Renault Megane E-Tech - Practicality, comfort and boot space

The Megane E-Tech offers high levels of comfort and practicality for a family hatchback, thanks in part to its lengthy standard kit. It also benefits from a bespoke EV architecture – the same CMF-EV platform that underpins the Nissan Ariya – so there’s a completely flat floor in the rear and the thicker parts of the battery are placed beneath the rear passenger seats in order to maximise cabin space. But at its thinnest point, the Megane E-Tech’s battery is just 110mm tall; the slimmest in its segment, according to Renault, and 70mm thinner than Zoe’s.

Unfortunately, the small windows and steeply raked windscreen can make the cabin feel quite dark at times, compared to family SUVs such as the Hyundai Kona Electric and Kia Niro EV, which feel much more airy.

Size

Measuring 4,200mm long and 1,768mm wide (excluding mirrors), the Megane E-Tech is a relatively compact family EV, making it a little easier to navigate busy urban streets and park in tighter spaces than an VW ID.3, which is 61mm longer and 41mm wider.

Leg room, head room & passenger space

There is plenty of room upfront in the Megane, and, as with its VW ID.3 rival, there’s much more space on offer than in a regular hatchback, such as the Volkswagen Golf or Ford Focus. Adults of six-foot and above may find the rear seats slightly cramped, but it’s not uncomfortable to travel in the back of the Megane for short journeys, and its flat floor helps improve room for your feet. 

There are two ISOFIX mounting points located on the outer positions of the rear bench, and the covers are easily removed. There are some additional ISOFIX points on the front passenger seat, should you need to put a child seat up front.

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Boot

The Megane’s 440-litre boot is more generous than you’ll find in a Volkswagen ID.3 or MG4. Because of its front-wheel drive setup and no rear motor taking up valuable space, the boot is usefully deep, too. There is a rather high load lip, however, and moving heavy luggage in and out is more arduous than it should be, although Renault does offer a false floor as an accessory option, which helps to mitigate this issue. Even without it there’s enough space under the boot floor to keep the charging cables out of sight.

If you need extra room for flat-pack Swedish furniture, you can fold down the rear seats and expand the cargo space up to 1,332 litres. However, because the boot is so deep, the load space isn’t flat, which could make loading longer items such as a bicycle a bit difficult.

Towing

With a maximum braked trailer weight of 900kg, the Megane E-Tech should be fine for most towing needs. However, if you need more pulling power from your EV, you could look to the Volvo EX30, which can tow up to 1,600kg in Extended Range form, plus you can get a four-wheel drive version for a bit of additional traction when trying to move a caravan on wet grass.