New battery takes the range to up to 500 km and accelerates recharging, but the extra weight made the Renault Megane lose in time from zero to 100 km/h:
Renault has unveiled the restyling of the Megane E-Tech, its electric hatchback, which gains a more aggressive look, larger battery and extended range — but, curiously, it is a little slower. The model of the new line changes the front completely and adopts a unit with greater capacity, at the cost of a tenth of a second more in acceleration.
The most evident change is in the front, completely redesigned: only the headlights have been retained. The new light signature, with diamond-shaped elements arranged in checkerboard, brings the Megane closer to the identity of models such as the Captur and Symbioz and gives the car a wider and more grounded look. Completing the aesthetic package are new wheels, 19″ or 20″, and the unprecedented Satin Blue color.
On the floor is the most relevant technical evolution: the 60 kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt battery gives way to a 67 kWh LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) unit. As a result, the range jumps from about 459 km to up to 500 km in the WLTP cycle – a number that Renault still treats as preliminary. The direct current recharging power rose from 130 kW to 165 kW, which allows it to go from 15% to 80% in around 24 minutes.
The larger package, however, takes its toll on the scales: the extra weight made the time from 0 to 100 km/h go from 7.5 to 7.6 seconds, even though the brand has recalibrated the steering and revised the suspension to preserve agility. The motor remains the same: synchronous wound rotor, without rare-earth magnets and manufactured in France, with 218 hp and 30,6 kgfm sent to the front wheels. The larger battery also raised the height of the car by 2 cm.
Inside, the highlight is the arrival of Google Gemini to the OpenR Link system, which expands the offer of applications and brings features such as driver recognition, capable of loading personalized seat and media adjustments. The range, in turn, was reduced to two versions: Techno and Esprit Alpine.
Despite the sharp look, the renewed Megane is not the extreme sports car that part of the public expected. The brand’s president, Fabrice Cambolive, even signaled an evolution inspired by hot hatches, but the bet, for now, falls on efficiency, technology and autonomy — and not on pure performance.
