Renault Megane E-Tech Review

Renault's getting a lot of love at the moment for its talented, cheap and retro-themed small cars – the gorgeous 5, the faux-rugged 4 and the charming Twingo. But these were all preceded by the Megane E-Tech, a car that set the template for Renault's second generation of EVs and took the brand away from just selling the Zoe and Twizy.

The previous Renault Megane got a bit lost in the family hatchback market – you might even be struggling to picture it. Renault has certainly made sure the latest Megane has the sparkle to stand out – and releasing it into the wild before a number of rivals.

Now, the Megane E-Tech has to contend with top talent such as the MG4 and Kia EV3, as well as the Volkswagen ID.3 and Citroen e-C4. Renault has plied the Megane with a SUV-like ride height – partly due to looking trendy and partly due to the batteries under the floor – and a sleek design.

In fact, most of the Megane’s attributes are marginally better than the ID.3 by design. The Megane’s range is a bit better, it has slightly more power and the boot is slightly bigger.

Inside, the airy interior has one of the best touchscreens you’ll find, with snappy responses and Google Maps integration. Further back, there’s just enough rear-seat space for family buyers and a deep boot.

We’d love to see a hotted-up Alpine version of the Megane E-Tech – the Alpine A290 is a Renault 5 with attitude –  but the Megane's pretty sporty for what it is. In 2025, Renault added the Techno Esprit Alpine and Iconic Esprit Alpine trim levels to give buyers a few design flourishes from its performance car brand.

There’s only one powertrain in the Megane. That makes the choice easy, and the Megane’s quoted 285-mile range should be more than enough for the majority of buyers. If it isn't, go for the larger Renault Scenic E-Tech with its bigger battery pack.

Renault’s interiors are full of the good stuff at the moment, and the Megane is a lovely place to spend time in. The textures and fabrics are imaginative, tactile and stop the car feeling drab inside – as some rival EVs can. Plus, the grey seat fabric in higher-spec models is recycled, so you can feel like you’re doing your bit for the polar bears.

From behind the wheel, the Megane feels very driver-focused, with the infotainment screen and the attached phone tray angled towards you, which makes it easy to reach all the controls.

A pair of screens are standard, with a widespan digital instrument cluster and either a square or portrait touchscreen. Both are emphatically crisp and quick to respond, while the touchscreen has an ace up its sleeve. Running on Google software means the best, most up-to-date mapping app is the native sat-nav system. It’s super snappy, reroutes you around traffic at the drop of a hat and can find you an EV charger en-route with just a tap. This comes as standard on all Meganes except for the older, entry-level Equilibre.

The infotainment system is also neatly laid out, with intuitive menus and a useful climate control bar for easy access to commonly used functions.

The steering wheel buttons look like annoying touch pads but they're actually proper buttons, so you never accidentally press them while driving. However, in typical Renault fashion, the audio controls are hidden away on a stalk behind the wheel.

Three stalks on the right of the wheel is just too many. You do get used to them, because they all feel different so your fingers know which one's which – and we love that the column-mounted gear shifter frees up loads of centre console storage.

There’s a huge amount of standard equipment. Entry-level Evolution spec includes 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, keyless entry, adaptive cruise control, a reversing camera with rear sensors, and auto emergency braking. Moving up to the Techno trim brings auto wipers, wireless phone charging, 20-inch wheels and extra safety tech, while top-spec Iconic gets a Harman Kardon sound system, gold front-end detailing, a 360-degree camera and parking assist.

In newer cars, the lineup is Techno, Techno Esprit Alpine and Iconic Esprit Alpine, with Techno now sitting on the smaller wheels and the awkwardly named Esprit Alpine versions getting a new set of 20s and a black roof. On these versions, you're limited to grey or black paint, while Techno and the earlier trims offer more colour choices such as the bright Flame Red and the sophisticated Midnight Blue.

Most buyers will find the Megane’s interior space absolutely fine in isolation, although tall passengers are likely to be a bit happier in an MG4 or Volkswagen ID.3. Rear legroom is decent, if not absolutely outstanding, but if you’re above average height you’ll find yourself a bit short of headroom back there.

A flat floor means there’s room for three pairs of feet, and it shouldn’t be too difficult to squeeze in a fifth passenger for occasional short journeys.

