RENAULT'S RETURN (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Renault's Megane E-Tech Electric might well redefine what you imagine an affordable family Hatch EV to be. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 54

It's took a long time for Renault to deliver a proper follow-up to its ZOE EV, but the Megane E-Tech Electric was worth the wait. Family hatch-segment EVs often tend to be either rather boring or ever-so-slightly weird, but this one's stylish and engaging. A new kind of Renault for a very different era.

Backgroundword count: 137

Who would have forecast back in 2012 when Renault launched its little ZOE full EV that it would be a full decade before we saw another mainstream Renault passenger car EV product in our showrooms. Yet that's what's happened, as the brand over-stretched itself and has been overtaken by nearly all its volume rivals in the electric vehicle segment. But the fightback starts here with this car, the Megane E-Tech. It sits on the same CMF-EV platform used by the Nissan Ariya and should reach a large audience. Thanks to the success of the ZOE, one in five Renaults sold in Europe has been electric. But this is what Renault calls a '2nd generation' EV, it's development rushed through by the brand's ambitious CEO Luca de Meo, who likes to describe this as 'the GTI of EVs'.

Driving Experienceword count: 286

Renault promises that this car's sporty looks will translate into a sporty drive and there's lots about the design and engineering of this model to suggest that might translate into reality on the tarmac. The new power steering system has a super-sharp 12:1 ratio. And there's an uber-thin 60kWh battery that, along with a particularly light electric motor, allows this Renault to save about 100kgs in weight over its rivals and can be mounted even lower in the chassis than it would normally be in an EV. That platform is the Nissan Renault Alliance group's stiff CMF-EV set-up, notable here because it mounts the drive motor at the front. Rival VW Group EVs from Volkswagen, CUPRA and Skoda sit it at the back. This Megane's single front motor produces 216bhp of total output, the highest in the segment, though if you use too much of that, you won't get near the quoted range figure (between 279 and 285 miles, depending on trim). In fact we didn't even manage to get within 80% of that on this test, even with maximum brake regen selected from the steering wheel paddles. And the most frugal 'MySense' drive mode selected (the others are 'Comfort', 'Perso' and 'Sport'). It's tempting to use a bit of that power because unlike most of its rivals, this Renault's quite an engaging little thing to punt about. Surprisingly (given the huge 20-inch wheels most variants have), the ride's OK too - and refinement's exemplary by segment standards. Renault now includes One Pedal driving as standard across the range. By optimising regenerative braking, the vehicle decelerates smoothly when the driver releases the accelerator pedal, coming to a stop without the driver having to apply the brake.

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