2004 Renault Megane Reviews

I admit the Megane certainly has a distinctive road presence and a cheeky approach for following traffic.Renault has clenched tightly to a radical design theme – it started with the Vel Satis saloon four years ago – which really gets to the seat of some styling issues.It may surprise you to learn that the Megane hatch's shape is very workable. The boot is expansive, the lift-up hatch is neat, and the cargo area can be greatly enhanced by folding down the rear seats.Function aside, the back end of the car looks interesting, is unusually appealing and allows the rear wheels to be placed at each corner – the latter a promise for ride comfort, space efficiency and precise handling.That placement of the wheels at each corner is one of the reasons for the Megane's superb ride.It reflects all those lovely qualities of French vehicles with long-travel suppleness and – though there is a touch of body roll – Araldite cornering grip.The seats are wide and soft and have full adjustment via levers within the nose of the seat cushions.Inside there are a few extra treats. The styling is attractive yet functional and includes a diagrammatic display for the ventilation – including climatic airconditioning – and a comprehensive onboard computer.There's an excellent radio, with ancillary controls on the side of the steering wheel, and cruise control to add to the goodie list.It has one of the best in-car storage arrangements, with bins within the floor to secrete personal items; fat side pockets in the doors for drink bottles, newspapers and french sticks; a big glove box and a central console bin.Despite the snub tail, the boot is deep and wide. The mountain bikes fit in by folding the rear seat flat.There's no conventional ignition key and no door key – just an unusual credit card-size bit of plastic that slots in the dashboard.Briefly touch the start button and voila, power! You stop the engine by touching the same button. The doors and boot are unlocked by small bumps on the credit card.Auto up and down windows are welcome features in this price bracket.The brakes are sensitive, requiring a cautious foot to decelerate. It could have been a quirk of the test car, however, while it made the braking action seem lumpy, the car brings itself down quickly from speed.Full marks to a four-speed automatic that puts all the power to the ground and, thinking you're probably a better driver than you are, will change down through the gears as you slow for a corner.It also works well as a semi-manual, giving the option of revving the lusty twin-cam four right out to its 6200 red line.I was constantly impressed by this car. Every move it made, it did an exceptional job and even the price is great value.I note the fuel tank ran dry at the rate of 9.2-litres/100km. That's a bit higher than normal but it's actually not entirely the car's fault – it was me and my right foot having fun.

Facing yet another year in the red financially, Renault is fighting back with a model rollout in Australia.Nissan's partner for five years continues to suffer financial losses – tipped to be at least $10 million this year – and lacklustre sales but is buoyant about its future.There's a model feast waiting in the wings as it sets out to win over greater market recognition and sales volume Down Under.This time it is determined to be more than just a niche player, taking on the light-commercial sector as well.Battle plans were unveiled this week, with Renault adding a sedan version to its Megane hatchback range while confirming it has at least six new models, including a line-up of delivery vans, coming within 12 months.Among them is a new Clio in July, a Megane coupe-cabriolet, five and seven-seater versions of the Scenic in October, the hot Megane RS hatch by Christmas and the long-awaited Espace people mover early next summer.The car range will be supplemented by three light commercials, starting with the Trafic. Then comes the larger Master van range in July and the oddly named Kangoo in August.Renault wants to lift volume to 5600 units by the end of this year. Last year, it sold just 3178.Some of that gain the company hopes will come from the new Megane sedan. It has been selling about 90 Meganes a month to hatch buyers and predicts it can sell another 60 to sedan fans.That growth appears to be happening. The brand has been back in Australia for only three years but has achieved more than 10,000 sales in that period – which took Renault 19 years to achieve in its earlier appearance.One of the potential stars of its line-up has been the funky Megane hatch with its distinctive, love-it-or-hate-it bustle back. There's nothing quite like it on the market and Renault Australia has been quick to capitalise on its ``big bum'' attribute in its latest advertising campaign, although buyers remain wary of the styling.The Megane sedan is not so controversially styled and Renault will find it a harder to make it stand out in the already crowded small to mid-sized model range. There are no six-cylinder variants.However, the sedan, launched in Europe in November, comes here with a five-star crash rating in the European NCAP safety evaluations, while its hatchback brother is European Car of the Year.Renault is confident that buyers will be attracted by the Megane's safety features, elegant styling, European badge and status.While the short nose and stubby tail give the car a compact appearance, the sedan is slightly larger than the hatchback, with a longer wheelbase, a roomier cabin and a substantially larger boot.It picks up 80 per cent of the hatchback's mechanical components and most of its features, including the suspension, engine, variable-speed steering, sensitive brakes and credit-card key system, which requires the driver to push a start button to get moving.The front wheels are powered by a two-litre, four-cylinder engine with 98kW at 5500rpm and 191Nm on tap at 3750rpm, and there's a choice of six-speed manual or four-speed sequential automatic.The sedan is no firecracker but a drive showed performance is better than expected, and handling, braking and steering are good.It is big on safety features, including smart seatbelts and front, side and curtain airbags as well as anti-lock brakes.The sedan will be offered in two levels of specification, the Expression and the Privilege, which will be sold only as an automatic.Prices begin at $29,990 for the base manual and stretch to $35,990 for the flagship version.

