Renault Megane Sport Tourer review ~ station of gear

For:

Roomy, refined, low running costs

Our Rating:

Against:

Not as spacious as some rivals, loses value quickly

2017

The new Renault Megane Sport Tourer estate is practical, stylish and good to drive

Renault’s latest Megane made a winning debut in hatch form, so the pressure is on for this practical Sport Tourer. Featuring the same engines and trims as the standard car, the spacious newcomer certainly has all the right ingredients.

By adding a roomy and versatile estate bodystyle, Renault has further broadened the Megane’s already impressive appeal. Handsome, roomy, refined, well equipped and cheap to run, it’s a fine alternative to more fashionable crossovers and other estate cars alike. It’s also supremely comfortable with class-leading refinement. As with the hatch, Dynamique and Dynamique S models with the 1.5 dCi diesel are the pick of the bunch.

31 Jan, 2017

The standard five-door Megane is one of the most stylish compact hatches you can buy, so it’s no surprise to find this design flair has been carried over to the Sport Tourer. By extending the wheelbase by 43mm and the length by 267mm, Renault’s designers have seamlessly grafted on an estate rear end without spoiling the car’s proportions.

Underneath the Sport Tourer’s sleek lines is the same Renault Nissan Alliance CMF CD platform that underpins everything from Renault’s larger Scenic MPV to the Nissan X-Trail SUV. It’s light and strong, and features a simple layout of strut suspension at the front and torsion beam at the rear.

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Climb aboard and you’ll discover the car feels remarkably upmarket. The wraparound dash is clearly laid out, and features classy TFT dials and Renault’s portrait-style R-link infotainment. High-quality materials are used throughout, and the fit and finish are easily a match for the Vauxhall Astra’s and Peugeot 308’s.

There’s also plenty of equipment, with mid-spec Dynamique S Nav featuring sat-nav, climate control, Bluetooth and ambient cabin lighting.

Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment

Touchscreen infotainment is available on the Megane Dynamique model, but only Dynamique S Nav versions and above get the portrait-style 8.7-inch R-Link 2 set-up. Crisp graphics, user-friendly menus and a responsive screen that includes a pinch-and-swipe function are big pluses even on the standard set-up.

As with rival systems, the screen features a number of tabs that work as shortcuts to the main functions, but on the Renault these are larger and easier to navigate. Connecting your phone is simple, as is programming a destination into the nav – although we found the TomTom-powered unit occasionally missed crucial jams.

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The R-Link 2 system features a 12-month subscription to the R-Link store, which has a variety of free and paid-for apps, from weather updates and Michelin guides to E-mail and social media. However, there’s no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto option.

Despite its racy-sounding name, the Megane Sport Tourer’s driving dynamics are geared towards comfort and refinement rather than out-and-out excitement. This feeling is underlined by the core 1.5-litre dCi diesel engine, which has a modest 108bhp and 250Nm of torque. It’s a smooth and unobtrusive powerplant, but it needs 11.3 seconds to do the 0-62mph sprint.

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Thanks to the Renault’s well chosen gear ratios, though, it put on a stronger display during our in-gear tests, and it feels like it has plenty of power on the road. And while it doesn’t feel as punchy as the engine in the rival Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer, the Megane responds eagerly enough and rarely feels as underpowered as its on-paper figures suggest.

The emphasis on comfort is underlined by the car’s soft and supple suspension. Severe potholes can send a shudder through the cabin, but for most of the time the Renault effortlessly soaks up bumps. It’s quiet inside as well, keeping wind and road noise low in the cabin.

Of course, the price you pay for this comfort is less assured handling than you get from the Vauxhall Astra or Ford Focus estates. The Renault’s steering is quick and well weighted, plus there’s a decent amount of grip, but the car suffers more roll through bends and the suspension set-up doesn’t control body movement quite as effectively.

The six-speed manual isn’t as slick as the units in the SEAT Leon ST or Skoda Octavia Estate, but it’s not unpleasant to use and is worth going for over the dual-clutch automatic for the money you’ll save.

