The 4 And 5 Are Eating Megane Sales, But Renault Is Cooking Something

Electric Megane E-Tech is getting a hot hatch makeover to help boost sluggish demand

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by Chris Chilton

47 minutes ago

Renault’s recent run of nostalgia-driven EVs, the retro-inspired 4 and 5, has struck a chord with buyers. The downside is that their popularity has left the Megane E-Tech feeling a little overlooked, prompting Renault to rethink how it can make the car stand out again.

Related: Renault’s Megane EV Will Get A Refresh Following Its Nissan Cousin

The French automaker’s plan to boost the Megane’s appeal involves leveraging another classic Renault skill: building hot hatches. Speaking to the media at the Munich Motor Show, CEO Fabrice Cambolive revealed the Megane will soon get a sporty makeover that will ensure it turns more heads while also lasting longer between charges.

Going Down The Sporty Road

“What we are looking for is a hot hatch, that is the direction we want to go in,” Auto Express reports Cambolive telling journalists. “We want a sporty hatch.”

Though he declined to discuss any technical improvements coming to the upgraded Megane we expect to see next spring, Cambolive confirmed that a bigger battery is part of the package. The biggest battery currently available in the E-Tech is a 60 kWh unit that gives an unimpressive 285 miles (459 km) of range. However, the larger Scenic has an 87 kWh pack which lasts 382 miles (615 km) between fills and the Megane’s new Nissan Leaf cousin has a 75 kWh battery good for 303 miles (488 km).

All three cars use the same 215 hp (218 PS) single front-mounted motor that’s also utilized by the Renault 5-based Alpine A290, but it’s unclear if the sportier Megane would also get more power to become a real hot hatch.

VW’s equivalent ID.3 GTX has a single motor that puts out up to 322 hp (326 PS / 240 kW) and gets to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 5.7 seconds, 1.8 seconds faster than the Megane. We do know, however, that the made-over French model will at least look like a hot hatch.

“If you put a new battery in a car, which is expensive, and you don’t change the car, then it’s really hard to seduce people to pay more for it,” Renault’s chief design officer Laurens van den Acker, told reporters. “So we need to do justice to the changes under the skin by showing something on the skin.”

Is Renaultsport Making A Comeback?

The design upgrades are expected to focus on more aggressive bumpers and possibly bigger wheels, though the mid-spec Megane E-Tech techno esprit Alpine and iconic esprit Alpine already feature 20-inch wheels that do a great job of filling the arches and don’t shortchange on grip. Spy shots published earlier this summer also suggest the mid-life refresh will bring slimmer LED lights.

Cambolive hinted to Autocar that he was looking at reviving the Renaultsport badge applied to a succession of acclaimed hot hatches for over 20 years before it was retired in 2023, but didn’t elaborate on whether the Megane hot hatch plan was related to that rebirth.

“We are exploring some [options],” the CEO said. “We will come to you with some proposals in the next 12 months.”

Renault