2005 Renault Megane Dynamique Sport Tourer from UK and Ireland - Comments

Small scratch on tailgate on delivery (polished out)

Fabulous car overall.

Comfortable, good looking in Sport Tourer guise, refined on the motorway, generous standard kit, solid build quality and astonishingly economical.

The little 1.5 dCi engine is all, but inaudible inside the car under 3,000 RPM, and punches well above its size (offering similar power and torque to VW's current 1.9 litre TDI unit), and gives very lively performance. Although you hear the turbo whistle up under the merest brush of the throttle, response is a little laggy under 2,000 RPM, but the 6 speed gearbox has quite close ratios (for a diesel) which means it's easy to keep it on boost. As a bonus, an 85 mph cruise sees just over 2,600 RPM on the rev counter.

Economy is astonishing. Unless you mercilessly thrash it, it never returns less than 50 mpg with 57-59 more likely on a run. In contrast to my old TDdi Focus which was more like 40 average and 47 on a run, yet was slower and far noisier.

My complaints about the Megane really are limited to two things. One is the handling. Although it's not bad, the power steering lacks feel and the understeer sets in far earlier and more doggedly than it ever did in the Focus.

That said, Renault clearly did their homework because the Megane is a far nicer companion on a long journey. Where the Focus was brilliant in the lanes, it was coarse, noisy, and tiring off them, and had truly appalling seats. Loping along the motorway or a fast A-road in the Megane, the relative lack of dynamics doesn't matter. Instead its superior refinement, more supple ride, vastly better performance and lower noise levels count for far more. Shame about the odd pedal position which can cause cramp in my right ankle on a long motorway run (complaint number 2)

Reliability faultless so far, although the myriad of electronics on the car does allow for plenty to go wrong. The keyless ignition seems gimmicky and the start button clearly has no physical link with the starter. On pressing the button, the car "boots" itself up, cranks the starter and sorts itself out. Clever, but ultimately rather pointless, and if it still works perfectly in 5 years time I will be amazed.

Overall though, the Megane continues to be a superb all rounder. The design has real flair (particularly next to the dull Ford Focus 2 and Golf 5), and I chose the Sport Tourer purely because I think it's far more handsome than the hatch. As a day to day runaround and motorway cruiser, it is as quiet, smooth and refined as any comparable car to come out of Germany. It's safe, cheap to buy, incredibly frugal and, touch wood, very reliable. Perfect family car material in other words. I'm well pleased so far.

I'm unconvinced. Have the same model as you which is now 6 months and 9,000 miles old. Although gorgeous when new, it developed its first dash squeak at 1,000 miles, an engine vibration at 2,000 miles and a gearbox whine at 4,000 miles. At 4,500 miles the clutch switch (for the starter button) failed, and the replacement failed again six weeks after that. The bonnet alignment is appalling (it looks like the car has been crashed and badly repaired), the paint on the fuel cap has faded to a totally different colour to the surrounding bodywork, the plastics around the heating controls are working loose, the passenger electric mirror no longer works properly, and the tyre pressure monitors go berzerk for no reason periodically. Strangely, the one part of the car I thought would go wrong (the "Renault Card") has behaved faultlessly.

Lovely car, but I reckon it will be ready for the scrap yard by the time it's done 50,000 miles. Cheaply built and already unreliable - it doesn't bode well.

Renault Megane Sports Tourer is a good car, but comes with a price like all new cars do. We have had 3 Renaults before this car including 2 Clio's and a megane hatchback, but this car has been the worst. We have had it just over a month and the car has been in the garage 5 times. Most of the problems have been sorted out by the dealer which included:

*stiff handbrake

*dodgey boot lock

*intermittent right indicator which sometimes flashes to quick

*a funny sound coming from the engine.

The last problem has still not been sorted out with numerous parts of the car replaced. This included:

*a new auxiliary belt

*a new tension rod

At the moment we battling with the dealer to have these problems sorted out and we are planning on rejecting the car.

Update on review above:

OK, it seems my praise was a little premature.

The list of faults started in January with the SERVICE light illuminating on the dash, accompanied by the traction control warning light. The car was in the dealer for a week while they eventually tracked the problem down to a sensor.

Then the clutch switch for the starting system failed.

Then the drivers side electric window would lower by itself, usually in the wet at 70 mph on the motorway. A face full of cold rain and truck spray was often the result.

Then the passenger one started doing the same.

Then it happened when I was trying to lock the car in a public car park, after which the electric windows refused to work at all. This meant the car had to be recovered to a Renault dealer because I couldn't secure it.

Then a clonking started from the front suspension. Shortly after this, the second clutch switch failed. The switches were on back order from Renault (says it all really) so I was advised to use the brake instead for the time being (you have to press the clutch or brake before the car will start). When I asked what to do if the brake switch failed, the service manager replied with a nervous laugh - "call a towtruck"

The load cover in the back started buzzing. Shortly after this, the rear sunblind refused to wind back into its slot in the door.

How is this car company still in business with such shocking quality? Still a nice drive, and I still love the engine, but this list of failures in 4 months is unacceptable. What's it going to be like in 2 years with 60,000+ miles on the clock? I literally dread finding out.

You should look at Meganeownersclub.co.uk.

A number of these faults appear to be quite common...