Renault Mégane

Mégane I (1995–2002)

Development of the X64 began in early 1990, with the first sketches of X64 programme being drawn during the first six months of 1990. Very quickly, several themes were outlined and developed into to four small-scale (1/5) models by September 1990. The designs retained were developed around four themes. Theme A: a six-light version, evoking the Laguna; Theme B: a model with markedly cuneiform line; Theme C: another design with ellipse-shaped glasswork and rear notch; Theme D: a model with the same elliptical glazing and rounded rear. In March 1991, all 4 styling proposals were developed into full scale (1:1). Theme C by Michel Jardin was chosen by Le Quement and frozen for production in April 1992. The first prototypes were built and presented to management in December 1992. Approximately 432 prototypes were built (at Rueil assembly) and destroyed during development. In June 1993, Renault purchased production tooling for the X64, with the first test unit being assembled at the Douai plant in October 1994 and pre-production units being constructed from December 1994 to mid-1995.

The Mégane I was unveiled in September 1995, at the Frankfurt Motor Show, as a replacement for the Renault 19. The car was essentially a reskin of its predecessor, and carried over the 19's floorpan, engines, transmissions and chassis design, albeit with much modification. Taking its name from a Renault concept car shown in 1988, the Mégane further developed the new corporate styling theme introduced by Patrick Le Quément on the Laguna, most notably the "bird-beak" front grille – a styling cue borrowed from the Renault 16 of the 1960s. As with the 19 and the 11 before it, the Mégane was produced at Renault's Douai plant in northern France starting in July 1995, and at the Spanish plant of Palencia. Market launch began on November 15, 1995 in France and December 15, 1995 for the coupe. UK sales commenced in Spring 1996.

Safety was a key focus of the Megane I, Renault's first car reflecting their new focus of selling on safety. It featured a pillar-mounted three-point seatbelt for the middle-rear occupant (replacing the common 'lap strap'), standard front belt pre-tensioners and load limiters, driver's airbag (passenger airbag from 1996) and an impressive safety structure – a specification ahead of most rivals in 1995. Some features, such as the three-point middle belt, had debuted on the Renault 19 safety concept vehicle (and this feature entered production on the Renault Laguna before the Megane). The car also benefited from Renault's first "System for Restraint and Protection" (SRP), essentially a system of careful optimisation of occupant restraint by interaction of the seat, seatbelt, pretensioner, load limiter and airbag. The Megane I achieved a best-in-class 4-star crash test rating in the 1998 round of testing by Euro NCAP.

1996 saw the introduction of the Mégane Scénic compact MPV.

Power came from the Renault E-type ("Energy") engine in 1.4 L and 1.6 L, and the F-type unit in both 1.9 L diesel and 2.0 L petrol forms, although this time around there was a wider variety of 16-valve derivatives. A 1.9 L diesel engine in both normally aspirated and turbocharged forms was also available.

Renault also produced a limited number of Renault sport edition phase 1's with the Renaultsport bodywork; however, these were very rare. The Renaultsport kit was available to purchase for a short time direct from Renault France, but has now been discontinued, thus their value has increased.

The estate version of the original Mégane was only available in LHD form, with no RHD variants being built, this could be due to the greater popularity of the Scenic in those markets. It was added with the 1999 facelift.

2000 saw import right for all Renault models sold in Japan, including, but not limited to, the Mégane I, be handed over from Yanase Co., Ltd. locations to Nissan Red Stage Store locations, after Renault had acquired a stake in Japanese automaker Nissan the previous year.

Facelift

A mild facelift in the spring of 1999 gave the Mégane I a modified grille, more advanced safety features and upgraded equipment, and 16-valve engines were used across the range. An Estate body style was also launched in mainland Europe with the facelift. The production continued for the Latin America Market, where it was sold alongside the Megane II line at a considerably lower price until 2009.

South America

In countries such as Venezuela and Colombia, the Mégane I was available until 2010 sold as a sedan. It features the LA04 engine (16 valves, 1.6 litres and 110 HP), and was produced by both Renault Colombia and Renault Argentina, in where it was one of the best-selling cars to date. It is a car with more advanced safety features, upgraded equipment and more. The Mégane I had a lower price than the Mégane II. In Colombia, it was only available in one version: Unique, with a five-speed manual gearbox or a four-speed automatic one. It was equipped with ABS, frontal airbags, foglights, leather seats, electric mirrors and electric windows. In Argentina, not all versions included features such as electric windows, electric mirrors or airbags.

