Renault Megane

Renault Megane Dynamique 1.5 dCI 3 door

2007 (07)

Had my Megane now for around 4 months, bought it off my dad when he changed with a view to saving money. The main things that appealed was the £30 a year road tax and good fuel economy. He owned it from new and had no reliability issues other than a "rattling" heat Sheild which is easily rectified. Since owning it I have been very pleased with its economy figures. Taking it easy on a general run it will do 55-60 MPG, and around town it will still do 50-55.

The only issue I've had is the #4 blower setting has stopped working. All in all it's a great car. Plenty of room for luggage/golf clubs in the boot and has storage compartments all over the place. Will seat 5 adults comfortably and safely and boasts a good amount of goodies such as Air con and cruise control.

One downside is the front headlight bulbs are a pain to replace. The manual says remove front bumper but having looked practically at it, they are easily replaceable by taking the front wheel off given more room and better view of where to go. The 86bhp 1.5 dCI engine isn't the fastest but is fairly "nippy" low down through to 3000rpm but is pretty gutless after that. Sat between 70-80 cruising on the motorway is pretty quiet and offers good economy whilst doing so (50mpg).

Comfort is good, the seats offer good lumbar support and also hug on the sides. They have a good recline and height adjustment feature and the steering wheel is moveable also.

In the secondhand market you can pick up a good average mileage example for no more that 5/6k. Well worth the money in my opinion of you want a cheap to run and insure medium sized hatchback.



Mr D Ball

Superb comfort and kit, but don't get too attached to your petrol

2009 (09)

So I bought one of these new in 2009, back when I was doing lots of motorway driving to offices nearby Manchester Airport. Spending lots of time in traffic, facilities like bucket seats, air con and the iPod connector were great additions to the car, but the fuel economy was always a concern.

A full tank lasted less than a week, which when you're paying between £60 and latterly £75 to fill it, is a lot of your wages. The car is also quite heavy, so when you've picked the 1.6l engine, overtaking can be more difficult than perhaps it should be.

Looks wise, its very nice and distinctive, aside from maybe the Scirrocco there's nothing else like it on the road.

A big negative would be Renault's customer service. In three years of owning I had constant sales and marketing material phoned, posted, emailed and text to me, yet was never given courtesy calls regarding services, recalls etc. Despite repeated requests, they wouldn't remove me from their lists until I contacted their head office. Not good.

I've moved the Megane Coupe on now; i'd recommend it for people who maybe just want to drive short distances, whilst it's a looker, it's difficult to live with over time.

Mr D Shires