Renault Megane dCi Privilege 2012 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $32,490
Options fitted (not included in above price): N/A
Crash rating: Five-star (ANCAP)
Fuel: Diesel
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 4.5
CO2 emissions (g/km): 117
Also consider: Ford Focus TDCI (from $30,500); Holden Cruze Diesel (from $27,790); Mazda Mazda3 MZR-CD (from $27,360); Volkswagen Golf TDI (from $28,990)

It could never be said Renault isn’t determined and aggressive with its pricing, warranty and model strategies in Australia.

With a thoroughly decent spread of offerings spanning both passenger and commercial segments and a focus on volume-friendly sedans and hatchbacks, the French car-maker is a contender more to be reckoned with today than at any time in its Australian career.

And nowhere moreso than with its current Megane/Fluence range that attends to both hatchback and sedan segments in Australia by embracing style, efficiency, dynamic behaviour and comfort, while hitting showroom floors at highly competitive prices. The eyes are clearly on the Japanese/Korean jugular.

With Megane hatch pre on-road entry prices starting at $23,000, Renault is positioned right in the middle of what appears to be an almost overcrowded segment -- until you look at the sales figures and realise how much the overall market growth is weighted towards this part of the market.

Small cars might be hard work, but the rewards are potentially high.

With the Megane platform already doing a big share of Renault’s work in Australia by providing the basics for Megane hatch, Fluence sedan, Megane Sport 250 coupe and Megane CC (coupe-cabriolet), the addition late last year of a turbodiesel hatchback version to the lineup added valuable weight to the company’s small car range.

The brand-new 1.5 dCi 110 (for horsepower) oil-burner was first seen at the 2010 Paris motor show as part of the French company’s future plans for a down-sized, more economical and cleaner-burning range of engines, and was billed at the time as the world’s most powerful diesel of its size.

Developed with Nissan for use by both car-makers, the engine is a bit unusual for a modern diesel with its square bore/stroke configuration and single-camshaft head.

With a claimed consumption of 4.5L/100km and CO2 emissions quoted at 117g/km, the 1.5 dCi is a big step above the current 2.0-litre petrol engine (7.9L/100km and 186g/km in auto form), and brings a decent amount of road punch that is significantly aided by the simultaneous introduction of a new six-speed, dry-clutch automated manual (EDC) transmission that is standard with and exclusive to the diesel.

The turbodiesel is rated at 81kW at 4000rpm and 240Nm at 1750rpm (power is virtually identical, but the torque is shy of the fractionally bigger 1.6-litre 82kW/270Nm PSA turbodiesel seen in the MINI Cooper D and various Peugeots), which is enough to deal comfortably with the 1400kg Megane hatch.

Comfortably enough, in fact, that Renault has aided economy by upping the gearing to pull fewer revs in any gear throughout the diesel’s performance range.

On test, we found the little oiler quite capable of hefting a full passenger load with ease, in both freeway and urban conditions, with the atypical square bore/stroke ratio not being evident in any lack of torque. The cruise control could have been more accurate though, as speed tended to vary wildly on ascents and descents. The transmission didn’t help with its tardiness in changing down a gear or two to maintain pace on a climb or retard the downhill speed.

The Megane’s recorded average fuel consumption in a mix of highway and urban driving on test wasn’t up to the official 4.5L/100km claim, but 5.6L/100km working in concert with the 60-litre fuel tank was good enough to minimise visits to the fuel station, even around town. A 1000km long-distance cruise is definitely on the cards -- a fact confirmed during our test.

The dCi was never silent though, even when fully warmed up, and every venture was accompanied by a distant but omnipresent diesel chuckle from under the bonnet.

The EDC gearbox came with most of the characteristics we have come to expect of automated manual transmissions these days.

As is usually the case with twin-clutch systems, changes are slick and efficient but, in the Megane diesel, standing starts aren’t always smooth, and there is the occasional disconcerting roll-back when lifting the foot from the brake pedal if the car is stopped on an incline. The latter is not necessarily a criticism as the driver can easily juggle the brake and accelerator pedal, rather an observation that some driving habits acquired after years of using conventional planetary-gear autos need to be recalibrated.

Dynamically the new generation Megane has proven itself near the top of the class in terms of handling balance and ride comfort, and the car doesn’t change much when crammed with passengers and luggage. It is not as cushy as previous Meganes, but the car’s tighter handling more than compensates for a close to ideal ride-handling compromise.

The steering remains a bit on the light side to be ideal, but the Megane responds with precision and consistency to driver inputs and is reasonably quick with 3.1 turns from lock-to-lock. At 11.1 metres, the turning circle is acceptable without being outstanding for the car’s size.

Beefs are few, and refer mainly to a disappointing shortage of rear-seat legroom (although some compromise from front-seat passengers can help) and the confusingly-French ergonomics that leave some controls completely out of sight and non-intuitive (for example on the concealed stalk to the right of the steering column). The TomTom satnav, although a welcome inclusion, is one of those remote-controlled devices, via a lift-out controller sitting in one of the cup-holders, which takes some acclimatisation before it becomes second nature to use.

Front or back, the Privilege test car’s manually controlled, leather-trimmed seats were comfortable and supportive and cabin noise was low enough to make long trips a welcome proposition, provided it wasn’t asked to carry five AFL ruckmen.

At 360 litres the boot isn’t exactly massive, but the shape is good enough to allow the swallowing of a reasonably large, well-planned load.

As is increasingly becoming the case, the diesel version is priced to make it an alluring choice over the less capable but quieter and more refined 2.0-litre petrol engine.

Renault has done well here, asking only $2,500 more than for the automatic petrol model, in either Privilege or Dynamique versions. For that, you get a decent driving experience as well as notably improved fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions.

Rounding out a model range that is already making itself felt in the Australian small car segment, the dCi diesel hatch is arguably the Megane of choice for buyers wishing to get into the Renault brand. Significantly, it is entirely competitive on price with its many rivals from Japan and Europe.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site