According to stereotypes the French are a volatile mob, ruled by their hearts rather than their heads. That may well apply in their relationships with other people, but when it comes to motor cars they have a way of cutting through the bulldust and building thoroughly practical vehicles loaded with soul. French cars give the impression that the design engineers had artists watching over their shoulders rather than accountants.
One such example is the Renault Megane II, which comes with an awesome track record. Two months after its launch at the Paris Motor Show in September 2002 it was voted Car of the Year 2003 by a jury of 58 motoring journalists from 22 European countries, scoring a total of 322 points and pipping the second placed Mazda6 by 20 points. Soon after that the hard work put in by the designers was further rewarded when the car became the first C-segment vehicle to be awarded a five-star Euro NCAP (the European new car assessment programme) safety rating — the highest possible — with a score of 33,1 out of 37.
When the hatchback Megane II arrived in South Africa soon after its world launch, potential buyers could choose from four engines; a base model 83kW 1,6-litre petrol, a 98,5kW 2,0-litre petrol engine and two direct injection common rail turbodiesels — a 60kW 1,5-litre and an 88kW 1,9-litre. At the launch we drove all four models and found the 1,9 turbodiesel to be by far the most enjoyable of the lot. This is the car that is now a finalist in the Car of the Year competition.
Styling of the Megane II is something you either love or hate, with more people feeling positive about it than the reverse. Sales have been healthy in this country, with about 300 new cars rolling out of dealers’ showrooms every month.
For its price the Renault is a very high-tech vehicle indeed. Gadget freaks are charmed by the rain-sensing windscreen wipers that decide when to spring into action, the electronic fly-by-wire throttle linkage and automatic Xenon headlights with adaptive height control that lowers the dipped beam for city driving at speeds under 30kph. There are 12 sources of interior lighting, and an electronic credit-card that replaces a key and activates the door locks and ignition. Other standard features include cruise control, electric windows with one-touch operation, a trip computer, an automatic oil level gauge, air conditioning, a radio/CD player with steering wheel mounted satellite controls and electric exterior mirrors.
Renault really worked hard for its five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. Even the base model has eight air bags, and the top-of-the-range Car of the Year finalist boasts 10, including the world’s first anti-submarining air bag. (This protects occupants in the event of frontal impact. When a collision occurs, a metallic bag is inflated under the occupants’ knees, holding their pelvis in place on the seat.) Active safety features include non-skid ABS brakes and understeer control logic (UCL), a sophisticated traction-control system developed jointly by Bosch and Renault.
The cockpit layout is well thought out, and trim quality is high in the Megane II. An aircraft style U-shaped handbrake toggle cleverly frees up additional space for the centre console, and instrumentation is comprehensive. Apart from the numerous cup holders and storage bins that abound in the cabin there are also two useful stowage lockers to be found under the front seats. Good news for those who find parking a stressful activity is that the front mud guards are made from plastic, which allows them to spring back to their original shapes after a mild impact. The boot has a capacity of 330-litres, and is easy to load thanks to its wide opening. Lashing points are provided on the floor, and additional stowage space is available beneath the boot floor in the spare-wheel well.
The Megane II 1,9 dCi relies upon the same 1 870cm3 engine that powers its Renault Laguna stablemate. The common-rail turbodiesel unit generates 88kW of power at 4 000rpm, and an impressive 270Nm of torque from 2 000rpm. The engine is force-fed by a variable nozzle turbocharger with vanes that are adjusted electronically according to engine speed, which helps make the torque available from low down the rev range. Stick the control card into its dashboard slot, thumb the starter button and once the electronics have checked the oil level the diesel engine rumbles into life. Nail the gas pedal to the carpet and just more than 11 seconds later the speedo needle will make acquaintance with the 100kph mark. Top speed is a very healthy 195kph, with the engine running at a relaxed 3 600rpm in sixth gear. Sixth gear? That’s right — the new Megane II comes with a slick six-speed transmission. It’s probably not necessary for a car with such a wide spread of usable torque, but it’s fun, and cruising along at 120km with 2 200rpm showing on the tachometer is good for the wallet. Road- holding and ride are typically European, with the car feeling firmly planted at all times, and the brakes are what we’ve come to expect from all modern cars — very good.
The Renault Megane II is guaranteed to be a front-runner, if not the winner of the 2004 South African Car of the Year competition. Its looks are, well, interesting, and lots of thought has gone into convenience and safety features that make it as good as anything else on the road. Build quality is very good and the turbocharged diesel engine delivers healthy performance without swallowing copious amounts of fuel. At R199 800 the French car offers more up-to-date technology than most of its competitors and the three-year/60 000km full maintenance plan means that there shouldn’t be any large outflow of cash until most of the instalments have been made. Service intervals are 10 000km, and the three-year/100 000 warranty helps take some of the anxiety out of spending R200 000 on a foreign car with potentially expensive spares.