Renault Megane 1.9 dCi Hatchback

...now awash with them - Renault have been selling the latest Megane for well over two years, it is amazing how time flies and how you get used to seeing a car on the road, indeed the first of them are now approaching an MOT station!

Having said that, it is also very surprising how avant-garde this family hatchback and of late saloon and estate still looks. Just like the original Focus, when initially launched I hated the look of it, ...
...probably would have given the Renault stand a miss altogether in 2004.

My wife, being Polish, was very much used to seeing the old shape Megane on the roads there. Whilst here in the UK it was regarded as a worthy if spacious family hatchback, in overall terms it was not exactly the most inspiring choice of motorised transport. What it did do however was boost Renault's popularity and sales in the UK, it also quickly gained a reputation ... more

With the sincerest of apologies to those more sensitive among you for the rather shocking title of my latest review, but I do not claim to be the instigator of the link between the human posterior and the Megane's rear end - Renault's advertising agency have already introduced that theme for me in their TV adverts for some time now. You can hardly have failed to have seen that provocative "shake your arse" ad, accompanied by some fairly gratuitously suggestive lyrics.

Although the roads are now awash with them - Renault have been selling the latest Megane for well over two years, it is amazing how time flies and how you get used to seeing a car on the road, indeed the first of them are now approaching an MOT station!

Having said that, it is also very surprising how avant-garde this family hatchback and of late saloon and estate still looks. Just like the original Focus, when initially launched I hated the look of it, the more of them I see on the roads the more I now like the look of the Megane - especially from the front three-quarter view. Having never even sat in one until attending Company Car in Action at Millbrook last summer, this would be a useful experience, but in all honesty had it not been for my wife wanting to go out in one, I probably would have given the Renault stand a miss altogether in 2004.

My wife, being Polish, was very much used to seeing the old shape Megane on the roads there. Whilst here in the UK it was regarded as a worthy if spacious family hatchback, in overall terms it was not exactly the most inspiring choice of motorised transport. What it did do however was boost Renault's popularity and sales in the UK, it also quickly gained a reputation for being safe in a crash, a reputation which Renault have very effectively built on right across their range.

Whilst we have similar tastes in most things, when it comes to car styling Mrs R and I rarely agree! She was an earlier fan of the latest Megane, thinking that of cars of this "medium" hatchback market this would be the one that she would choose - on purely aesthetic grounds at least! Having allowed it time to grow on me, and personally I still find the rear three quarter view ugly, in certain colours, this is a very colour sensitive car, I too find it one of the more attractive hatchback contenders.

Just look at its competition, only the latest Astra actually gives the Megane any style competition, as Ford and Volkswagen present us with ever more dull Focus and Golf's someone looking for something a little different may well find themselves drawn to their local Renault showroom……

……and why not? Once you get there you will doubtless be offered some very attractive financial incentives on this or any other model in their now very comprehensive range.

Faced with a bewildering selection of body shapes, trims and engine sizes, we requested a 1.9 diesel, the most powerful oil burning choice, equipped with a six speed gearbox and boasting 120bhp. The top of the range dCi Privilege model we had was metallic black and featured a huge panoramic sun roof, part of an £1100 "Luxury" pack which included all leather heated seats. Thus equipped you are looking at a fairly small family hatch with a list price of £17,500, Renault would sell it to you for £15K but it's the full price as far as BIK taxation is concerned.

Going back to that rather risqué title for a moment, the reference to legs indeed is mine - my legs - and this car is not good for them, or my back or arms come to that, maybe I am a strange shape I do not really know. Before reading the rest of this particular review maybe you may be in a better position to understand it if you know a little more about Richada - in a physical sense at least!

Describing myself as "average build and height" would not really be fair. Who knows what "average" is in this sense? Certainly in this day and age when it comes to the human form I would be hard pushed to describe to you the average male or female form.

I am 5ft 8ins tall, (1.72m if you are metrically inclined) slightly more in shoes!
I weigh 10st 7lbs (66kg)
My waist measurement is 31ins (79cm)
My inside leg measurement is 29ins (74cm)

You're now thinking that I have completely lost the plot and mixed up an email to my tailor (if only!) with this review, no I have not! My vital statistics are included here for YOU the reader to draw your own conclusion as to Richada being of abnormal proportions - or not.

My only comment here in order to help you out, is that I do have a rather long back - not great for back complaints - and I find that for someone of my height I often require more headroom in a car than most manufacturers would think. Some motorists of my acquaintance are happy, or choose, to adopt a semi-reclined driving position, I am not, if I recline the seat too far I am unable to reach the steering wheel. For so many reasons my ideal driving position has always been quite upright, with slightly bent arms when holding the steering wheel at the "quarter to three" position.

However I am jumping the gun, we have not opened the (very solid) door yet!

In fact, unusually for a French car of any marque as you approach the Megane your first impression is one of strength, rapidly followed by quality. The exterior panels fit very snugly, the aluminium door handles add a real touch of class too, and at this price level the first impressions are entirely favourable……

………Opening the door you are presented with a quite small interior, the previous model was considerably larger inside. Unfortunately part of the reason for this apparent lack of space is created by the rather small windows and thick roof pillars which, of course, also provide nasty blind spots. This always makes me laugh when I sit in a car with, as this one has, a five star crash rating, yes it performs excellently in a crash - but then you are much more likely to crash it in the first place as cars are easily "hidden" in the blind spots! The rear window, unlike the windscreen, is really tiny and the ridiculously small rear wiper is a joke.

