Geneva show: Renault loads the wagon

RENAULT will use the Geneva motor show to pull the wraps from its Megane Estate ahead of the wagon’s showroom rollout in Europe this year.

The five-door load-lugger has been confirmed “100 per cent” for Australia where it will follow the all-new fourth-generation Megane hatch on to the market either late this year or early next.

At Geneva, the French company will show the Megane Estate in its warmed-over GT guise, presumably powered by the same151kW/280Nm 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder engine as the new-generation GT hatch.

Even in wagon form, the GT gets Renault Sport-style sports bumpers, a honeycomb mesh grille and side air scoops, and a rear diffuser with a chrome exhaust tailpipe tip.

In a first for the category, the Megane Estate GT will get active four-wheel steering – dubbed 4Control in Renault-speak – for low-speed manoeuvrability and high-speed stability.

The 4WS system will make its debut on the Megane GT hatch that, like the wagon, is built on the Renault Nissan Alliance’s flexible Common Family Module (CFM) architecture.

One of the major selling points of the new Megane Estate will be its load capacity and cargo flexibility. Although Renault is yet to spell out details, the wagon’s seats are believed to fold in a variety of ways to take loads of various shapes.

Because the Megane is bigger than most of its C-segment rivals, Renault has been able to provide an expansive cargo floor space.

Renault Australia corporate communications and sponsorship manager Emily Fadeyev told GoAuto that the Megane Estate is a lock for Australia, although time is still to be confirmed.

“We expect either late this year or perhaps early 2017,” he said.

The Megane hatch, which was unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show in September, is due to be launched in Australia in either September or October.

The flagship Megane RS is expected to complete the line-up in 2017, this time in five-door style instead of the previous three-door.