With the Mégane eVision Concept, Renault showed that an electric model will be placed next to the Mégane in the showroom in the near future. A car with which Renault hopes to considerably strengthen its grip on the fully electric car market.
With the Zoe, Renault has already managed to get a decent point of the EV pie in recent years. Nevertheless, the compact electric Frenchman is now in danger of being quickly pushed away by various European competitors. Hyundai and Kia are very successful with the electric versions of crossovers such as the Kona and Niro, while the Volkswagen Group also has a huge offensive of high-legged EVs towards the showroom. It is therefore high time for Renault to pick up on the latest trend in the transition to large-scale electric driving. Fortunately, alliance partner Nissan in the form of the Ariya has already prepared a car that should make it difficult for the Volkswagens ID4 and Skodas Enyaq of this world. On the same basis, Renault comes with the Mégane eVision.
Recognizable
The modular EV base CMF-EV from Renault-Nissan is the platform in question. With the Morphoz Concept, Renault already showed earlier this year that electric cars in different sizes can be built on it. The Mégane eVision is a more concrete preview of one of those cars. The production version of the Mégane eVision, a hatchback with crossover elements, will remain broadly faithful to the concept car. This means that the Mégane eVision – as we continue to call it for the time being – will instantly be recognizable as Renault, because with the design, the French are clearly aiming for a sharpening of their current design language. The newcomer has the well-known boomerang-shaped headlights, which in this case are connected to each other with an LED strip across the width of the nose. A grille is missing in its entirety, Renault also does not find it necessary, except for two ‘air intakes’, to mimic another grille optically. At the rear it also looks familiar, although the rear lights are a bit sharper and flatter in shape than, for example, on the regular Megane. All in all, it looks sleek, fairly minimalist, yet instantly recognizable.
Stocky but spacious
The Mégane eVision may at first glance look heavier than the regular Mégane, in reality it is not even such an exaggeratedly large car. In fact; the concept version is with its 4.21 meters even 15 centimeters shorter than the Mégane hatchback. The space must come mainly from its higher body and from the space savings that come from the drivetrain. The wheels are set far on the corners of the car and the battery pack is placed as low as possible. In combination with the lack of a center tunnel and extra space in the front, this should provide a considerable storage space. Long live the electric powertrain! Regarding that powertrain, it remains to be seen what the production version has to offer. In any case, the concept came with promising figures. A 60 kWh battery pack that can be recharged at a DC charger with a maximum charging speed of 130 kW, carries a 217 hp and 300 Nm strong electric motor that drives the front wheels. Good for a not shocking but just fine 0-100 acceleration of just under 8 seconds. The focus here is of course mainly on performance that really matters: fast charging and getting far.
The French are not yet making any statements about the range, but carefully count on a maximum of just over 500 km. Undoubtedly, as is the case with the ID4 and Enyaq, for example, cheaper variants with less performance will come. The electric brother of the Megane will be on the market in the course of next year. Incidentally, he does not displace the Megane, because they are simply available side by side. However, it would not surprise us if the Megane perhaps already after the end of this generation hands over the baton in its entirety to this newcomer.