Renault Mégane 1.6 Privilège

While the Focus has been topping the sales charts, an ageing Renault Mégane has been quietly notching up some big numbers of its own.
Successor to the Escort-rivalling 19 of the late ’80’s, the Mégane arrived on UK shores in 1996 in three-door coupé, five-door hatch and four-door saloon forms. The groundbreaking Scenic mini MPV and popular convertible models followed a year later.
By 1998 Renault had begun its safety campaign, fitting ant-lock brakes as standard to every car and in 1999 a minor facelift brought new front and rear treatments.

Renault Mégane 1.6 Privilège (1)

And now we have an all-new Mégane, fresh from an outright win at this year’s European Car of the Year awards and imbued with the daring design that has made the company’s bigger models – the Vel Satis and Avantime – two of this year’s most talked about cars.
The all-new Mégane promises to be the most boldly-styled car in its class and the safest too. But is it the best?

Renault Mégane 1.6 Privilège Design

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The platform, which will be shared by partner Nissan’s Almera replacement, is all new and features speed-sensitive, variable-ratio rack-and-pinion electrically assisted steering.
But there’s no sign of a Focus-style multi-link rear suspension setup. The Mégane makes do instead with a much cheaper torsion beam arrangement at the rear and a conventional pair of struts up front.

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Three petrol engines are available now, a 98bhp 1.4, the 115bhp 1.6 tested here and a 136bhp 2.0 with the promise of a supercharged derivative later. Diesel lovers are catered for by a choice of 80bhp 1.5 and 120bhp 1.9-litre oil burners, both featuring common rail technology with 100bhp and 140bhp models expected soon.
But the 1.6-litre petrol will be the biggest seller in the UK. Maximum power climbs 5bhp to 115bhp at 6000rpm and torque edges up 3lb ft to 112lb ft at 4200rpm but Renault claims the variable valve trickery means 90 per cent of that maximum is delivered from just 2000rpm.

Renault Mégane 1.6 Privilège On The Road

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With 115bhp on tap the Mégane is actually the most powerful 1.6-litre car in its class but you’d never know it from the unremarkable set of figures we recorded.
We managed 0-60mph in 10.8secs, beating the Civic’s 11.2sec time but still lagging behind both the Corolla and Focus which tie on 10.1sec. At full chat around Millbrook’s banking the Mégane finally made its extra power felt, recording a 118mph maximum. The Corolla is next swiftest at 116mph.
The relative lack of performance is a shame but the engine is also let down by a mediocre throttle response and frustrating engine management setup that insists on holding onto revs between gearchanges. Concentration is needed when changing from first to second gears if jerky progress is to be struck from the menu.

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The Mégane stopped from 70-0mph in an excellent 49.8m – beating the Corolla by nearly 4m – but we were just as impressed by the level of modulation the sensitive pedal allowed.
Renault’s doesn’t claim to have bested the Focus as the class dynamic champion. Instead it says it has gone for a less overtly sporting setup that should be more acceptable to a wider audience. But that doesn’t mean Mégane II is a wallowing barge. The new car manages to combine a healthy level of body control at speed with strong front end grip and a reasonably supple ride enabling the driver to push much harder than was possible in the old car, if not quite far enough to keep pace with a Focus.

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The payback is in the firm low-speed ride and we also have reservations about the din created by the suspension.
But the Mégane’s greatest dynamic failing is its steering. Going for electric rather than hydraulic assistance may conserve engine power and fuel but, as is so often the case, feedback through the wheel all but disappears. What’s left is strangely artificial feeling and a surprisingly strong self-centering action that can catch out the unwary.

Renault Mégane 1.6 Privilège Living

That unusually elongated roofline gives the impression of a tardis-like interior but in fact the Mégane offers less cabin space than some of its rivals. Front shoulder and rear legroom are down compared to the Focus, and although rear headroom is generous thanks to that flat roof, the narrow glass area and thick C-pillars can make passengers feel claustrophobic and do no favours for rear visibility; neither does the pathetically small rear wiper whose arc covers a tiny portion of the rear window.
Open the hatch and the floor area appears large, but the odd shape of the bootlid eats into the room when shut. The Mégane’s useful 330litre cavity can’t quite match the Focus’s 350litre space but betters the Corolla’s tiny 289litre offering.

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There’s still much to like; the driving position and the Volkswagen standard interior trim, or the modern, original dash design and the number of useful storage cubbies. Then there’s the keyless entry system fitted to our top-spec Privilège model.
Renault plainly has its eye on five EuroNCAP stars, so there are two-stage front airbags and standard front side bags and inflatable curtains. The front seats of five-door models get double load limiters while three-door cars come with anti submarining airbags mounted in the front cushion. Both get seatbelt pretensioners. There are three three-point ISOFIX mountings; two in the back and one on the front passenger seat.
A frugal driver could expect to cover 536 miles before having to refill the Mégane’s 13.2gallon tank. And an enticing list price, generous kit levels, 18,000-mile service intervals, a competitive 163g/km C02 rating which puts the Mégane into the lowest company car tax band and reasonable economy figures should have the bank or fleet manager smiling.
But experts reckon the Mégane will retain just 42 per cent of its original cost after three years compared to 49 for the Focus, 51 per cent for Golf and an impressive 54 per cent for the Corolla.

Renault Mégane 1.6 Privilège Verdict

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The styling won’t be liked by all but Renault should be applauded for having the courage to bring such daring design to a comparatively conservative market sector. Some buyers of course will buy for the styling alone, others will sign up for the promised safety benefits inherent in what is sure to be one of the most secure vehicle around and yet more will find themselves drawn to the wonder of first-in-class features such as the keyless entry system. But for many the sacrifices required for Mégane ownership will be too great. For all of its twenty-second century styling and safety provisions, the Renault lacks the space efficiency and driver appeal of the Focus, the no-nonsense common sense approach of the Corolla and the image of the Golf. A COTY gong on the mantelpiece is no guarantee of a car’s overall excellence.