Renault Megane range grows with wagon and sedan

BY HAITHAM RAZAGUI | 2nd Jun 2017

RENAULT Australia has added wagon and sedan body styles to the Megane small car that launched Down Under in hatchback-only guise last October.

The Megane line-up expansion brings with it the range-wide availability of extra safety and driver assistance technology including autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning and automatic high beam.

Entry-level Life trim level remains exclusive to the hatch, with the wagon and sedan ranges opening with the mid-spec Zen where the sedan matches hatch pricing of $27,490 plus on-road costsA new sedan-only Intens trim level costs $31,990 plus on-roads while wagons mirror the hatch line-up but with a $1000 premium, starting at $28,490 for the Zen and the GT-Line occupying middle ground at $33,490.

The GT flagship priced at $39,490 will serve as most expensive Megane until the hot RS flagship arrives next year.

Wagon customers get a 580 litre boot, which is 146L more capacity than the hatchback and can expand to 1504L with the rear seats folded (257L bigger than the hatch).

The sedan’s boot capacity is 503L with the rear seats up and 987L with them folded. Renault also claims the sedan offers additional interior space over the hatch.

Otherwise, Zen variants match the standard equipment list of the equivalent hatch, with a 7.0-inch touchscreen providing satellite navigation, reversing camera, and full-featured audio connectivity piping sound through an eight-speaker Arkamys stereo.

Dusk-sensing headlights and rain-sensing wipers are also standard, along with front and rear parking sensors plus electric park brake.

The safety and driver assistance technology package can be optioned on the Zen hatch, sedan and wagon for $700. It is also available on the base Life hatch for the same additional cost.

Zen variants can also be upgraded with a sunroof, self-dimming interior mirror and illuminated vanity mirror for $1990.

Hatchbacks and wagons in GT-Line and GT trim get the Zen’s safety and sunroof options as standard, as does the Intens sedan.

These are also fitted with adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, forward collision warning, side parking sensors and a larger 8.7-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen, customisable ambient lighting and rear privacy glass.

Where the GT-Line hatch/wagon and Intens sedan differ are mainly interior and exterior styling, with the GT-Line featuring Alcantara upholstery, sports seats, 17-inch Decaro alloy wheels and a bodykit while the Intens has charcoal cloth upholstery plus the 18-inch Grand Tour alloys and LED headlights that are optional on the GT-Line as part of the Premium Pack.

On the GT-Line the $1490 Premium Pack also includes a Bose audio system upgrade, while the 18-inch wheels can be specified alone for $990. There are no options on the Intens sedan apart from metallic paint that costs $600 on all Megane variants.

As range-topper, the more performance-oriented GT wagon includes launch control and a multi downshift function on the transmission plus all-wheel steering and suspension tuned by Renault Sport.

It gets more purposeful inside and out, too, with black and blue Alcantara upholstery, gloss black honeycomb air intakes, a Renault Sport front bumper and 18-inch Magny Cours alloy wheels.

The same sunroof upgrade as available on the Zen is offered on the GT for $1990, while the Premium Pack comprising Bose audio and LED headlights costs $1490.

Zen, GT-Line wagon and Intens sedan variants all use a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine and seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, sending 97kW of power and 205Nm of torque to the front wheels.

A larger 1.6-litre turbo-petrol producing 151kW and 280Nm powers the GT, also driving the front wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch auto.

Sales of the mainstream Renault Megane range were up 14.2 per cent to the end of April with 363 finding Australian homes compared with 318 in the same period last year, but overall Renault sales are down 2.3 per cent on 3296 units with the Koleos mid-size SUV being the most popular model on 814 units.

2017 Renault Megane pricing*