Engines

The petrol options for the Megane estate are a 1.2-litre three-cylinder unit with 128bhp or a 1.6-litre four-cylinder with 202bhp, the latter only available with an automatic gearbox in GT Nav trim. The more powerful engine has 280Nm of torque and takes the car from 0-62mph in a lively 7.4 seconds.

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Most buyers will choose either of the four-cylinder diesels on offer: there’s the 1.5-litre dCi 110 or the 1.6-litre dCi 130. The 110 would be our pick, as it’s cheaper and more efficient while still having plenty of performance.

This is one area where Renault has come on leaps and bounds in the past few years. With its improved products and customer service, the brand has clawed its way up our Driver Power satisfaction survey, finishing in a strong eighth place in 2016. However, even this seems like an underachievement when you consider the maker’s garages topped the dealer charts in the same poll, ahead of premium brands such as Lexus.

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There’s more good news when it comes to safety, because the Megane was handed a five-star rating by Euro NCAP. All versions get six airbags and stability control, while Dynamique models and above add lane-departure warning and traffic-sign recognition.

Warranty & servicing

Renault offers a four-year/100,000-mile warranty, as well as a pre-paid servicing pack that covers three years of maintenance for a mere £299. That compares well with the standard three-year warranty found on most of the Megane’s rivals.

Inside the Renault you’ll discover large door bins, a lidded compartment between the front seats and a handy tray ahead of the gear lever. However, the glovebox has to share space with the fuses and so it’s smaller than on the car’s left-hand drive versions.

While the Renault isn’t as big inside as some of its rivals, the difference is small enough to make little difference to most buyers - and the Renault does have styling on its side as well.

Size

At 4.63m long, 1.46m high and 1.84m wide, the Megane Sport Tourer is slightly smaller than a Vauxhall Astra Estate, though the Vauxhall is thinner.

Leg room, head room & passenger space

There’s plenty of space up front, and with 216mm of knee room in the second row the Megane Sport Tourer has plenty of space for a family. Even adults won’t have trouble sitting in the back, as there’s just as much headroom back there as its main rivals.

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Boot

The Renault Megane Sport Tourer falls between the Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer and Peugeot 308 SW for outright space. For instance, the Megane’s luggage area will swallow 580 litres, which is 40 litres more than the Astra’s but 80 litres down on the 308’s.

Lower the rear bench using the levers in the boot and you liberate a handy 1,695 litres of load capacity. Once again, this is 80 litres shy of the Peugeot’s maximum, but what the Renault lacks in volume it makes up for with versatility.

For example, the boot floor features a handy pop-up load divider, plus it lifts to reveal a deep hidden storage area. There are also deep cubbies set into the boot sides, multiple shopping bag hooks and a 12V power supply.

To keep running costs low, go for one of the Renault Megane Sport Tourer’s diesel engines. The most economical is the dCi 110, which returns 76.4mpg and emits just 96g/km of CO2. With the dual-clutch auto, those figures change to 74.3mpg and 98g/km respectively.

The dCi 130 is a 1.6-litre unit that’s manual-only and returns a still-impressive 70.6mpg and 104g/km of CO2. Stop-start is standard on all manual models, which helps keep running costs and emissions down.

The petrol versions are, as you’d expect, not as frugal - but with economy of 52.3mpg and emissions of 120g/km of CO2, the 1.2-litre TCe engine is still worth a look. The only difference for EDC models is CO2 of 122g/km, as well.

• Renault Megane Sports Tourer vs Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer vs Peugeot 308 SW

The most expensive engine to buy as well as run is the TCe 205, available in GT Nav models - it’s the most powerful, but only manages 47.1mpg and 134g/km of CO2. With a BIK rating of 23 per cent, it’ll cost the most for company car buyers as well. The lowest BIK rating in the range is 19 per cent, which is the dCi 110 version.

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Insurance groups

The cheapest Renault Megane Sport Tourer to insure is the TCe 130, which sits in group 14E - although the dCi 110 model is a close second as it’s in group 15E. The more powerful dCi 130 diesel sits in group 19E, and finally the 202bhp TCe 205 tops the range in group 27E.

Depreciation

While the car’s predicted residuals of 36.7 per cent are nothing to write home about, our figures suggest it’ll hold more of its value than an equivalent Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer or Peugeot 308 SW.

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