You are guaranteed that it will always stand out in a crowd.The styling of the Megane is controversial – there are plenty who have been polarised by its J.Lo back end and boxy glasshouse perched on top of the hatchback nose – but it is impossible to miss.For Renault Australia, the Megane is the car with the potential to create a much-needed breakthrough in showrooms.The quality of the work in the car is reflected in its choice as the European Car of the Year in 2003.It is the first all-new car from the French maker since it re-launched in Australia as part of the global Nissan-Renault alliance.Acceptance hasn't been as quick as Renault hoped, but that's been down to cars which didn't have the right mix of quality, value and performance to match the Japanese.The Megane should have the goods and the 'what the . . .' looks will ensure it also gets people talking about Renault.It definitely scores on the safety front, with a five-star NCAP rating and a full complement of airbags including side curtains for head protection.Renault has also brought the cars to Australia with plenty of standard luxury, including electric power steering and airconditioning (automatic on the Dynamique models), electric windows and mirrors, trip computer, six-speaker CD sound and height-and-reach steering adjustment on all cars.It has also included a range of ¿surprise and delight¿ features that will keep people talking: a chilled glovebox, more storage space than you can imagine – including bins in the front floor – and one-touch controls for all four electric windows.The prices aren't great, opening at $25,990 with only a 1.6-litre engine, but most of the Megane action is in the $30,000-something range and that will help it compete.The car also has plenty of impressive French engineering, in everything from the body shape to the suspension layout and seat design and operation. It's a car which always gets you thinking. Sadly, there is not much to talk about in the engine bay.The basic 1.6-litre four has only 83kW of power and even the 2-litre, which has twin-overhead camshafts and variable valve timing, only makes 98.5kW.There is 191Nm of torque, but that's offset by a lacklustre four-speed automatic transmission.On the roadTHE new Megane highlights the best and the less-than-best of European motoring. It has a 'look at me' body with a funky cabin that's going to win plenty of friends, as well as class-leader safety, sumptuous comfort and a superb ride.But it's not as brisk as we'd like, the automatic gearbox is a disappointment, and a price tag close to $38,000 will limit the appeal of a car that's really a trendy four-seater hatchback.You can get the same space in a Hyundai Elantra for less than $19,000, although that's hardly the point.Renault is expecting the Megane to run up against cars such as the Alfa 147, Audi A3, Mini Cooper and Volkswagen Golf from Europe, and in that bunch it is much more competitive.Our test time with the Megane included a couple of cars, although we spent more kilometres with the 2-litre Dynamique.For the record, we like the look. It's practical, it provides great visibility and good space in the cabin – apart from a slightly cramped back seat – and you feel good when you walk back to 'your' car standing proud in the car pack.We also enjoyed the cushy seats and classy driving position, all the equipment – including a useful trip computer, cruise control and an outside temperature gauge – and the way the car drives.At first we thought there was too much tugging through the steering, and it can feel quite 'busy' on broken surfaces, but the feel is good and the car has excellent grip and a very neutral handling balance.It also rides the worst roads without upsetting anyone in the cabin, something we have always liked about French suspension systems.The Megane is a car that will happily cover long distances, keeping its passengers happy at the same time.But . . .The engine is nothing special and the automatic is slow to shift and puts the motor in a very noisy band at 100-110km/h cruising speeds.Very few Europeans choose automatics and that always shows when the auto versions get to Australia.The Megane has a touch-change manual mode, but it's never as crisp to shift, or as responsive, as you expect from a 2-litre Japanese car.Still, the car is good and we like it.If you line it up against the VW Golf it makes a lot of sense, even if the German car has a rock-solid reputation, and we can see a lot of Audi and Peugeot buyers being attracted to the new French hero.It fits into the price spread of its European rivals, which will help it win friends, and few dollar-driven Japanese shoppers will see the sense in the Megane.But there is sense in the dollars and, even if it's more costly than a Holden Astra or even the Ford Focus ST170, there are people who will like the drive and be convinced to make the jump to something that's a very individual choice.