What is this?
Also at Renault they have been doing hybrids and plug-in hybrids since 2020, under the name E-Tech (Plug-In) Hybrid. And they have opted for a headstrong approach within the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. No ‘convenience solution’ here, where ‘just’ an electric motor is added to an already existing drive unit, but a completely new architecture.
The combustion engine plays a central role in this: a naturally aspirated 1.6 with Atkinson cycle, which is coupled to two electric motors via a robotic gearbox with just four ratios… and a claw clutch instead of synchronization rings. In the case of this Mégane E-Tech Plug-In Hybrid, this is good for 160 hp and is combined with a battery pack of 9.8 kWh. It can be charged at a charging station with a maximum of 3.7 kWh – or in a sloppy 3 hours. At the socket we are talking about 4.5 hours.
The good news is that that package does not detract from the suitcase itself. It does, however, take up the entire space under the floor of the Renault Mégane – what’s more, you can see the battery lying open and exposed when you lift the loading floor (that might have been a little neater). The charging cable is therefore forced to swing around in the suitcase. The available space in the back seat is not affected – and fortunately, because the five-door Mégane is by nature no wonder of space.
In the front of the Renault Mégane E-Tech Plug-in Hybrid you overlook specific instruments, with a large power meter on the right that proves its full value by clearly indicating how much margin you still have to recover energy when braking. Inside that right ‘clock’ a small, but clear energy scheme is permanently displayed.
The RS Line in which our Renault Mégane E-Tech was packaged seems less meaningful to us. The accompanying sports seats may look impressive, but they are excessively curved – their high sides hinder entry and exit and even affect comfort. Overkill, especially since this plug-in hybrid is anything but a real RS.
What is changing?
It won’t be the RS Line trim, because that sporty Renault Mégane has the same chassis setup as the other versions, but the fact is that this E-Tech five-door is still nice to go around the corner. The fact that this plug-in hybrid has to lose dynamic potential, as colleagues reported in the case of the Grandtour, is also true at the limit – the E-Tech Plug-In Hybrid weighs 1.6 tons – but it certainly falls not right away. On the contrary, the steering is still accurate, the front axle is sharp and the body is nicely kept under control.
Well, we’ll give the above but for what it’s worth, because it’s not much use: this ‘green’ drive unit has very few sporting aspirations. In hybrid mode, the atmospheric 1.6 at full throttle, and the ‘gearbox’ is also slow in understanding. Suddenly accelerating sometimes confuses the steering, resulting in the necessary shocks.
If there is enough power in the battery, the Renault Mégane E-Tech Plug-in Hybrid always prefers the pure electric drive, which is enough to follow the traffic everywhere. In practice, we managed to get just under 50 kilometers from the modest battery (9.8 kWh), which is best seen – the average SUV needs a much larger battery for that.
And even if you leave with an empty battery, the Renault Mégane E-Tech Plug-In Hybrid still scores very well: part of the energy from the combustion engine is used permanently to charge the battery, and with some delays you can do it to see how often the car is fully electric again – sometimes even for kilometers again. As a result, even if you don’t charge at all (phew), you can stay under 5 l/100 km.
Conclusion?
The idiosyncratic technology of the Renault Mégane E-Tech Plug-In Hybrid makes it a particularly versatile PHEV, which also remains very economical for mile-eaters. On the other hand, we must once again conclude that this drive unit is neither hyper-refined nor dynamic. And that this plug-in hybrid is only intended for a business audience that is keen on the tax advantage; private individuals never remove the additional cost compared to the 1.3 TCe 140.
#Review #Renault #Mégane #ETech #PHEV #Test #AutoWorld