Auto Express – August 07, 2019

42 7August2019 http://www.autoexpress.co.uk

ROADTESTS KiaCeedSportswagonvsrivals

MODELTESTED:Renault Mégane Sport TourerTCe140 GT Line

PRICE:£22,050 ENGINE:1.3-litre4cyl, 138bhp

RENAULT’SpracticalMéganeSportTourer
getsanewturbopetrolenginetoimproveits
appealinatoughclass.Here,wetestthe£22,050
GTLinemodeltoseewhatit’slike.

Design &

engineering

WHILEtheMéganehasbeenaround
formorethanfouryearsnow,itstill
looksslick.SoRenaulthasn’talteredthestyling
buthasaddressedoneoftheareaswhereit
wasn’tsostrong:thepetrolengineline-up.
Thedieselrangeisgood,butwithaswingtowards
petrol,thisnewTCe140engineshouldhelpinject
somefreshappealintotheFrenchestate.
It’saRenault-Nissanunitthatappearsinthe
updatedNissanQashqaiSUV.Weenjoyedthe
improvementsthere,soarehopingforsimilar
gainsinalightercarliketheMéganeSportTourer.
The1.3-litrefour-cylinderturbounitmakes
138bhp–exactlythesameastheKia–and240Nm
oftorque,soisonly2NmdownonitsKorean
rival.However,theMéganeis67kgheavier.
Therestofthepackageisfamiliarmechanically,
withasix-speedmanualgearbox.Allthreecars
areavailablewithautoboxes,butwewouldn’t
recommendspendingtheextra£1,000-plus.
Therehaven’tbeenanychangestothe
Mégane’sCMF-C/Dplatform,whichisagain
sharedwithNissan.That’snobadthing,because
thepackagingisokay,thankstotherearsuspension
layoutusedintheRenault.Thisisn’tquiteas
sophisticatedasthemulti-linkset-upinthe
Kia,though.ThetrioherealluseMacPherson
strutsatthefront,whichisconventional.
Likeitsexterior,theMégane’sinteriorwasabig
stepforRenault,butwhiletheoutsidestilllooks
great,someareasinsideareshowingtheirage.
Qualityisacceptablethough;thereareafewmore
areasofhardplasticthanineithertheSkodaorthe
Kia,suchasthegloveboxlid,butthentheRenault
isthecheapestcarandstillgetsagoodlevelofkit.
GTLinetrimsitstowardsthetopoftheMégane
range,whereasitsrivalsinthetrimswe’retesting
sitnearerthemiddleoftheirrespectiveline-ups.
TheRenaultgetsan8.7-inchportraittouchscreen
tabletsystemwithnav,AppleCarPlayandAndroid
Auto.Yougetsportsseats,18-inchalloys,lane
departurewarningandaseven-inchdigitaldash
panel–butthisdoesn’tdisplaythesat-navmap.

Driving

DESPITEhavingsimilarpowerand
torquefigures,theRenaultwasslower
thanitsrivalsinmanyofourin-gear
tests.ItwashalfasecondbehindtheOctaviafrom
0-60mph,taking9.2seconds,butwasquickerthan
bothrivalsfrom30-50mphinthird,at3.9seconds.
TheTCe140engineisdefinitelyanimprovement,
becausedespitetheslightperformancedisadvantage
it’ssmoothandrefined,soitclipsalongatmotorway
speedswell.There’sgoodtorqueforovertaking,too.
However,thesix-speedbox’sshiftisthemostvague,
withalessprecisefeelingtohowitgoesintogear.
EveninGTLinespecon18-inchalloystheRenault
rideswell.Ithasasimilarleveloffluiditytothe
Skodainhowitdealswithbumps,andthesteering

Rear cabin is roomyenough, but notasspacious as its rivals

Renault’srakish design means bootspacetrails behind here

Testers’ notes

“TheinteriorambientlightingintheRenaultmeans

thecabinlookscoolatnight,butwe’dtradethat

forLEDlightsorautonomousbrakingasstandard

inafamily-orientedmachinelikethis.”

Sam NaylorSenior reviewer

offersjustalittlemoreinthewayofcommunication,

too–notthatit’sparticularlyimportanthere.

However,bodycontrolislooserthanineither

theKiaortheSkoda,soasyouincreasethepace,the

Renaultjuststartstolosecontrolandwallowaround

alittleonundulatingroads.Butwestillthinkthe

benefitinridequalityduetothisset-upisworthit.

Practicality

WHILEwewouldn’tsaytheRenault’s

521litresofbootspaceisinadequate,it’s

theonlycarinthistriothatdoesn’tbreak

the600-litremarkwithitsrearseatsinplace,soit

losespointsforpracticalityonsheerspacecompared

withitsrivals.Atleasttherearofthecabinisroomy

enoughandcomfortable,whichishelpedbytheride.

Therearen’tquiteasmanyclevertoucheswhenit

comestostorage,either.Butitdoeshavetheusual

trays,cup-holdersandbinssothere’splentyofspace

tostoreitems.Themaindownsideistherearward

visibility,becausetheSportTourer’sshallowrear

windowhampersyourviewoutoftheback.

HeadroomisalittletighterthanintheSkoda

too,duetotherakedrooflineattherear.

Ownership

RENAULT’Sperformanceintheeyesof

ownersisprettypoorcomparedtothe

twobrandsitfaceshere.Ittook19thplace

overall,whileitsdealernetworkfinished

considerablylower,in27th–that’s16and

20placesbehindKiaineachsector.

ModernRenaultshavebeenknownforsafety,

butwhiletheMéganereceivedafive-starrating

whenitwastestedbyEuroNCAPin2015,

autonomousbrakingispartofa£400packthatalso

addsadaptivecruiseanddistancewarning.Lane-

departurewarningandsixairbagsarestandard.

Running costs

NONEofthesemodelsisparticularly

strongwhenitcomestotheirresistance

todepreciation,butneitherwilltheyshed

toomuch.Evenso,forcashbuyerstheMégane

willbethemostcostlyproposition.

That’sbecauseourexpertspredictitwill

retain40.7percentofitsvalue,whichequatesto

depreciationof£13,076overthreeyearsor36,000

miles.It’llthereforebeworth£8,974afterthisperiod.

TheKiaisafewpercentagepointshigher,ata

predicted41.8percent,whichmeansdepreciation

of£13,285andaresidualvalueof£9,525.Butit’sthe

Skodathat’llresistthisbest,withaclaimedresidual

valueof43.4percent(£9,882),sowilllose£12,883.

ȽȽ4L 4 L

score

3.9

ɃɃ4L 4 L

score

3.8

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score

4.2

ɃɃ4L 4 L

score

3.8

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score

3.5

Renault Mégane

Willnew turbocharged petrol engine ta

Running costs

36.2mpg (ontest)

£64 fill-up/£145 or 30% tax

Practicality

Boot(seats up/down)

521/1,433 litres

!

Braking

70-0/60-0/30-0mph

51.4/37.2/9.7m

Performance

0-60mph/top speed

9.2seconds/127mph

Performance

New1.4 TCeis

smooth and

refined and gives

the Mégane

some extra

pulling power