Renault Megane Hatch road tests and consumer car reviews

Renault Megane Hatch 1.9 dCi 120 Dynamique S 2007

Never buy a Megane, I have covered 29000 Miles in it from new and I’m not sure were to start about telling you all on how awfull this car is. It’s given me so much trouble in the past 3 years, I would need a few hours to tell you about it. When you look at the reliability surveys online and you see that this is the worst, trust me it’s not joking. I’ve seen them and I thought, it can’t be that bad, honestly its worse than that. Never ever ever buy a Megane or a Renault for that matter because I have learnt after owning 2 of them. I gave it one star (thats me being generous about it) because of the shockingly bad mechanical & electrical reliability.

Renault Megane Hatch 2003

I bought this car in September 2009, I have to say its a great looker, but that’s all it really is apart from a pain in the a**e. Had nothing but problems from the start. Only starts when it wants to, dashboard now showing ELECTRONIC FAULT, only Renault can rectify this problem which means departing from a lot of hard earned cash. This seems to be a common problem with Megane’s or shall I say RENAULT’S. Moral of the story DO NOT BUY A RENAULT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED...

Renault Megane Hatch 1.6 Petrol 2009

I’ve had my Megane since March 09 and simply love the machine. My previous was a Peugeot 307 which squeaked and rattled after only 1000 miles. I have covered 12500 miles with the Megane now and it’s as tight and quite as the day I picked it up. My fuel economy is averaging 42mpg. Being the Dynamique model it has Bluetooth, auto lights and a hands free entry system which I could not live without now. Best car I have ever owned and will buy again in an instant.

Renault Megane Hatch 1.5dCi 86 2006

The good parts about this dci 86 car first... Most comfortable ride in it’s class. Amazingly low fuel consumption for its size, nudging 60mpg in Leeds. Is a proper four-seater, with a proper boot/trunk. No annoying engine, wind, tyre noise. No squeaks, rattles and groans. No electronic faults so far... However, The clutch needs redesigning along with that daft dual-mass flywheel. Too heavy, slightly juddery, slightly snatchy. Two different mechanics tried it ,said quite normal, nothing actually wrong. After only a month’s use from purchase second hand at 88,000miles, (’56 reg.) there have been injector problems flagged up on display with loss of power and blue smoke. Revving the engine in driveway shows misfire and smoke smelling of badly burned diesel. Currently trying various brands of injector cleaner to try and sort. These are v. high pressure systems (runs at 25,000lbs/sq") so it may take some time to cure. It’s ok and plenty power at the moment... It’s my opinion that the french car builders shoot themselves in the foot over practical commonsense things, something Ford and Opel/Vauxhall don’t seem to do to anything like the same extent. The most reliable car I ever had was a Ford Mondeo diesel, over six years. I had a Citroen C4 with the 1.6 HDi engine before this megane -- fantastic car, a real road rocket; then it decided to set itself on fire while parked after only one year. It was a write-off, and it should have been recalled for mods. to the ABS brake unit, known to catch fire. Guess who the one previous owner was? Citroen leasing!!!

Renault Megane Hatch 1.6 16v dynamique 2001

I love my Megane was an absolute steal when I bought it earlier this year only £1500. Drives great, cheap to run, interior is great doesn’t show it’s age at all! I haven’t had to do a thing to it only thing I’ve changed was the timing belt and water pump as recommended. The dealer also did the accessory belt and coils at no extra charge. The car has really been a joy to own and I will probably be buying another Renault when I’m ready to replace!

