Road Tests
Read the road tests that have appeared in Local Cars magazine
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Renault Megane
Thank goodness there’s to be no more ‘shakin’ an ass’ Renaults! I felt they were pug ugly just like a fat, prolapsed hen, and I think I speak with some authority because until a few years ago my family owned virtually every model made since Graham and Bowness started business. These included the 4, 6, 8,12, 14 and the wonderful 16 which all graced our drive, and my rst non-rally performance car was the potent Renault 5 Turbo which was awesomely quick in its day, so you can say that because of the late ‘Uncle Joe Bowness’, a family friend, were have been Renault devotees.
And any rally nut like me holds dear the memory of the Group 2, yellow Maxi Meganes which won the British Rally Championship in the late 1990s in the hands of such great drivers as Martin Rowe before that series fell out of favour and the Megane got an ‘ass.
I was thus really pleased to test the new Megane from Graham & Bowness in Workington for which I felt I did not have to wear a wig to hide my identity because it is attractive and a serious contender in the Ford Focus class.
The shape is restrained but classy and I loved the wedge-like shape with a BMW-type of downward sweep of the swage crease over the chunky, easedout front wings which leads the eye to the feline headlights, sculpted bonnet and pugnacious snout. The test car was powered by the well-proven 1461cc 106Dci Eco diesel found is several cars in the Renault/Citroën PSA group and is lively with a decent torque which via a six-speed ‘box (not the slickest in the class and I found it a bit notchy) gives the Megane a spirited without being sporty performance.
Aimed at economic family motoring, the Megane’s 62mpg is superb, yet it still gets to 62mph from rest in a less-than-embarrassing 10.9 seconds and will reach nearly 120mph for your transcontinental holiday trips.
What is more the unit is so well insulated there is no oil-burner thruminess and with the excellent entertainment centre switched on it was di cult to know it was a Herr Diesel four-cylinder up front.
The stylish exterior design, with its raked windows and sitting on attractive 17-inch alloy wheels, is carried through into the interior with very well sculpted and supportive seats both front and back, and the aluminium sweeping detail on the dash mitigates against the large amount of contoured plastic above and below which brakes up the slabbiness.
The driver binnacle has a whopping great digital readout speedo right in the middle with an analogue rev counter on the left and computer readout in the right for vital functions and the steering wheel stalks have the essential repeat controls.
The centre console houses the entertainment and air con gubbins and there are lots of hidden cubby holes to stow all you might need, while the boot is capacious for its class and easily swallowed our weekend Tesco shop, as well as my large gym, computer and camera bags.
If you are stupid enough to opt for the tyre in ation kit instead of a spare wheel, then there will be even more space for detritus but as a mouse kit can’t deal with a side wall blow out I would go for a spare wheel to save being stranded!
Like virtually every car built these days, safety is hugely important and no more so than with the Megane which has ABS and ESP to make sure braking and stability are under control.
Moreover, what Renault calls “cutting edge dualchamber airbags” add to the safety whole to give the Megane a coveted 5-star rating in the Euro NCAP crash tests, though no mater how good that is, they can never make up for stupid driving.
On the road the Megane is a well-behaved companion, rather like a Sunday School mistress who will not misbehave no matter how you bravely try to explore “the performance envelope”!
In summary, the performance is good enough to stop you slipping into senility without in any way frightening the horses or granny, and this I found frustrating because the excellent chassis feels so secure it would handle much more power.
However, with our economy going to hell in a basket, owners will be only too glad to sacri ce a little bit of performance for the Megane’s total reluctance to visit the garage fuel pumps, and with a decentsize fuel tank the Megane is great for long journeys which the occupants will enjoy in comfort.
12,500 mile or two-year service intervals will also save you cash and the warranty is three-years or 60,000 miles.
So, I was glad to get back in a Renault again and I can report the Megane is a sensible vehicle for a growing family which looks good, goes well and is greener than an eco warrior plus the added advantage that Graham & Bowness can sell you one on zero nance.
On the road prices for the diesel hatch start at £15,850 rising to £19,150 but my mid-range test Megane 106 |
