Renault Megane E-Tech Electric review

It's an inviting cabin. Lots of soft trim, stitching and interesting textures wrap the surfaces. And it's all finished to a VERY high standard. The days of the drab Zoe innards are long gone.

And screens. Of course. A 12in central one in portrait orientation (the entry car makes do with a nine-incher), and aside it a detailed driver's screen. So if you're stretching the range you can get plenty of energy-use info to help you balance speed against battery usage.

The screen system is based on an OS called Android Automotive, and has plenty of handy tiles you can populate with displays as you wish. Interestingly this Android system integrates Apple CarPlay pretty tightly too.

The system's menus are sensibly organised, which is quite a feat given the number of things in the Megane that are configurable. It all works snappily, with good definition. And the icons aren't so small that they're difficult to jab at on the go.

It's all digital then?

Oh no, the cockpit isn't just about the silicon. You get actual hardware switches too. This makes it easy and safe to control the climate and other systems including driver assist. We're less keen on the haptic doo dahs on the steering wheel, mind.

Storage is plentiful, especially between the driver and front passenger. Seats are good too: this is a comfortable place to be, made all the more relaxing by the Megane's high level of refinement.

It's less happy in the back though. As is common in low-slung EVs, the battery pushes your knees skyward, and there's little room to shove your feet under the front seat. It's by no means the worst we've seen, but it's noticeable.

And the boot?

Decent, actually: deep top to bottom, with an underfloor bin to keep cables. Totals 440 litres of space seats up, 1,332 seats down. Way more than you get in an ID.3. No froot (front boot, if you're a newbie) though.