Responses to this review

Hello, I test drove a Megane 1.4 55 plate (£5000) on saturday and wanted something with a little more pull, I also tried to open the sunroof and it wouldn’t close again, eek! Is this a common problem with these? I have my heart set on the Megane and have therefore booked a test drive with another Megane 1.6 this week. I told the man in the garage i was after a slightly bigger engine and fair do’s he’s got back to me with this one. (£3500) ~ Do you think this is a good price? Sort of making me wonder why its much cheaper?? It’s slightly older than the first one I drove but still has a sunroof/alloys. Sorry to chew your ear off but just wanted some advice really. Thank u for reading ;) - Danielle Bradshaw from Wales 

Renault Megane Hatch 1.9 DCI 2003

Hi all. I’m a young South African individual and I have had this car for close to a year. I own the 1.9 DCi full spec with the leather and all the bells and whistles, which I bought second hand with low mileage. The car is in an all around brilliant condition, however, I have replaced my clutch, suffered with "Injection Fault" and have had to change the crank pulley as well amongst numerous other things. Now I don’t know what this will convert into as far as UK currency is concerned but I have spent no less than R25,000 south african rands (Hard earned) on repairs for this car. I love the performance and asthetics, however they are not enough when it comes to going for a reliable car, I think it’s safe to say I’ll be sticking to VW/Audi from now on.

Renault Megane Hatch

I bought my Renault, and after having it less than 6 months the toxic fuel light came on. I took it to Renault main dealers who advised me to have a 120 point service and the fault would be flushed out. I did this at a cost of over £400 and 3 weeks later guess what? The toxic fuel light came back on. Took it back to Renault and they advised that they would take a look at it for me, the engineer wanted a further £1,200 to rectify, but hey I am thinking I thought the service was meant to rectify this... I went for a second opinion, I should add Renault wouldn’t release my car until I paid an extra £300 for them to put it back together, and got a chip replaced at another garage for £80. End of the story... no way... my car loses complete power when I am driving it for no reason, over revs when it is stationary... doesn’t start first time... leaks through the door seals... and every garage I take it too tells me something different. I have had all the coils replaced, spark plugs, the list goes on and still after spending x amount of pounds on this heap of ****. I am now seriously considering writing a strongly worded letter to Renault UK... knowing before I have put pen to paper it will not acheive what it is meant to, just like this stupid car. Anyone who is remotely considering buying a renault, do yourself a favour and DON’T!

Renault Megane Hatch 1.9 dci 2008

Don’t touch Renault Megane’s. Mine is a 1.9 dci, nothing but problems all the time, the garage has had it more than I have. They are very poorly made cars: check injection, engine rattles, electric windows stop working, brakes fade plus calipers rattle, up to every 1000 miles burns a litre of oil, uses a lot of fuel, turbos blow up on low mileage.

Renault Megane Hatch 5 door 106 Diesel Hatch 2009

This is my second Renault after 30 years of MG Rover and others. I find the standard of finish on the new car is excellent, as was the older 86 bhp shake your ass shape. The standard extras are brilliant - cruise, speed limit, auto lights, wipers to name but few. And the engine power is good, the extra 20 horses make a big difference. Cheap tax is another bonus. But most of all I can’t praise highly enough the service of the local Renault Dealer in Birmingham. I had a slight problem with the old car after warranty expired; they made good the problem with no charge!! The new car shape is pleasing to the eye and it drives very well. If I could improve anything it would be the 6 speed gearbox, I’m getting too old for all the gear changing. OVERALL I WOULD RATE THIS CAR AS FIVE STAR + it has only done 1,100 miles so the fuel consumption has not reached the advertised levels but it still returns 46 to a gallon around town. Hope that helps.

Renault Megane Hatch 1.9 dCi 120 Dynamique 2006

WARNING: Complete and utter PILE OF S***E!!! Never ever buy one of these, a waste of my hard earned money. I had a Peugeot 307 HDi before this and it was twice the car the Megane is. I always had a Peugeot and they are excellent, I’m seriously thinking of changing this for a new 308. Renault customer service is useless. NEVER BUY RENAULT!!!!

