Winner on Pure looks alone

LAST WEEK we gave you Renault’s new Clio E-tech, a hybrid version of the French company’s popular supermini. This week another electrified Renault, this one the Megane Sport Tourer E-tech. The Sport Tourer, now in its fourth generation, has had a mild makeover with minor styling tweaks on the outside and a similarly light touch inside the cabin.

But it’s the powertrain that’s the big news because unlike the Clio, the

Megane estate is a plug-in hybrid.

The hardware under the bonnet is virtually the same as the Clio’s which means a 1.6-litre fourcylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine driving through an F1-inspired clutchless transmission. Just as with the

Clio the Megane has two

ELECTRIC AVENUE: Megane Sport Tourer E-tech leaves rivals standing for style electric motors – a small one that is a combined starter/generator and a larger motor that’s combined with the gearbox and which is the main traction motor.

Just like with the Clio, the Megane always pulls away in electric which with no clutch it has to do. The engine is slightly different to the one in the Clio in that it is tuned to deliver 160bhp to the smaller car’s 140bhp.

But the big difference between the two cars’ drivetrain is that because it is a PHEV, the Sport Tourer E-tech has a larger lithium-ion battery. Whereas the Clio has a 1.2kwh battery for short bursts of electric-only driving; the Megane has a 9.8kwh battery which gives the car an electric-only range of 30 miles.

There are quite a few PHEV estate cars on the market but nearly all are higher up the ladder price-wise. BMW’S 3-Series Tourer and Merc’s C-class for example; the closest car to the Sport Tourer E-tech both in size and price is Kia’s Ceed Sportswagon PHEV. The Kia has a electric-only range of 35 miles and is a slightly cheaper car.

OUR TEST model is a left-hand drive French specification car so is bound to have a slightly different list of standard equipment when compared to a Uk-spec car. The Megane Sport Tourer E-tech range starts at £30,685 for the entry level Iconic and rises to £32,685 for the R.S. Line flagship which is what we’re driving. Those are the only two trim levels available. Kia’s Sportswagon in its plushest “3” specification undercuts the

Renault with a price that’s just under £30,000. I haven’t driven the Kia for some time so can’t compare with any accuracy on how the two drive but the Kia wins it on EV range and price and in my opinion the Renault bags it on looks.

You’ll spot an E-tech version of the Megane thanks to badges on its tailgate and B-pillars, a charging flap on the offside of the car and, subtle this, blue surrounds to the wheel nuts. There’s also some E-tech badging inside but you’ll know you’re driving a PHEV when you fire up the dashboard and see the graphics.

Talking of which, R.S. Line spec brings with it a 10in infotainment screen in place of the Iconic’s 7in screen. The system isn’t the quickest but there’s a thumb’s up for having conventional heating controls via knobs. But let’s get onto how the car drives.

YOU HAVE choice of three driving modes in what Renault refers to as the Multi-sense system. The first is Pure, which you can select via a button on the centre console or via the touchscreen, that selects all-electric driving as long as there’s sufficient juice in the battery. Then there’s Pure mode which optimises hybrid operation. Most useful, and a must-have in a PHEV, is an E-save button which when pressed reserves battery power for later – for driving in town for example. Lastly there’s Sport mode which does what you’d expect with maximum petrol engine and battery performance.

For most of the test route I kept the car in Pure mode, albeit with a quick try of Sport mode. Pretty pointless as the Megane is not a sporty car at all. When I was about 30 miles from the finish I pressed E-save and started driving as economically as possible and managed to get very close to achieving the distance on electric power alone.

The Megane Sport Tourer has gained 105kg in weight thanks to the battery but there has been no sacrifice in practicality as the luggage area is exactly the same size as a petrol or diesel Megane’s.

If you’re a business user the Renault Megane Sport Tourer E-tech makes sense for tax reasons. You won’t get the true benefit – rarely if ever having to visit a petrol station – if you don’t have charging facilities at home. Have a look at the Kia Ceed PHEV estate but if you like the look of the Megane you won’t be disappointed.