Maxi Mégane

During the 1990s, Renault Sport developed a rally car for the Formula 2 Kit Car regulations. This was the Clio Williams Maxi, which was the first car truly developed for the F2 Kit Car category, and first appeared in 1996. However, rivals such as Citroën and Peugeot soon introduced bigger and more powerful cars, which resulted in Renault producing a F2 version of the Mégane in 1996. The Maxi Megane officially represented the brand in French Championship rallies in 1996 and 1997 with drivers like Philippe Bugalski, Jean Ragnotti or Serge Jordan. After the works programme was discontinued, many privateers continued to use the car. It was also used in the FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup, which Renault won in 1999. The car used a special version of the Renault F7R engine, and had a seven-speed Sequential manual transmission. Its most notable result was an outright victory in the 1996 Tour de Corse in the hands of Philippe Bugalski and his co-driver Jean-Paul Chiaroni (in a year where the Tour de Corse was a FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup-only event); but it also helped Renault to the FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup of Manufacturer's title in 1999. In lower-level competitions, Renault took back-to-back manufacturer's and driver's titles in the British Rally Championship in 1998 and 1999, whilst they also took the European Rally Championship in 1999.

Mégane II (2002–2009)

The Mégane II was launched in September 2002, and marked a completely new fresh start. The two cars bear very little resemblance, the new vehicle having been inspired by the manufacturer's new design language first seen in the Avantime. The new Mégane was voted European Car of the Year for 2003, fighting off stiff competition from Japan's Mazda 6 and PSA's Citroën C3, and achieved a 5-star safety rating in the EuroNCAP crash tests, the first small family car to do so.

The Mégane II and the Laguna were both showcases for a great deal of innovative technologies Renault launched at the beginning of the 2000s; the Renault Card keyless ignition system, standard on the Mégane II, was a first in this class and has since been widely adopted. Similarly, the option of a panoramic glass sunroof is another area in which Renault led where others followed.

In Brazil, Renault launched a flex-fuel version, called "Hi-Flex", which is able to run either with unleaded gasoline (petrol) or ethanol. Like the Brazilian Scénic and Clio versions, the Mégane's engine can work with any mix of gasoline and ethanol, due to the use of an electronic control module. The flex version has a 16V 109 hp (110 PS) (113 hp (115 PS) with ethanol) 1.6-litre inline-four engine developed and produced in Brazil, but the 2.0-litre version does not allow ethanol use, because its engine is made in France.

As with the previous Mégane, the range of models is wide; there is a three and five door hatchback available, named "Sport Hatch" and "Hatch" respectively, there is a 4-door saloon/sedan (Sport Saloon), a five-door estate (Sport Tourer / Grandtour), and to replace both the Mégane Coupe and Convertible, a new retractable hardtop coupe designed by Karmann.

Unlike its predecessor, the Japanese-spec Mégane II was not available at any Yanase Co., Ltd. dealership location, as Yanase had ended its import rights for Renault after Renault had acquired a stake in Nissan when the Mégane I was still in production. Instead, the Mégane II was sold exclusively through Nissan Red Stage Store locations.

Mégane RS

The RenaultSport (RS) versions of the 3-door and 5-door Megane hatchbacks were introduced, equipped with a turbocharged petrol 2.0 L 16v engine producing 225 PS (165 kW; 222 hp). Along with the engine, changes were made to the front and rear suspension geometry to improve handling, and the model features a deeper, wider front bumper. The Mégane Renault Sport competes in the hot hatch segment of the market.

Facelift

The model was revised in 2006, with changes in interior trim, specification levels and most notably, a new front nose. A new front suspension system borrowed from the Mégane 2.0 225 PS (165 kW; 222 hp) was adopted, improving the driving performance. Also, the Nissan Sentra B16 is based on the 2006 platform of the Renault Megane.

Reception

During its first full year of sales, the Mégane II topped the French sales charts, with 198,874 registered in 2003. It has also sold very well in Britain, being the nation's fourth most popular car in 2005 and the nation's fifth-most popular car in 2004 and 2006. In 2007, however, it dipped to eighth place with just over 55,000 examples being sold.

