Renault has released the first official images of the new electric SUV Megane E-Tech. The reinvented Renault Megane will open a new chapter for the French brand with former SEAT boss Luca De Meo now at the helm.
The company’s plan, dubbed “Renaulution,” will see Renault launch seven new fully electric vehicles by 2025, with this Megane EV crossover being the first of the group.
The new Renault Megane E-Tech Electric is based on the Renault-Nissan Group’s CMF-EV platform, shared with the Nissan Ariya SUV. Like its chassis sibling, the Megane E-Tech will have a 60 kWh battery pack and a 215bhp electric motor to provide a maximum range of up to 280 miles.
The motor will also deliver a healthy torque of 300 Nm, while De Meo previously promised a 0 to 100 km/h time of less than eight seconds. He also said that Renault might look to develop a longer-range version of the car in the future.
Renault previewed its new electric vehicle last year with the Megane E-Vision concept, although these new images show that some of its features will be toned down for the production model. The suspension has been raised, the rear light bar has been adjusted, and the huge alloy wheels have been swapped for smaller production-friendly alternatives.
However, the rest of the styling of this car remains true to the concept. Under the covering, we can see the same front bumper blade intakes and the French brand’s C-shaped daytime running lights.
Given the design similarities, the dimensions of the finished Megane E-Tech Electric should be very close to the concept, with a length of 4,210 mm, a width of 1,800 mm, and a height of 1,505 mm. That will give it a comparable footprint to the Captur crossover but with a lower roofline.
De Meo praised the concept as “a masterpiece.” The car’s wheels are pushed to the corners of the body to maximize interior space, offering a similar level of space to larger family hatchbacks with exterior dimensions similar to the current Megane.
The floor also appears to be very shallow for an EV, which is not surprising since Renault promises that the Megane EV will use the thinnest battery pack on the market, with only 110 mm depth.
The Megane E-Tech will feature a new L-shaped infotainment system. The setup comprises a large vertical infotainment system, connecting to a wide digital instrument cluster, and thanks to the lack of a transmission tunnel, there’s space under the screen for some additional storage.
In other areas of technology upfront, an integrated charger will allow 7kW wall box charging, with more advanced AC three-phase compatibility also. However, the only charging time Renault has revealed so far is that the electric Megane will be able to recover 124 miles of range in 30 minutes when fast-charging at its maximum 130 kW DC.
We expect the Megane to be unveiled this summer before going on sale in Europe before the end of the year, but it’s unlikely to be on the roads until 2022.
There will also be several other flagship electric vehicles from Renault after the Megane E-Tech Electric. De Meo said, ‘Just as with the first generation of Megane, this Megane is just the beginning. A whole family of vehicles will be built on our CMF-EV platform.
