This is the Renault Megane E-Tech, and you probably already know that, because it's been around for a few months now.
I've even stood next to it, not too long ago. We made a video about that, so I'd advise you to watch that video first.
Today, it's not in a studio however. I'm allowed to drive it for an hour, and in that time I have to form an opinion on it.
But it's enough for a first impression. In the first video, we mostly talked about the design and the positioning of this car, so you should really...
watch that video if you want to know all about that, but if you're not able to watch it, there are a few things you should know about this.
First of all, despite this car being called Megane, it doesn't have anything to do with the regular Megane, which is still in production.
This is not a successor or anything. It's built on a separate platform and they don't even share one single panel.
It's a bit like Volkswagen calling the ID.3 the Golf ID. And since we've mentioned the ID.3, that's probably the biggest rival to this car.
Sure, it's got some SUV-like elements, like these black wheel arches and bigger wheels, but Renault calls it a hatchback.
Also, it's relatively compact. It's shorter than a regular Megane hatchback and it's shorter than an ID.3.
The wheelbase is shorter than in a ID.3 as well, but as you can see, there's just enough legroom. But that's not the biggest problem, because...
that would be the raised floor. Or the lowered rear seat, whatever you like. That's a typical EV-problem, because of the batteries in the floor.
That means you're in an awkward position back here. Also, the headroom isn't very royal, so I wouldn't call this Megane very spacious.
However, the Megane E-Tech does have a trick up its sleeve with its luggage space. It can hold up to 440 litres, which is more than in other...
C-segment cars, which average around 380 litres. I do have to say, the shape of the boot isn't that practical.
It's deep, so there's a high sill, and it's quite short. But if you're able to put it all in, cumulatively you've got more space.
And that was one of the biggest priorities of this car. Renault has designed this car to be front-wheel drive, which is quite...
remarkable, because it's built on an EV-exclusive platform called CMF-EV, which is entirely new. The batteries are incorporated into the chassis.
It was specifically designed and it's still a front-wheel drive car, whilst other cars with a similar drivetrain are usually rear-wheel drive.
However, Renault says, the advantage of the front-wheel drive-drivetrain, is that the car weighs a lot less than you'd expect.
And they seem to be right. It only weighs 1.640 kg, which isn't a lot compared to other EV's of this size.
And the fun thing is, you can feel the nimbleness. It's very agile for an electric car and it really feels compact. And it is, but it feels like it too.
It feels relatively dynamic as well, and it remains stable. Even imperfections like that horrible speedbump I drove over just now are damped away.
In a sturdy way, sure, but not in an uncomfortable way. And it's very quiet. There aren't a lot of noises coming from the chassis.
That's very good. Also, the steering is nice and direct, which helps the go-kart-like feeling it offers.
The car feels very nice in your hands, and you're able to position it in any way you want.
I'm very curious about the power consumption as well. I don't have the time to check it, but Renault says they've covered a lot of ground...
by reducing the weight instead of improving charging times. And the charging times aren't that bad either. You can quickcharge it up to...
130 kW and three-phase charging can be done up to 22 kW. If you have the right options that is. It's all about efficiency, as Renault says.
We'll have to wait for the exact numbers though. This is the version with the biggest battery pack, 60 kWh. There's going to be a 40 kWh-version as well,
which will offer only 130 horsepower. That way, your front wheels won't slip as much.
And with the 60 kWh-version, this one, you should be able to reach 470 kilometres on a single charge, which is very neat.
Regenerating energy is done by releasing the throttle, like in many other EV's. And you can adjust the amount of regeneration by the...
flappy paddles on the steering wheel, which works very well. However, it won't come to a full stop, so you'll have to use the brakes in the end.
I do have to say, it's very easy to operate this car. The interior looks very good, and even though there are some hard plastics,
there's some nice stitching on the dashboard. But that's what you'd expect from the most lavishly equipped version.
Also, there are a lot of physical buttons, which I really like. For the climate control for example, or the Lane Assist. You can turn that...
off with the press of a button. Operating the driving direction is done through a handle on the steering column.
At first, that's not a big problem because it opens op a lot of storage space down here. But the steering column also has a wiper handle...
and a handle for the volume, so it gets kind of busy back here. Not handy, because you might use the wrong handle.
Other than that, it all looks good. There's new steering wheel with new buttons, and there's a lot of screens in here.
In the more expensive versions, you've got two 12-inch screens. One of which being positioned vertically.
In that screen, you'll find a system based on Android Automotive. And I'm not talking about Android Auto, but the actual operating...
system from Google, that Volvo and Polestar use as well. I don't have the time to explore it all, but it really sounds like good news.
It reacts quickly and you've got all kinds of Google-functionalities. You can connect your account, you can use Google Maps, even...
in front of you. What it also does, and they've copied Tesla nicely with that, is adding charging possibilities to longer routes.
It will predict your charging times and it'll give you an estimated time of arrival.
The first impression that this will be a very promising EV still holds after the first few kilometres. It drives really well.
For success however, a lot is dependant on the price, and the prices aren't known yet. Renault expects to put this car on sale in march of 2022.
You can probably order one in december already, but you won't be able to have only 12 percent added taxes for this car.