![]() ![]() From launch, there are only four to choose from, and none is entirely new. The engine choice is more black and white. It is a honed and more contemporary presence, but not necessarily a more harmonious one. The new proportions are intended to make the model a more balanced prospect visually, although the Mégane does seem rather crowded by the thrusting family-look front end. The car is lower and wider, too, sporting what Renault claims are the widest tracks in the segment. (The difference is accounted for by a longer front overhang the rear actually shrinks by 21mm.) Overall length has increased by 64mm, while the gain at the wheelbase is 28mm. Measured from the outside, the Mégane has become usefully bigger. The steering is electrically powered and claimed to be more precise now, thanks to the elimination of rubber mountings between the subframe and body. Which doesn’t necessarily mean the car wants for innovation: the range-topping warmed-up GT model, fettled by Renault Sport, includes 4Control, the segment’s first four-wheel steering system.Įlsewhere, the suspension has been revised, with particular attention paid to the dampers, bump-stops and bushings. Independent rear suspension (favoured by a number of rivals) can be combined with CMF, but it is offered exclusively with four-wheel-drive models, none of which currently features in the Mégane line-up. The Mégane’s underpinnings – codenamed CMF-C/D – are not only shared with the similar-sized Renault Kadjar and the Nissan Qashqai but also the bigger Espace and Talisman.Īllied to the platform is a conventional hatchback chassis of front MacPherson struts and a torsion beam behind. ![]() Versatility is at the heart of this technology, as well as the standardisation of out-of-view components between apparently different models within the Renault- Nissan Alliance. It is also substantially different in appearance, as Renault moves toward the house style already shown on the new Espace and Talisman (both unseen in the UK). ![]() The car is again claimed to be significantly larger than the one it replaces. The outgoing Mégane was built on a modified (that is, bigger) version of its predecessor’s architecture, too.īut not so this new, fourth-generation car, which now adopts the modular CMF (Common Module Family) platform already deployed under the Renault Kadjar.Īround it, the manufacturer promises a more sophisticated product. Under the first generation, for example, was essentially the old Renault 19’s chassis. Renault has occasionally been guilty of not helping itself.Īnother tradition of the past two decades is Renault’s habit of reskinning its hatchback without dramatically altering the running gear. It’s a similar story when compared with the long-term success of the Volkswagen Golf and Vauxhall Astra, highlighting just how difficult it is to break out of the also-ran mould in a segment well stocked with household names. ![]()
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