In 2010 it was reported that the Megane II had the highest rate of MOT failures in the UK for cars first taking the test in 2007. While in German ADAC breakdown statistics, the Megane scored very well, surpassing such cars as the Ford Focus, Honda Civic and Opel/Vauxhall Astra. The 2008 model achieved third place in its class after the BMW 1 and Audi A3.

Mégane III (2008–2016)

The third generation was launched in late 2008, to keep the range competitive. In October 2008, both the five-door hatchback and Mégane Coupé were officially put on sale. The two models have different designs; the Coupé has a sporty design while the five-door model is more conservative. No automatic transmission is offered, with it being replaced by a continuously variable transmission.

In 2009, a five-door estate version was introduced, and was named the Sport Tourer. Another addition to the range came in the form of the Coupé Cabriolet in 2010. That year also saw the addition of a 1.4 L turbocharged engine being added to the range.

Production of the Mégane's saloon derivative, the Fluence, began in Argentina in 2011, at the firm's Córdoba plant. The Mégane III was also made available for sale in Argentina that year, but was produced in Turkey, and imported into the country. In Brazil, the Fluence replaced the Megane in Renault's lineup from 2011 onwards.

In 2012, the Mégane III underwent its first facelift, which also introduced three new engines; a 1.2 L turbocharged petrol engine, a new 110 hp (112 PS; 82 kW) version of the 1.5 L dCi engine, and a new 1.6 L dCi engine. Another facelift followed for 2014, with a more powerful 128 hp (130 PS; 95 kW) version of the 1.2 L turbocharged engine going on sale, whilst the styling of the hatchback, coupé and estate versions was updated to match Renault's new model range. Later that year, a 220 hp (223 PS; 164 kW) version of the 2.0 L turbocharged petrol engine was added to the range.

Mégane IV (2016–)

The fourth-generation Mégane was launched at the September 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, with sales starting in July 2016. It uses the CMF-CD platform developed by Renault and Nissan. The Mégane IV follows the latest design language, which has been seen on the Clio IV, Captur, Espace V and Talisman. An estate version (Mégane Sport Tourer) was revealed at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. The four-door fastback saloon version (Mégane Sedan) was revealed later in July of the same year.

Technical details

The fourth-generation Mégane is larger and lower than its predecessor. The suspension is made of McPherson struts on the front and a torsion beam on the rear. Brakes are discs on both axles. The driver can select between five driving modes that change the car set-up. Most Megane's models have a head-up display and a 7-inch screen (replaced with a 8.7-inch touchscreen in some trim levels). Optionals include adaptive cruise control, automated emergency braking, lane departure warning, speed limit warning, blind spot monitoring, automatic headlights, reversing camera, parking sensors and a hands-free parking system. Renault put focus on quality during development. Speaking about the car, Renault's chief designer Laurens van den Acker said "Renault can produce cars with a Latin skin and a German heart". It has nine engines available (four petrol and five diesel) with power outputs between 89 hp (65 kW) and 202 hp (149 kW).

Mégane GT

The Mégane GT is a high-performance version with 1.6-litre I4 diesel and petrol powertrains. As standard, it incorporates a four-wheel steering system (4Control) and dual-clutch automatic gearbox with optional paddle shifting. It also has a slightly different design for the interior and the exterior.

Mégane Sedan

The Renault Mégane Sedan, launched in July 2016, resembles the Talisman, but with the front section of the Mégane IV hatchback and a fastback-like sloping roofline. It has more space for the back seat passengers than the hatchback and a larger boot, with a theoretical volume of 508 decimetres. It will be sold on the African continent, the United Arab Emirates and various Eastern Asian markets. Within Europe it will be offered in several countries including Turkey, Italy, Poland and Romania, but not in France. Depending on the market, there are two petrol engines and 3 diesel engines offered, with power outputs ranging from 90 to 130 bhp. Only the mid range engine is suitable to be matched with the dual clutch six speed transmission.

All-electric version

The electric version of the Mégane saloon that Renault is building will come with a lifetime warranty, and payment will follow the model established by the mobile-phone industry. After buying the car, owners will subscribe to a battery-replacement and charging plan based on their anticipated mileage. Recharging was to be done at one of 500,000 spots that Project Better Place was to build and maintain; however, a new alternative will need to be sought due to the filing of bankruptcy on 26 May 2013 by Project Better Place.