X84 Megane Cabriolet

THE Megane Cabriolet CC (Coupe Cabriolet) was the fourth body style to arrive from the French giant’s new Megane II (X84) small-medium vehicle family, after the three and five-door hatchback and four-door sedan.

It combined plenty of standard equipment and safety features, competitive pricing and Australia’s first standard folding steel and glass roof.

Powered exclusively by the same 98kW/191Nm 2.0-litre 16-valve four-pot found in Laguna and Megane hatch, Megane CC was available in a single, well-equipped specification.

This including six airbags and leather trim, in either six-speed manual or four-speed automatic guises.

An optional LX pack added 17-inch alloys and a six-CD stacker.

The CC transforms itself from a two-door four-seater coupe into a fully open convertible in 22 seconds at the touch of a button.

Designed by German specialist Karmann, the roof features 3.15mm-thick heat-reflective glass, a heated rear screen, manual interior sunblind and an electro-hydraulic open/closing mechanism.

It is based on Megane X84 hatch underpinnings but rides on a 103mm-shorter wheelbase and weighs around 150kg more at 1430kg.

But 80 per cent of the sheetmetal is unique. These include pillarless doors, unique front wings, a new boot and, of course, the folding steel roof with glass top and rear panels. But there’s also a reinforced windscreen frame, cross-body members and rear bulkhead components.

The long list of standard features include leather upholstery, alloy wheels, six-speaker CD audio, climate control air-conditioning, power windows/mirrors, remote audio controls, trip computer, cruise control, automatic headlights, rain-sensing wipers, fog lights, remote central locking and Renault Card keyless starting system.

Dual front airbags, twin head/thorax side airbags and twin anti-submarining airbags, four three-point seatbelts with pretensioners and load-limiters, fold-away brake pedal, Bosch 8.0 ABS, electronic brake-force distribution, brake assist and twin rear foam-covered rollover hoops are also included.