Renault grabs the golden ticket with its sub-40k Megane E-Tech

Slowly but surely, car manufacturers are bringing cheaper electric cars to market, and about time too, as for mass adoption to take place, we need more electric choice under £40,000. Renault has experience in the EV sector with the electric Kangoo and ZOE, and that knowledge has been used to good effect with the introduction of the Megane E-Tech, an electric car that starts at £36,000.

Like its ICE counterpart, the E-Tech is a five-door family car fitted with a 60kWh battery. It competes with the Volkswagen ID.3, Cupra Born, Citroen eC4, Vauxhall Astra-electric and Peugeot-308 in a sector that is rapidly expanding. It uses the same CMF-EV platform as the Nissan Ariya, but comes fitted with Renault’s own motor, which has some pleasing green credentials, with no earth metals used.

The 60kWh battery and e-motor produce 217bhp and 300Nm, so it’s no slouch, offering a thrilling electric power surge when overtaking. The single-speed automatic transmission makes driving simple and with front-wheel drive coupled to that torque, you also add some proper old fashioned wheel spinning as you exit a wet junction.

Model range and price

Renault is keeping the range simple, with one powertrain and four trim levels. Entry level is the Equilibre, which costs from £35,995 and includes a 12.3” driver’s display, rear parking sensors, rear parking camera, adaptive cruise control and a heated steering wheel.

We were testing the mid-range Techno with prices starting at £38,495 and extra features including a Google-based infotainment system, wireless phone charging, front parking sensors, blind spot warning and active lane centring.

There’s also a ‘Launch Edition’, which adds 20” wheels, Harman Kardon audio with nine speakers, a digital rear view mirror, a gold front bumper and surround parking cameras, which rolls in at £39,995.

Finally, there’s the Iconic: it costs £41,995 and has with 20″enos alloys, around-view 3D camera, a heat pump and gold bumper.

Outside – and in

All models are striking. They sit low and squat to the ground, mimicking a crossover with its highish-riding stance. The front showcases the retro large Renault logo in the grille-less front. Smart triangular LED lights sit on each corner, while cool pop-out front door handles emerge as you approach the car.

Quality-wise, it’s a big step up from what you’ll find in an ID.3, with a selection of well chosen finishes adorning the surfaces. Highlights include grey fabric seat finishes and matching dashboard top and handily placed floating phone charger.

Practicality comes in the from of a small armrest and under area storage, large glove box and front door pockets, with a huge storage space low down between the front seats and twin USB C ports front and rear.

Renault has beautifully designed the curving 9” infotainment and 12.3” driver information display which merge into one, very much like on a Mercedes-Benz. Titled OpenR-Link, it’s a highlight and way ahead of VW’s ID offering. You also get Google Assistant with over-the-air updates, and wirelessly connected Apple Car Play or Android Auto. The touchscreen is a little on the small side but works perfectly well, with clear, sharp graphics.

Top speed is 99 mph with a 0-62 mph time of 7.5 seconds. The WLTP claimed range is 280 miles. When we fully charged our test car in February, the display at 100% showed 203 miles. On a really cold morning, this was showing just 150 miles, so be aware of the inevitable EV range ups and downs.

The E-Tech has four driving modes: Eco, Personal, Normal and Sport. Normal was best for everyday movement as the Eco limits the top speed to 70mph, but it’s a useful range saver. Sport adds some oomph but the set-up is quite harsh and we didn’t like it very much.

There are four regeneration levels to boost the battery. On a winding B-road through the Peak District, the constant speeding up and slowing down through villages provided the perfect scenario to experience how well this works, and we added double digits miles to our range, even in February.

A week and 250 miles of mixed motoring left me with a big smile on my face, as the Megane is super-fun to drive, perhaps accounting for my poorly 3.0mp/kWh. Plugging in at night and pre-selecting the 00.30-04.30 charge time meant that as we never let the range fall below 50%, our Megane was fully charged or close to, every morning, for a cost of £2.20 a pop. The 60kWh battery isn’t the largest but we reckon that if you drive cleverly and not above 70mph while utilising the on-board regen, 200 miles is infinitely achievable, perhaps moreso in summer.

Pros

It’s the most accomplished car to drive in its class. Design and build quality are first rate. The on-board tech is bang up to date and with over-air updates, should remain so. Price-wise it’s extremely competitive, and BIK is just 2%.

Cons

Fidgety ride over poor road surfaces. Rear passenger space is adequate only.

The Megane E-Tech missed out on our Awards for 2023 as we didn’t get to drive it in time for it to be considered. On this showing, it’s very much a contender next time, offering boundless fun. Not the cheapest family EV, but cheaper than most. Your money gets you a great-looking car with good tech and safety. Only negatives are bumpy ride on poor surfaces and it doesn’t have the biggest range. Neither quibble are enough to not make it class-leading, however.

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