Renault Megane Hatch 1.6 World Series Edition 2009

I’ve never had a Renault before. I have been driving for 22 years and nothing can compair to the standard and gizmos; they are simply brilliant!! Air con, speed limiter, cruise control, auto lights, auto windscreen wipers, keyless entry - no more fumbling for keys - and the best gizmo has to be the bluetooth, no more messing around with head sets. With the sports kit that came with the World Series Edition (Dynamique) it look the biz too. Love all the space and places to put the kids bits and bobs, shopping etc. Simply fantastic!!!!

Renault Megane Hatch 2009

I haven’t actually got a Megane but I had a 1999 Clio 1.6 16V which I loved and was totally reliable. I now have a Toyota Yaris which I absolutely hate, nothing but problems from new and it is horrid to drive and in fact I am in the process of rejecting it. I regret getting rid of the Clio and YES Renault dealers can be rather patchy along with the build quallty of some models but at least the cars are usually nice to drive and problems can get resolved. Also if you read what people think about the Clio on here, it is hard to work out why the Megane is apparently so different. What I am trying to say is the grass is not always greener on the other side and this "Don’t buy French cars" is a misleading myth from the past which should be dropped.

Renault Megane Hatch 2008

I have had nothing but trouble with this pile of you know what. If there was a naught star rating that would be to high. Never, I repeat never by a French car, unless you are French or just don’t care about trouble free motoring. It was my wife’s fault, she liked the shape of the rear end "Shake your ass and all that". I have some good news though, the gold fish that live in the door well love it. I had 2 fish now I have 6. As you can guess I hate it. I can’t even go to a drive through because the drivers window does not work, and they do not leave you enough room to open your door. There are more problems than you can believe, and I do not wish to bore you. So I repeat; don’t by a Megane.

Responses to this review

No way. I’ve got goldfish in my door panel too. Renault are rubbish. Let me explain what’s happening here! If you get two basic ingredients like, let’s say water and electricity, they don’t mix very well. The French dont know this yet but basically the water runs off the groove on the top of the door and has a drain that actually runs through the door thus mixing with the wires POP but look on the bright side the fish have somewhere to play? - Brett from England

Renault Megane Hatch Dynamique 1.5 DCI 2009

Excellent car. Great performance/equipment including duel climate, cruise, speed limiter, auto lights/wipers, day running lights.

Renault Megane Hatch 2005

Same problem, hard to start first thing then OK for the rest of day. They changed fuel-filter & air filter - problem solved.

Renault Megane Hatch Dynamic 1.9TD 2004

First the positives: Great looking car can't agree with the comment re. grandparents driving positing. Firmish seats great torque for acceleration which you'd expect from the weight to power ratio and good brakes. Now the reasons why not to buy one (all appear to be common to the Dynamic: Minor: squealing brakes. intermittent fault with ECU keeps coming up with hand brake warning light. Major: 1) had 2 window regulators fail outside of 3 year warranty. Replaced 1 then on the 2nd failing at 4 years got in touch with Renault UK. Apparently this is a known issue and they have extended the warranty to 4 years on the window regulator but not published this so if you don't know, you don't know! Naughty! Needless to say, they didn't offer any assistance with the 2nd window even though I've got the receipts for the first repair. 2) plastic on door handles is cracking. My local Renault franchise service manager says it's a known problem. 3) Broken front coil spring at 40K miles. Apparently they can break much earlier. We were lucky??? My wife drives this car on A roads and motorway to work & back. The suspension get's no work. 4) lights at front are virtually unserviceable at home. The owners manual recommend main dealer for changing light bulbs, at £100 a time. That's in the region of £800 for changing light bulbs over say a 3 year period. That's some 'cost of ownership' model. Renault UK did provide some compensation towards this, but stated that it had been designed like this due to safety crumple zones at the front! TOSH! Driving without working lights at night is dangerous and an offence. If my wife has to find a Renault main dealer to change a light bulb on a weekend to be able to use the vehicle then in my book it's not fit for purpose. I could go on but to say, if we hadn't had the major issues I'd probably rate this car at 4.5 stars . It's comfortable, sporty and economical. However, due to the major issues and lack of openness and helpfulness provided by Renault, I would have to say that I will never buy a Renault again and could never recommend this particular model as it's major and expensive to fix faults/flaws.

