Nat Barnes reports back on life with our Megane E-Tech long-termer.

Renault Megane E-Tech Iconic

List price (BiK): £41,995 (2%) Range: 280 miles On Fleet: 235 miles Efficiency: 3.7mpkWh

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If I’m being entirely honest, I was expecting it to take longer. The past six months saw me at the wheel of a Mazda CX-60 and, while I didn’t always enjoy its size when parking, I did appreciate its internal dimensions when moving people or trips to the dump.

So I felt that switching to the Renault Megane was always going to be a challenge. Firstly because of its size and, secondly, because it was fully electric. Don’t get me wrong, I generally welcome the move to EVs with open arms, it’s just that circumstances mean that I’m temporarily living in a house without an EV charger, so all my charging needs to be done publicly or on a granny lead – far from ideal.

I’ll touch on the cost implications of that – and the advantages of an EV compared to a traditional ICE car – in my next column, but needless to say, I shouldn’t have worried. The Renault E-Tech has been a perfect demonstration of usability and practicality. As the ambient temperature has improved, so has my fully charged range, creeping upwards from a worrying 193 miles when it first arrived at a heady 253 miles at one point. An average of around 235 miles seems to be the norm and closer to a real-world figure.

Yes, that’s still short of the official 280 miles, but in reality, I don’t usually do more than that in a day, so it’s hardly an inconvenience. Would we like the Megane E-Tech to be available with the option of a larger battery, as with the 87kWh in the Scenic? Yes, but whether buyers would stomach the £3,500 price difference as with that car is another matter.

On the upside, the Apple CarPlay connection seems to be behaving itself in the Megane compared to my last report, even if I connect it with a USB cable rather than by Bluetooth. That’s not really a problem as I’m not a fan of the induction charging pad on front of the Renault’s dashboard anyway.

A new source of ire though has been the Renault’s door mirrors or, more precisely, the design of their mounts. It’s a niche problem admittedly, but their squared-off design clearly leads to a slightly odd airflow around the front lower corner of the door windows. Not a problem in the dry, but when driving in rain on the motorway, the airflow then swirls round and constantly spatters the corner of the window just where you look in your door mirror.

It may sound like a nit-picking problem, but when driving, the way these constant droplets catch the light make them seem like movement in the door mirror, meaning you find yourself checking them far more than normal to ensure there’s nothing really there. I’m hoping it’s a dry summer ahead, so that I don’t have this problem too frequently.

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Renault Megane E-Tech Iconic

List price (BiK): £41,995 (2%) Range: 280 miles On Fleet: N/A Efficiency: N/A

If Renault’s name was already good in the world of EVs thanks to the legacy of the popular Zoe, then it’s fair to say that 2024 will probably see that boosted still further.

The unveiling of the retro-styled new Renault 5 will be at the forefront of that, but so will the arrival of the all-electric Scenic running alongside this Megane E-Tech, which joins the Fleet World long-term fleet for the next six months.

Mean and moody in its optional Ceramic Grey bodywork and black roof with gold accent trimmings on this flagship Iconic model, it certainly looks the part. In fact, while I’d got used to larger SUVs with my outgoing Mazda CX-60, this Megane feels small by comparison, but that’s very welcome in tight car parks.

And that’s also no bad thing with its 60kWh battery, which at first glance seems a little on the small side, compared to the VW ID.3’s 77kWh, but the claimed 280-mile range is still respectable. The larger Scenic gets the choice of the same 60kWh battery or an 87kWh long-range pack too.

Would it be good to have the same choice in the Megane? Perhaps, but with a claimed efficiency of 3.86mpkWh, there’s a strong argument for ‘right-sizing’ of batteries in cars and first impressions of the balance in this Megane are that this might be ok. Just.

I especially like the low and sleek look, accentuated by that black roof, although the only thing narrower than the rear windscreen is the opening on editor Challen’s wallet when it’s his round. The look out of the rear-view mirror is like peering out of a letterbox and the rear wiper is comically tiny.

It’s only been with us a few days so far, but I like the ability to quickly switch the level of regenerative braking on the steering wheel paddles (something that should be obvious, but isn’t always) as well as the consistency of the feedback. Not so great has been the infotainment system, which is only randomly successful when linking to Apple CarPlay, and the screen, which feels oddly small compared to rivals. I’m looking forward to coming back to this, and the other highs and lows of the Megane, over the next six months.