Category: Small Family 
Price Range: No data available
Efficient engines, more upmarket cabin, competitively priced.
Bland looks, dull drive, not as spacious as some rivals.
A competent family car with frugal diesel engines, but it's pretty uninspiring and certainly not a class leader.
Renault has worked hard to improve the ambience in the cabin, but we were concerned about the ride quality of the Megane Estate, even on smooth French roads. With 17" wheels fitted, the ride was choppy and the suspension was unable to deal with lumps and bumps with the aplomb of a Ford Focus or VW Golf. A cheaper torsion beam rear suspension set-up, rather than a multi-link system, will be part of the problem.
There's enough space for four adults in the Megane Estate, but five would be a push and the headroom at the rear is tight. The boot is a decent 524 litres but only if you use the underfloor storage space, which requires a little rearrangement. The rear seats split fold 60:40 and it's possible to fold them flat if required.
Pay around £900 to upgrade from the standard model to the Dynamique and the Megane Estate comes with an MP3 connection, auto lights and wipers, and cruise control. Upgrade again to the Privilege model and you can also expect a Bluetooth phone system and parking sensors. An integrated TomTom sat nav system (which isn't great) is a further cost option.
Safety equipment such as ESP and the eight airbags all come as standard.