Renault Megane Hatch 2003

I have now owned this car for 3 years and it is fair to say it has been a nightmare. For the past 18 months I have had the service light on constantly and "Check Injection" on the screen. Every morning I have the hassle of getting it started, which takes me around 5 or 6 attempts. Once started I then have to battle my way through a massive cloud of black smoke which comes out of the back. Once the car is warm the car starts no problem but when it is cold and been left standing for a couple of hours it is a pain. I have taken it to my local garage and to Renault main dealer; both of which cannot seem to come up with a proper solution (Renault told me it would be my computer which would cost £1500 but I just don’t believe them). After being told by friends and relatives it could be the glow plugs I took it to my local garage and had them changed. The service light and injection reading disappeared and the car started on the button first time in the morning. Then a day later the service light reappeared and the check injection back. I am now fed up of the embarrassment of starting it in the car park at work at the end of the day with everyone staring at the black smoke so I am writing to warn people - DON’T BUY A RENAULT!!!!!

Renault Megane Hatch run tech 106 bhp diesel 2008

Very comfortable ride, fuel average return is 48mpg to date. Renault engineers need to provide more legroom for rear seat passengers and the gearbox needs the engineering of Fords’ gearbox for slick changes. It would then be a good class leader.

Renault Megane Hatch 1.6 2006

Hi, I’ve got squeaky brakes on my Renault Megane CC, it’s a 2006 model. Has anyone managed to get the brakes changed under warranty? By the way I’ve purchased the extended warranty also.

Renault Megane Hatch 1.4 16v Extreme 2007

An excellent family car, plenty of room and boot space. Good looking car and interior, nice to drive and quick for a 1.4 16v - all i need for mainly around town driving. Problem with squeaking front brakes, car only has 5000 miles on the clock. Will be taking it into Renault and expect it repaired under warranty as it seems to be a common fault that Renault are aware of. Had a problem with an annoying noise when heater fans were on - turned out the pollen filter was full of leaves, surely with how long they’ve been building cars - this is the basics of good workmanship - why can leaves enter parts of the car mechanics ? After 2 weeks there was a strong smell of fish in the car, turned out it was something to do with the aircon - after having the aircon cleaned out twice - all has been ok, not what you expect when you buy a new car. My last car was a Clio, overall i am happy with Renault cars - no serious faults, just daft little things.

Renault Megane Hatch DCi 1.5 2006

This is my 3rd leased one and will probably be replaced with another in 3 months when it goes back. The rainwater effect Michaela mentioned has been there since 2003, so they’ve not even attempted to address the problem through the years. But it is a practical car - good headroom in the back even for 6 footers. The automatic windscreen wipers Jenny complained about can have their sensitivity adjusted by the rotary wheel on the wiper stalk - and yes you can manually turn them off too, so it really shouldn’t be a gripe. The DCi 86 1.5 is only £35 a year to tax thanks to the low CO2 emissions, or at least until the Chancellor changes it. The car also turns in a healthy 47.5mpg average in real life without trying. Since I’ve not reset the read-out throughout the 10K miles this one’s now done that is a real use figure as opposed to the Government/Manufacturer figures. It rolled over and started again at 10K miles, but has settled back to that again in the 4.5K I’ve done since. Handling is a little soft, but it does grip well and despite the brake squeal (which I do have, but is minor), the car has phenominal stopping ability - in common with all other Renaults I’ve driven. The softness does however make for a comfortable drive on rougher surfaces, so a reasonable compromise that works well on the deteriorating UK roads. I’d agree with Ray about it being a practical although not exciting car, but all the ones I’ve had have all been reliable, economical and nothing has fallen off. Insurance is cheap too. Build quality is OK, nowhere near as precise as on a German car, but then they have far more toys as standard. Boot space is bigger than you might expect when you look at the car and like the Scenic it has several handy storage spaces including 2 underfloor ones in the front foot wells. Air-con is standard and the Maxim variant has an MP3 player which makes a CD go a lot further when you make your own. I’ve not gone beyond 20K miles in the ones I’ve had, so the Turbo failure Alison has had at 53K miles is outside my experience. However I do know 2 other Megane drivers who’ve exceeded that mileage with no issues, but who have said that the car does start to deteriorate at about 5 years old / 80K miles - electric windows being a common failure it seems. The car flags when it approaches service intervals - messages turn up in the computer display along with a spanner icon. Annoying when this starts at about 46 weeks for your 1 years service, but it does at least mean you’ve got no excuse to say you forgot. Having driven a 1.9 DCi Sport I was surprised just how much more power it had. The car was amazingly tractable and felt much faster than I’d expected it would in relation to the 1.5. The sport also felt like it had taughter handling, but at the expense of 1.5 hatch comfort on bumpier surfaces. So in summary, if you’ve not tried one you’ll probably be surprised how practical they are. They wont excite you but if you want reliable transport with low running costs you could do much worse.

