The Megane has been a staple of the Renault stable for over 25 years and after the Clio is the brand’s longest-serving model, so it’s fitting that it will be the first ‘conventional’, volume car to be electrified. It’ll be Renault’s first foray into a fully electric C-segment family hatch – a hotbed of competition which is only getting hotter!
Renault’s eVision show car, launched at its eWays event was actually more than a good-looking concept. Pre-production Megane eVisions are already poised to take to the road for advanced development and testing, with the full production version following next year.
The Renault Megane E-Tech Electric – also to be known as the MeganeE (pronounced Megane e) – is based on Renault’s CMF-EV next-gen electric platform. It carries over the powertrain from the Megane eVision show car, meaning 217bhp and 221lb-ft of torque sent to the front wheels, drawing power from a 60kWh battery which enables the car to achieve a competitive 280 miles on the WLTP cycle.
Renault has opted for a standard 400 volt system, with maximum DC charging possible at 130kW and AC charging possible at up to 22kW. At the higher DC rate, the Megane E-Tech Electric can be fully juiced in around 30 minutes.
In terms of physical size, the next-gen car is actually slightly smaller than the current Megane at 4210mm long (vs. 4359mm) and 1800mm wide (vs. 1814mm), though it looks slightly taller than the current car. Despite the smaller footprint, Renault previously highlighted the increase in cabin space in the Megane eVision, afforded by the electric powertrain alongside one of the thinnest batteries on any EV.
In terms of other interior features, we expect the Megane E-Tech Electric to get Renault’s LIVINGTECH ‘technological ecosystem’, based around fewer buttons and switches which are replaced by touch controls. We hope that these are still located like buttons and not predominantly integrated into a touchscreen interface, however!
We’ll keep tabs on everything coming out of Renault and its development of the Megane E-Tech Electric in the run-up to its official launch.
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