FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: Renault Megane goes premium

Renault's new Megane will not only be the French car-maker's largest passenger car when it arrives Down Under in the second half of next year, but it's also likely to become its most popular.

That's because both the Fluence and Latitude sedans have been discontinued, making the all-new small hatchback Renault's flagship passenger car in Australia, where the next Megane is expected to overtake the Clio as Renault's top-seller locally.

Renault's latest answer to the Volkswagen Golf goes on sale in Europe in January and arrives in Australia in the second half of next year, powered by both petrol and diesel engines matched with manual and automatic transmissions.

The small hatch range will be available from launch with warmed-over GT variants, with a wagon version to follow in 2017, but Renault has said there won't be a three-door 'coupe' derivative this time round.

That means the five-door you see here will form the basis of the next Megane RS, which like the GT (pictured here in blue) is likely to be available exclusively with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission when it arrives in the next year or two.

"I have no doubt sales will be bigger as a result of EDC, as with current model," said Hocevar, who said "there will be a bit of a wait" for the more powerful new Megane RS, which could be called the RS 300 (for 300hp, or 220kW).

In the meantime, production of the current D95 Megane RS Coupe, which comprises a large proportion of Megane sales locally, will continue into next year.

Renault has sold 6.6 million Meganes globally, making it the French brand's best-seller ever and its cash cow for more than a decade, and the stylish new model will again go up against some of Australia's top-selling cars in the nation's biggest sales segment, including the Toyota Corolla and Mazda3.

"The C [small] car segment is the biggest, so yes the new Megane has good potential to become our best-seller," said Renault Australia managing director Justin Hocevar.

The existing Megane currently ranks fourth in sales behind the Clio, Koleos and Captur, but Hocevar said the new Megane could overtake them all despite the declining value of the Australian dollar that will likely see it increase in price.

"The Clio has a head-start in the market because it had strong investment behind it, it was heavily awarded and benefitted from a favourable currency, so we were in a good position to communicate that strongly.

"We've held a good [Megane price] position for some time. [But] I think we will see some price evolution on the new car. We hope to contain our price positioning and certainly we'll make sure it's competitive in its segment.

"With increasing technology and efficiency there would have been an organic price rise anyway but no doubt exchange pressure is going to become an increasingly heavy burden for us and any other vehicle manufacturer sourcing from Europe,” he said.

In line with its mainstream Asian rivals, the current Megane hatch sells for between $20,990 and $39,990 plus on-road costs and, like its predecessor, the new model will be sourced from Palencia in Spain.

Nevertheless, Hocevar said the new Megane will be "a very convincing package" because of its fresh design, new technologies and improved efficiency, backed by a five-year warranty, capped-price servicing, Nissan parts logistics and Renault Australia's expanded retail network, which will have grown from just 19 dealers in 2011 to 52 by the end of this year.

In Europe, there will be a choice of six engines including three petrols and three diesels. Australia's engine line-up is yet to be confirmed but will echo the existing range, meaning a carryover 96kW 1.2-litre turbocharged TCe 130 petrol and 82kW 1.5-litre turbocharged dCi 110 diesel.

While a 123kW diesel-powered GT will be released in Europe in 2016, the Megane GT is Renault's answer to the VW Golf GTI, powered by a 152kW turbo-petrol engine and fitted with first-in-class 4Control four-wheel steering and a sportier chassis.

Said to be ‘inspired by Renaultsport’, the new Megane GT gains wider air-intakes, bigger 18-inch alloy wheels, chromed exhaust outlets, a rear spoiler and a pair of ‘Renaultsport’ badges on its front wings.

It will replace the more powerful existing manual-only 162kW/340Nm GT220 Megane, although kerb weight is expected to reduce with the new Megane's shift to the Renault-Nissan's CMF platform, which also underpins the Kadjar, Espace, Talisman and Nissan's QASHQAI, X-TRAIL and European Pulsar.

The same platform brings a raft of new technologies from larger vehicles, including Renault’s five-mode Multi-Sense adjustable drive mode system and, for premium variants, a Tesla-style 8.7-inch vertical (portrait) colour touch-screen with ‘R-Link 2’ software, head-up display.

Top-spec models also get a 7.0-inch colour TFT instrument display and driver aids including autonomous braking, traffic light recognition, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive radar cruise control and parking assist.

Despite its sleeker look, the new Megane is 64mm longer (4359mm), 25mm lower (1447mm) and rides on a 28mm longer wheelbase than its forebear, yet its rear overhang is shorter, its wheel tracks wider, making it the widest in its class at 1450mm.

It also has one of the largest boots in the small car segment at 434 litres, plus more rear shoulder and knee room. Renault also claims increased levels of interior design and quality, thanks to full-grain Nappa leather, adjustable ambient lighting with different colour schemes, more soft-touch materials, better fit and finish, and seats from the Espace and Talisman flagships not sold here, including a driver's massage function.

Full coverage from motoring.com.au at Frankfurt motor show here

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