Renault Megane Hatch 2006

Purchased Sept 06, after 1000 miles had squeaky brakes, to which still to this day Renault can not find a repair to. I have been advised it€™s since the new shape and still on-going fault finding. My car has been in several times to have the brakes cleaned. If feels like i am driving a 25 year old car! The wipers come on, on there own - even on a very sunny day. The lights on the dash board have had to be repaired as they failed twice. Now I have no radio, the clock back light on permanently and the mpg/mph clock going up and down erratically. I am still outstanding a response from Renault which I sent yesterday to put an end to the on-going problems. Fingers crossed!

Renault Megane Hatch 2001

I love Renaults, i really do, this is my second one and i will replace it with another, it may not look that spectacular but it provides all i need, it has 3 proper seat belts in the back and it feels safe and secure. It drives comfortable, it’s not a gas guzzler and not too bad for the environment. With petrol costs spiralling out of control it’s economical too. Boot space is good; it can handle a trip to Tesco and the huge amounts of groceries a family of 5 consume. I would highly recommend Renaults to everyone. Happy driving.

Renault Megane Hatch 2003

Loved the shape of the car and looks very nice from the inside. Only thing is since i bought the car a year and half ago we have had nothing but engine problems with it and now only after 53000 miles the turbo has blown in the car and you don’t expect something like that to happen on a new car and now it will cost 1800 just to repair the car which I find very expensive.

Renault Megane Hatch 1.5 cdi 2005

This is a proper grandparent’s car, with grandparent’s driver position, grandparents, style, grandparent’s smells, grandparents, driving appeal, grandparents everything really. Used one borrowed from my grandparents and was able to fully understand why so many grandparents buy this particular Renault. There is nothing wrong with the Megane, (sometimes there is lost of things wrong with grandparents), but we have to be realistic about car passion and appeal from some of us cooler type of drivers. As a family transport wagon they are absolutely fine, and the versatility of the model, the fuel consumption, the rear split folding seats, the stupid bloody playing card of an engine start up gadget, the pretty modern shape, (apart from that awful rear arse shape that has been drummed into us from those annoying adverts in recent years)! There is a couple of simple word for describing this model.......Simply o.k...

Renault Megane Hatch 1.5 dCi 100 2007

Good quality build and practical car. Cheap to run and insure for a saloon. Handling a little clumsy but otherwise a good buy.

Renault Megane Hatch

I find my diesel Megane really cheap to run, insure & tax. On a 57 plate I only paid £11,000 for a nearly new one with just a few thousand miles. An important factor for me was the 5 star NCAP rating.

Renault Megane Hatch

An excellent all round family car with plenty of room for two children.Boot space also good.Handles road well.Safety features 100%.Only downside is the boot collects rain water so when you open it the water falls on your head!