If you’re carrying kids instead, the doors open fairly wide and the Isofix points are easily accessible – and there’s a third set of points on the front passenger seat. We've found that the rear seatbelt plugs can be hard to find with a child seat in place, however, and some models don't come with interior lights in the back seats – making it difficult to strap kids in or see what you're doing when it's dark.

Storage up front is pretty impressive. By moving the gearlever to the steering wheel and making the most of the Megane’s electric-only platform, Renault has freed up a huge open storage area where the centre console would otherwise be. There’s also a handy phone tray under the big screen and big door bins – and they get extra points for being flock lined, so bottles and clutter won’t rattle around. The glovebox is a proper size, too.

You get more boot space in the Megane than in the ID.3, MG4 or Cupra Born. The 440-litre space behind the Megane’s bootlid is square and deep, and you'll fit more in there than you expect. We've stacked two large suitcases in the Megane's boot and still not needed to remove the parcel shelf. 

One thing to bear in mind is that there’s quite a big lip to haul shopping over, and it doesn’t appear that a false floor is available to get around this. By the same token, there’s a big step in the loadbay when the rear seats are folded. Additionally, the Megane's tiny square boot release button can be tricky to find in the dark.

You don’t need to spend long choosing the Megane E-Tech for you, as all get the same electric motor and battery. Specifically, a 220hp motor on the front axle, and a 60kWh battery. The 0-62mph time stands at 7.5 seconds, which is more than enough for daily driving scenarios and means the Megane doesn’t struggle to get up to motorway speeds.

You can expect up to 285 miles on a full charge. In summer it's easy to get 250 miles, and careful driving can match Renault's estimate. In freezing conditions, you can expect the range to drop to about 190 miles. Like most EVs, the faster you go on the motorway, the faster your range drops. Newer Meganes have a standard-fit heat pump, which should improve cold-weather efficiency.

At a public fast-charger, the Megane can handle 130kW, for a 15-80% top-up in 32 minutes. Most buyers will use a 7.4kW home wallbox to keep the Megane topped up, and doing this will add just over 10% charge per hour – a 0-100% charge takes less than 10 hours, and it's rare to need to charge from anywhere near empty.

The illustrious history of Renaultsport-tuned Meganes looks to be in the rear-view mirror, with the new electric Megane focusing on smoothness and comfort instead. As a daily driver or commuter car, the Megane is fantastic.

Its immediate power delivery makes it a doddle to exploit gaps in traffic, and the regen braking lets you mostly drive on one pedal (2025-on cars offer full one-pedal driving). You can adjust the strength of the electric motor braking with the paddles on the steering wheel, which is probably our preferred method of doing so – it's much more intuitive and quicker than having to dive into the touchscreen.

Higher-spec Meganes include what Renault calls ‘context-aware’ adaptive cruise control. This means that the cruise control system, when engaged, can slow you down for bends or junctions. You’ll either find it immensely helpful or quite frustrating, so it’s worth taking one for a test-drive to see how you find the system. And it’s not quite clever enough that you can fall asleep at the wheel, sorry.

The Megane is fun to drive on a twisty road, too. It’s chuckable and handles quick direction changes really well, aided by responsive steering. Just a shame that the steering has no feel whatsoever and is a bit too light – although it's weighted up a bit in Sport mode on the Multisense dial.

With 220hp going to the front wheels, you'll sometimes get a brief dab of wheelspin, and you can feel the power affecting the steering a little when you put your foot down. This torque steer merely adds to the fun factor, providing an extra level of engagement. The Megane's more involving than an ID.3 or MG4.

In sporty driving, we'd like to sit a bit lower than the Megane lets you. But, of course, there are batteries under the floor so that's not possible.

Even on the Megane’s massive wheels, the ride quality remains strong. It’s comfortable and the big jolts are smoothed off well, and you’ll hear the impacts more than you’ll feel them. The damping feels expensive, with the Megane settling down very quickly after a bump.

You’ll probably need the standard-fit reversing camera, because the pinched rear windscreen doesn’t do much for backwards visibility. The camera quality was improved for 2025 and newer cars – older models don't offer the camera resolution you might expect given how slick the screens are.