Techno+ in Midnight Blue with Black Roof
Exclusive. Mean Looking. Cool.
Comfy seats, lovely drive, and useable touchscreen...in a properly built EV.
Reasonably exclusive: I've only seen a few others since I bought mine.
A smooth and quiet drive with a sporty feel which, is just as well because, the power and acceleration when you need it is instant.
Bad UK road surfaces do augment the suspension stiffness, but on good roads this car glides along in silence.
Touch screen system is a joy to use, or just ask the built-in google assistant: it can do almost anything you need:
“Turn on my seat heater”
“Turn my seat heater down a bit”
“Get directions to e.g. the nearest charger”
“Change temperature to 22 degrees”
“Switch to Eco mode”
“Play BBC radio 1,2,4 etc”
Very little here to trouble any driver: just get in and enjoy.
The main thing is that Renault designers have thought hard about what makes a good EV, and they’ve got it right!
With this Megane they’ve found the theoretical sweet-spot between:
Weight & Handling
Battery size & Range
Charging speeds (DC, and AC) & Efficiency.
And, it looks gorgeous... (I've had many compliments about it).
I parked it next to an iD3 which, then looked like an outdated 80’s concept.
Drive around in Eco and use the power meter for freewheeling down gradients, and you’ll get miles of range for very little battery.
Journey Range on this Megane (which is 100% to 20%) you should comfortably achieve about 185 miles
Every Day Range (which is 80% to 20%) - you should be getting about 140 miles without stressing.
Emergency Range (which is 20% to 0%) is about 47 miles so, you should easily find a charger* in your vicinity.
Total Range (from 100% to 0% - as if you'd ever do this) is about 234miles.
The doors are light, because they’re made from aluminium.
Bleeps and bongs are a rarity in this modern Megane.
The steering wheel won’t constantly nudge you left and right up the road like in some EVs (Kia).
What you will get are :
One-touch windows all round.
Renault diamond puddle lamps that greet you in the dark.
Super-smart headlights that know if you’re driving in fog, or heavy rain - you can even tell them which side of the road you’re driving on!
Automatic wipers that work silently when it rains.
Even the rear wiper gives the window a quiet last going-over after a wash/wipe.
The passenger seat heater turns off automatically.
*22kW AC charging which, is not only very useful, but is DOUBLE the AC charging speed that most EVs are equipped with. This gets you about 85miles of range in just an hour - simply not possible with most EVs.
CCS charging can get up to 130kW/h (I’ve seen 129kW/h), and as with all EVs the charge speed reduces as the battery takes it in. This is normal, in fact essential for good battery health.
Could do better on:
Most of the plastics below knee-height are a bit hard.
No frunk for cables so, I just bought a cable tidy and store mine in the boot…don’t use it much to be honest.
I think this is why there are no bonnet struts - you rarely need to get under there.
Would now find it difficult to live without:
The massive storage areas under the dashboard - just brilliant for impromptu shopping items etc.
The felt-lined door pockets that keep things from rattling.
The complete lack of glitches; electronic, or otherwise.
The way it quickly wakes-up and unlocks.
Ultra cool:
Keep the key in your pocket and the car unlocks as you walk up to it. No button pressing. No waiting. Just open the door and hop in. Excellent!
If you look carefully you’ll find two Renault diamonds formed into the dipped headlight beam. Fantastic!
The chopped-down roofline. Lovely!
Top tier technology:
An oil cooled, electrically excited synchronous motor with built-in rotor current modulation, coupled to a unique, patented heat pump that uses about half the energy normally required to heat the cabin, but also pre-conditions the battery ready to accept a charge.
It can also cool the battery from the cooling system when needed.
All very important stuff taken care of.
All in all a very nice EV to own so far, lovely to drive, and if you want it to be sporty, you get plenty of grip, loads of fun, and instant acceleration. Incredible!
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