2005 Renault Megane Oasis review from UK and Ireland

Clutch sensor for key-less ignition.

This car is a special edition based on the the Expression model in the UK.

Included in the spec are, air conditioning, panoramic sunroof, alarm and key-less entry / ignition.

First of all, let's get the negatives out of the way. The 1.4 lacks low down grunt to deal with the Megane's weight. However, the engine does have better pull higher up the rev range.

The steering is very artificial initially, but you do get used to it quite quickly. Body control is rather sloppy on more winding routes and space in the back is merely adequate, whilst visibility is generally very poor, due to large A, B and C pillars.

Strangely however, none of this seems to matter as the Megane is an excellent car to own.

Refinement is excellent and you always feel very relaxed. Perhaps the Megane has been designed to make you take a more relaxed driving style. This certainly seems to paper over the Megane's many dynamic shortcomings.

The Megane certainly takes a "Form Before Function" to design both inside and out. It is this that distances the Megane from Golf wannabees such as the Focus. The Megane really is a nice place to sit with a nice sloping dash design and lots of cubby holes for storing CD's and the like.

I hired a Focus on a recent holiday and whilst I admit the Focus out handled the Megane comprehensively and was certainly bigger all round, it was an otherwise utterly forgettable car. The design both inside and out had all the style and allure of a wheely bin, with everything having a "built down to a price feel". So despite being faster (in both performance and handling terms), I couldn't wait to give the Ford back, before the unending gloom and cost cutting caused me to slit my wrists.

I can't quite put my finger on what it is about the Megane that makes you feel so good about owning it (certainly it's not the handling). The car just seems to put you in a good and relaxed mood. Perhaps it's because the interior doesn't put you in a gloomy mood.

I must point out how wonderful the key-less entry and ignition is. Even if I don't buy another Renault, I will certainly look for this feature on a future purchase.

However, this has been the source of the only problem I have had with this car. The key-less ignition works by forcing you to depress the clutch pedal, or the brake pedal (car must be in neutral when using the brake) then pressing a starter button. I have always depressed the clutch pedal on my cars before starting so this is the method I use for starting the Megane. For the brake pedal I assume that the sensor works off the brake lights, however, for the clutch, a sensor has been added to the clutch pedal. Unfortunately, of all the designs Renault could have chosen, they have picked the worst design! Essentially a push button switch is attached to the clutch pedal. When you depress the pedal the push button is pressed against a fixed plate. This closes the switch, allowing you to start the car. Unfortunately, because the switch is attached to the pedal, stress is placed on the wire connection to the switch. After only a month the wire snapped (you could still start the car on the brake pedal). Renault promptly fixed the fault, but within 2 weeks the wire had snapped again. Why oh why Renault did you not fix the switch to the bulk head and the actuation plate to the pedal? This would instantly solve the problem.

Because this is a fundamental design flaw I didn't bother taking the car back to Renault. Instead, I came up with my own fix. The aim was to take the stress off the switch connection. All I did was take some bell wire and soldered this to the switch contacts. I then bent the wire over and cable tied it to the switch. I then folded the wire back again, once again cable tying it to the switch, then connected this wire to the original. Because of the double fold in the wire there is now no stress being placed on its connection to the switch (the pull is on the wire fold not its connection to the switch). I put this fix in place several months ago and the fault has never resurfaced.

In summary, the Megane is a real joy to own (am I the only one he gets a strange sensuous feeling when washing the Megane's rear?).

If your only definition of enjoyment from a car is its ability to hang off its door handles on every corner, then the Megane is not for you. However, if you want a car that makes you feel good just by looking at it (both inside and out) and are looking for a more refined and relaxed drive then I totally recommend the Megane, although perhaps not with the 1.4 engine, it requires a little too much revving to make any progress which is somewhat at odds with the Megane's relaxed character. Go for one of the excellent diesels (I probably will next time).