18yo testing new Renault Megane IV

So I loved cars since like I was 2. Back than my father still had a Renault Clio I 1.4 RT but we were buying a new car. We bought a Megane I 1.6 16v RT Alize. Fast forward about 5 years and in front of our house is Renault Megane II 1.6 16V Dynamique Lux. But in 2008 we bought something bigger, Renault Laguna III 2.0 dCi Dynamique Lux. So now it is 2016 and as we speak, in the garage, waiting for us is still same old Laguna. As you can see, we never had any car that long as this Laguna, so it’s time for new car. And we are looking at a new Renault Megane, obviously, considering fathers history :P . So on so called “good friday” we went to test :) Was it good? You will find out in the end :)

The looks

I mean just look at it. First picture or this one. C shaped LED day time lights, full LED lights. It looks muscular. It is longer than the old one but also lower and wider. Sure, not everyone will like it but it has special presence on the road and you will not mix it up with VW Golf or Opel Astra. I mean, it looks great, but let’s go with me to sit inside.

Interior

So we open the door, and door handles finally feel sturdy in hand, something we didn’t see on any Renault we had up to this point. Close the door and that sound of closing, superb. No more clunky sounds I’m used from Clio IV. Seats are leather and fabric( Bose trim), comfortable. Plastic feels soft on the top of console, it’s harder lower down but feels good enough. Looking how everything is put together, looking good, no squeaking when you press. 7” screen on central console. I prefer how it looks with bigger 8,7” screen but anyway. Console looks better in person, plastic on pictures get more grayish tone. Going to the back, feels ok, roof is a bit low but just enough for me to sit behind myself (I’m 180 cm), you can see it in gallery. The boot is big enough. So press the start button and get going.

Driving

First thing It feels great is gearbox. Throws are way shorter than ones in Clio or Laguna, well done Renault, at last. Than there is the engine. 1.5 Dci 110 HP, not the engine we would go for ( Gasoline is life :P ) but ok. On paper doesn’t seems to be enough power, we want a 1.2 Tce 130 HP. But it was a nice surprise. It was much more quite than 2.0 Dci in Laguna and with lot less vibration. Like it a lot. Didn’t have a chance to drive it on the motorway ( you need vignette to do that over here, this Megane didn’t have it) but I tried acceleration from 50 km/h to 90 km/h in 3rd gear and when I put my foot down it pulled right away, didn’t expect that from 110 Hp engine. Oh and steering feels better than in either Laguna or Clio, much heavier, especially in sport mode. Liked it a lot. But still it is more a relaxed car to drive, in comfort mode even with massage seats( no girls included unfortunately :( )

Conclusion

So will we buy it? Seems so. Even though Opel Astra in much better value being about 2k € cheaper we like this one more. We love the equipment this one had but we would probably take it with 18 inch wheels, but with those options it is damn close to the Megane GT, soooo ;)

Hope you liked it, I know it’s not generally a car most people on here would be interested in but I wanted some place to put my thoughts about Megane, hopefully some people will like it :)