2004 Renault Megane Dynamique review from UK and Ireland

External temperature gauge is occasionally unreliable.

Trim on underneath of rear seat bench started to come away the first time the seat was folded flat.

This is without doubt the best car I have ever owned. I have covered 14000 in the first four months of ownership and it has been mechanically faultless.

It is considerably more comfortable and rewarding to drive than either the Vauxhall Vectra or Ford Focus that I owned previously.

I have no idea why the Sport Tourer model is so rare in the UK, as it is very practical, has a huge luggage space and can seat four adults in relative comfort.

I initially had reservations about a 1.5 litre diesel engine, but it is quite powerful enough, except when the car is really loaded up and returns, on average, around 54-59 miles per gallon. I can easily keep up with the other traffic on my 50 mile motorway drive to work each day.

The equipment levels are very generous for a £15,000 car and I am sure that it would offer very good protection in an accident.

My only reservation is that build quality appears a bit shoddy. Although very stylish, I am not sure that the seat fabrics are going to wear very well and the underneath of the rear seat bench is particularly poorly constructed. The rear seat backs don't fold completely flat and foul the underneath of the bench when folded. If you look very closely the exterior paint finish is also somewhat patchy. I guess only time will tell!