Long-term report: The Renault Megane E-Tech fights its corner

As you might have noticed, there’s a new electric Renault out at the moment, and it’s causing a bit of stir. You can’t open a newspaper or flick on the TV without seeing the new 5, resplendent in shouty, bright yellow paint – and I must admit I’m a bit of a fan.

The more I drive our Megane though – pretty much the 5’s big sister – the more I realise that Renault’s best electric car has been hiding here in plain sight all along.

Alright, so it can’t quite compete with the 5 when it comes to attention-grabbing design – but (personally) I think the Megane is a pretty chic-looking thing. There’s something inexplicably French about it: a touch of design for the sake of design. I reckon it wouldn’t look out of place parked up outside some designer shops in Paris.

Sadly my Megane’s stomping ground is less Boulevard Saint-Germain, more Northampton Road – but I can confirm it does at least bring a little glamour to the car park of Sainsbury’s in Kettering.

Despite all this talk of form over function though, so far I’ve found – much to my surprise – that the Megane is one of the easiest cars I’ve ever had to live with. Renault’s designers might’ve gone a bit mad here and there, but actually everything is extremely logically thought through.

For starters, the interior is brilliant: well-built from nice materials, and far less dreary than what its rivals can muster up. While Renault has covered the dash in digital displays, there are also physical buttons and controls for everything important. I can’t tell you what a relief it is to have an actual switch to adjust the cabin temperature, for example (though I wish the same was also true for the heated seats).

Joy of joys, there’s even a single button to turn off nagging driver assistance functions (such as speed limit warning and lane keep assist). Though to tell the truth, Renault’s systems are so unobtrusive that I leave them on most of the time anyway.

Our car gets the largest touch screen option, and to be honest it’s hard to fault. It’s powered by Google, meaning you get the surprisingly brilliant Google Assistant built into the car as well, and of course Google Maps for the default navigation app. That, combined with built in Spotify, has meant I can finally jettison Apple CarPlay altogether. You can even install Amazon Prime Video, which helps pass the time while waiting at a rapid charger.

The Megane is absolutely filled with storage spaces, too. An enormous area between the front occupants is big enough for a thick sliced loaf (or half a baguette – I’ve tried it), and underneath the centre arm rest is an additional bin large enough to lose things inside. Rear leg room is a bit on the tight side, I admit, but four adults can squeeze in without too much difficulty. The cavernous boot makes up for it though, beating both a Volkswagen ID 3 and MG4 for space.

Not everything is perfect, mind: a few ergonomic annoyances have made themselves known during our time with the car so far.

For starters, the Megane gets a stalk (rather than a proper gear lever) to put the car in drive, reverse and park. That’s fine: it’s logical enough, and Mercedes, Tesla and others have used a similar system for years. What Mercedes and Tesla don’t then do, mind, is put a similarly-sized stalk for the windscreen wipers right underneath it. I’m sure you can see where this is going.

You do eventually get a feel for it though – after a few accidental wiper-flailing moments, admittedly – and it does at least free up space on the dashboard and centre console.

There’s been a bit of a design faux pas at the back of the car too. Rather than hide the boot release away under a lip – which I suppose would make its rear end less pretty – the Megane gets an awkwardly placed button, slap bang in the middle of the rear hatch Fine in principle, but because it’s not protected from the elements, it does mean getting mucky hands every time you want to get your shopping or charge cable out.

Still, those are just two minor annoyances – on the whole the Megane is more than proving itself as a comfortable, fun to drive, every day EV. Who needs the Renault 5 anyway?