Renault MEGANE II SPORT HATCH EXTREME RANGE
Renaults Entry-Level Three-Door Megane Sport Hatch Is Titled Extreme. Never Was A Car More Appropriately Badged. Jonathan Crouch Reports
Extreme is an appropriate badge for Renaults Megane Sport Hatch. Few would argue that this is the most dynamically-styled family hatchback ever made, a sign that Renaults design studio is the bravest and most forward thinking in the industry.
Sport Hatch is
Renault-speak for the three-door hatchback bodystyle and Extreme is the more affordable of the two trim levels being offered in this guise, the other being Dynamique. Either way, you get alloy wheels, an ant-submarining airbag for the front seats, front electric windows, a 60-watt stereo radio cassette (cassette?) with steering wheel controls and ABS. The only real drawback of going the Extreme route with this particular car is that it rather limits you to some of the feebler powerplants namely the 98bhp 1.4-litre petrol unit (priced from £11,090) and dCi 80 diesel (priced from £11,790).
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Either way, theres the option of air conditioning for a further £500. If you can stretch to a £1,000 premium over the standard Extreme, Dynamique trim will net you a worthwhile package of kit, including that air conditioning system plus a CD player (after all, when was the last time you played a cassette?), an alarm, heated mirrors, front foglamps, leather for the steering wheel and gearstick, automatic headlamps and wipers, plus 60/40 split-folding rear seats. Plus at this level, theres the option of more powerful 1.6 and 2.
0-litre petrol units, plus a pokier 120bhp diesel. To be fair however, you can find much of this type of stuff elsewhere in the overcrowded Family Hatchback sector. What you cant find is the Megane Sport Hatchs sheer jaw-dropping presence. Where do you begin in describing this cars sheer visual shock? At the back, naturally.
The bustle back certainly differentiates the
Renault from a number of watered down rivals. In fact, this one design feature dominates the car. Blank it out and the Megane has a conventional line, looking much like an amalgam between a
Ford Focus and a
Rover 25. Well probably all get pretty used to the styling in time but for now, its a breath of fresh air in what is usually a pretty conservative sector of the market.
"What you cant find in other small Family Hatches is the Megane Sport Hatchs sheer jaw-dropping presence."
The market in which the Megane competes is traditionally one of big volumes and, as you might expect, expectations are intense for this car. The Megane platform will be shared between Renault and
Nissan and will account for 1.8 million vehicles by 2006. Due to be distributed in 75 countries, Renault has its eye on 14% of the family hatch segment, challenging for the title of Europes best selling car.
Built at Renaults high-tech Palencia plant in Spain, the Sport Hatch is just one part of a jigsaw that also includes the five-door hatch, a saloon, a coupe-convertible, the Scenic II
mini-MPV and a dizzying myriad of other Megane spin-offs. No matter how striking you may find the exterior styling, for many the biggest surprise will come when they drop into the drivers
seat of the Megane Sport Hatch. The design is neat without being gratuitously radical, but the real revelation is the great strides forward made in terms of quality of materials and finish. Its almost as if a Renault designers company hack was rear-ended and he got an
Audi courtesy car for the week.
Soft feel plastics, quality fabrics and a cohesive design philosophy means a not-so-fond farewell to old-school Renault interiors, many of which were built with the visual drama and structural integrity of a film set. Genuine innovation is in evidence. Take Renaults anti-submarining airbag, a device which leaps forth from the seat cushion to protect the pelvis. This replaces the traditional (and some would say uncomfortable) hump at the front of the seat and is a neat solution that provides both comfort and unparalleled safety, effectively making it impossible to slide beneath the seatbelt in the event of an accident.
Renaults unparalleled experience in the MPV market shines through, not only in terms of passenger space - which is excellent - but also in the provision of multifarious cubbies, boxes and pockets. Theres a hatch in the floor to stow valuables, storage boxes between both front and rear seats and even a chilled glove compartment. The metallic hoop handbrake is a neat touch, although motoring anoraks will remember a similar device in the Alfa 75 of the eighties. Like the Laguna II, the Megane features a card rather than the traditional key, and multiplex wiring systems ensure that, at least on the Dynamique version, rain-sensing wipers and automatic headlamps are available, while cruise control with an F1-style speed limiter is an option.
Spend more and you can even specify a full length sunroof and Carminat satellite navigation. As well as ABS, Brake Assist and tyre pressure mentoring, the Megane II is also the first car to use next generation ESP stability control software that incorporates CSV understeer control, ESP fitted as part of a Handling Pack option. Unlike many stability control systems that are very good at figuring out when the back end is trying to overtake the front, CSV is tailored especially for sporting front-wheel drive cars and gives enormous confidence on wet roads. Renault have been extremely clever with the Megane II Sport Hatch.
Theyve certainly price it tightly in Extreme guise as featured here. The styling blends an element of conservatism with flagrant look-at-me extremes, a gamble that Renault may well cash in on. In designing a quality feel into the car and supplying a decent set of powerplants, what seemed like rash foolhardiness gradually appears more the work of brilliant product planning. Some will say that the Megane Sport Hatch should have been a little less radical.
Let them buy boring. Perhaps its time to go to extremes.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Renault Megane II Sport Hatch Extreme range
PRICES: £11,090 -£11,790 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 3E
CO2 EMISSIONS: 120-161g/km
PERFORMANCE: [1.4] Max Speed 114mph / 0-60mph 12.5s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [1.4] (urban) 31 (extra urban) 52.3 (combined) 42.2mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front, side, curtain and anti submarine airbags / seatbelt pre-tensioners / ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4209/1777/1457
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