Our Renault Fleet demonstrator one had beige leather upholstery and the £600 optional panoramic glass sun roof, both of which should have helped to create an illusion of space but failed to do so. At 5' 3" my wife probably would have been comfortable behind the wheel, five inches taller and I found this by far the most uncomfortable drive of the day.

(A quick reminder here that at this event - Company Car in Action you have the chance to drive a huge variety of different cars, last summer everything from the tiny, but excellent Fiat Panda to the gargantuan Volkswagen Phaeton, 14 cars in all were tested on the same demanding course.)

The seat and driving position simply could not be made to fit me. As it transpired mine was not an unusual criticism as I read Natalie Wallis' report in Company Car magazine the following week saying that she felt as though the seat was too small.

Visually spoiling, what was otherwise, an attractive interior was the revolting beige steering wheel, soft to the touch and leather covered too, but looking like a cheap lump of plastic in a very unattractive colour. This care had done only around 2000 miles, in another 30,000 miles we could only imagine what this steering wheel would look like! For this reason I would avoid the pale interior in this car.

What lies behind the steering wheel, the dashboard, is particularly well made, attractive to look at and at least in this top of the range model, exceedingly well equipped. A very clear trip computer is supplemented by an optional (£300) tyre pressure monitor. If this last device works properly, and I would be fascinated to hear from any owners who have one of these fitted, then it has to rate as a massive step forward in terms of car safety.

Other safety points include a full house of air bags, front, side and above (curtain) and an often overlooked one of a good climate control system. I have spoken to people recently who have air conditioning fitted in their cars and only use it in hot summer weather. Yes, in terms of comfort this is a great feature. However as a year round safety aid it is invaluable, it should be run all year round, mixed with warm air in the winter the windows never steam up and you drive in a much healthier environment.

Why do manufacturers such as Renault (and Saab) attempt to redesign such a basically fundamental control as the hand-brake? This one is not as bad as the finger crusher in the Saab 9-3 driven last year, but it is still an unnecessary ergonomic disaster. If it ain't broke, PLEASE don't try to fix it!

Another item unfortunately falling into the above category is the rapid spread of the "Start" or starter button. If anyone can explain the advantage of this system to me of a conventional key then I would like to hear it. Unlike on the new BMW's where this button is used in conjunction with a conventional key, Renault provide you with a credit card type device, which having pressed the "plipper" to unlock the car, you then insert into a dashboard slot in order to energize the ignition. I have used them now in this car and in a couple of Laguna's too, still failing to see the need for it beyond gimmickry - there is so much less to go wrong with a simple key.

On the road however the Megane did quite a lot to redeem itself.

Driving in town, at close quarters with other traffic certainly I would take issue with the visibility problems already outlined, a pity that because it is light and accurate to drive and particularly easy to position on the road. The gear change, clutch and steering are all light and cooperative, indeed if the driving position were better and these controls in the right place relative to one another I would have found this a very pleasurable car to drive.

OK, once one is uncomfortable with the driving position you are not going to buy that car after a test drive, but dynamically this turned out to be a fine car. On the very demanding, twisty and steep hill course it rode well and handled fluently, if without the remarkable sharpness of a Focus, and had a very quiet ride. If it was not for that awful steering wheel, this could feel like a car of considerably higher quality than the Focus or Astra.

Even taking into account my discomfort at the wheel I preferred this car to drive to the new Astra tested on the same day, although for me a Focus would be a far more desirable purchase. My wife who tends to rate aesthetic considerations rather higher than I do would have no hesitation in choosing a Megane - especially in black.

At high speed the ride remained composed, not over soft or wallowy like French cars of old. It accelerated to 100mph on the banked speed circuit with considerable ease, only some noticeable wind noise from that huge sun roof spoiled the refinement, my tip - save £600 and take the standard car, with a very good climate control you do not need a large hole in the roof anyway.

Mechanically, cruising in sixth gear it was very quiet and refined. Yes this car had a 120bhp diesel engine under the bonnet, but the French have been masters of the diesel art for some years now, it would be difficult to imagine anyone wishing to choose a petrol version over this on any grounds.

In many senses this car was the biggest surprise and biggest disappointment on the day. Due to its', let me call them, 'foibles' it does actually have more character than most cars currently on the market, especially in this very popular mid-range hatchback marketplace.

If this car fits YOU, then I certainly would not blame you for falling for its charms. Financially it will make a sensible enough purchase, unless you really need every bell and whistle, my advice would be to look towards the middle of the range, say a £14,000 (after sizeable discount) Expression model rather than this range topping £16500 Privilege that I have been telling you about here. Mechanically it is the same car, come trade in time you would loose far less money on it. Depreciation is not as steep as an equivalent Focus or Astra and at 52.3mpg average for a car with this performance you are not going to do much better on the economy front either. Insurance at group 7 is reasonable, partly a benefit of that five star safety rating.

I wonder if given sufficient time to set it up I could find a comfortable driving position in one of these? After all you could make it a condition of sale that the beige steering wheel was swapped for a black one.

Now for the Richada family standard acid test! Would we drive to my wife's parent's home, 1200 miles away in eastern Poland in a Renault Megane 1.9 dCi?

If and it's a big IF, the driving position could be set up to be comfortable then yes, driving to Poland would not be a problem, however on this twenty minute assessment I would have to say that I would not attempt to drive a Megane any great distance at all.

The strangest thing is though, that does not mean that I would not recommend this car to others. It could be a case here of "If the cap fits…………"

This is going to sound like a rather a chauvinistic remark however, but then after all, this is supposed to be a "personal" opinion site and so I will express mine here, the Renault Megane is a woman's car!

Which makes Renault's "shaking your arse" advertising all the more ironic!

 

...less