Renault Megane E-Tech Electric SUV arrives

The production-ready 2022 Renault Megane E-Tech Electric has been fully revealed ahead of this week's Munich motor show, giving us our first glimpse of the French brand's Volkswagen ID.3 rival.

Developed alongside the Nissan Ariya SUV, the Renault Megane E-Tech picks up where the 2020 eVision left off, staying true to the concept's original design.

Leaked by Forococheselectricos, along with the first images of the new EV, the Spanish electric car blog revealed that the Megane E-Tech Electric will initially be offered with either a 40kWh or 60kWh battery.

With the latter installed, the Renault is claimed to be capable of travelling up to a WLTP-verified 470km – 20km more than the French brand originally claimed when fitted with the single front-mounted 160kW motor.

As well as its smart exterior, the leaked photographs provide a look at the car-maker's next-generation cabin design.

Featuring an enlarged digital instrument panel that's flanked by a huge portrait-mounted infotainment system, the tech-laden interior looks unlike any other current Renault.

The infotainment screen is also supported by a row of shortcut toggle switches, while the new squared-off multi-function steering wheel carries the car-maker's new logo and what looks like capacitive-touch buttons.

Size-wise, at 4210mm long, 1800mm wide and 1505mm tall, the Megane eVision was closer to the Renault Captur light SUV than the current Megane hatch or wagon, and it's thought the production car will mirror those figures.

When the Renault Megane E-Tech is launched it will be the first to use the car-maker’s all-new CMF-EV architecture that was developed within the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.

The new dedicated platform for battery-powered vehicles allows Renault to introduce its state-of-the-art pure-electric technology.

Previously, Renault said that with the single electric motor fitted, the 160kW/300Nm front-drive SUV could accelerate from 0-100km/h in less than 8.0 seconds Top speed is expected to be limited to 180km/h.

Sports variants, which could be badged 'Alpine', are set to get a dual-motor set-up with 290kW/600Nm, borrowing from the closely related (but bigger) Nissan Ariya that sits on the same platform.

If so, these versions of the small Renault could boast a 0-100km/h time of less than 5.5 seconds.

Bigger batteries are also in the pipeline. With the expected 90kWh lithium-ion packs in place, top-spec versions of the Megane E-Tech could have a range of more than 610km.

Cutting recharging times, the original Megane eVision concept boasted DC rapid-charging at up to 130kW. 

The French brand hasn’t specified how long it takes to top up the battery pack, but the 130kW rate surpasses the 125kW level the top-spec Volkswagen ID.3 musters. 

Plugged into an AC charging unit, the Renault can handle 22kW.

The all-new electric Renault Megane SUV is expected to be priced around $60,000 when it reaches the market, selling alongside the current combustion-powered Megane hatch.

Although still not officially confirmed for a launch Down Under, Renault Australia previously confirmed to carsales that the company is “very excited by the [Megane eVision] concept and look forward to the production version”.

Speaking of which, it's thought the Renault Megane E-Tech Electric is scheduled to go on sale in Europe during the first half of 2022.