New official pictures of the 2016 Renault Mégane have been revealed ahead of the car’s official debut at the Frankfurt motor show later today. It will go on sale in the UK early in 2016.
The shots confirm that the new car takes its styling inspiration from the new Renault Espace and Talisman models - neither of which are coming to the UK.
Previous spy pictures showed undisguised tail-lights for the first time that look similar to the tail-lights on the Renault Clio, and less camouflage around the front bumper. Renault has confirmed the new Megane is 25mm lower than the car it replaces, has a 28mm longer wheelbase and has wider tracks at the front and rear.
This more mature and more premium look has been revealed in the French media and has also been evident in recent spy pictures of the Mégane. This suggests that all new Renaults upwards of the Mégane’s expected 4.4m length will adopt this look, while the smaller Twingo, Clio and Captur will retain a more heavily stylised design.
The upmarket move is driven by the need for the Mégane, which is based on the Renault-Nissan CMF platform that also underpins the Qashqai and Kadjar, to compete for sales with the likes of the Volkswagen Golf. The European sales success of the Peugeot 308 has also added further impetus to Renault’s ambitions.
The interior of the new Mégane is expected to feature higher-quality plastics and a sharper design than before, with many control functions on top models transferred to a large central touchscreen, as available on the new Espace. Depending on spec, cars are expected to get either a 7.0in or 9.0in touchscreen, while the interior is said to have been designed with a greater focus on driver ergonomics.
Five-door and estate models will be sold, with Renault expected to make more of the Mégane’s sporty credentials on these models. It is not known if a three-door coupé model will be part of the line-up. A new Megane GT variant will be available from launch. It features a redesigned front bumper with wider air intakes, and a spoiler at the rear. It sits on 18-inch alloy wheels and features Renaultsport badging.
Spy pictures have shown the car testing with a roof-mounted lip spoiler, while the roofline is notably more raked than that of the Golf. It is not expected to get the Talisman’s four-wheel steer facility, however, as the technology is seen as too expensive to be justified by buyers in the sector.
The new Mégane is expected to be unveiled at the Frankfurt show in September and go on sale in the UK early next year. It is seen as key to Renault’s continuing sales growth - nearly 1.45 million Meganes have been sold since the current model went on sale in 2008.
"We won’t be going back to the shape of the Mégane II," UK product manager Yann Le Graet told Autocar last year. "The low roof gives us something different from the Golf. It makes the Mégane more sporting, more appealing."
The Mégane II was a huge success, winning the European Car of the Year award in 2003 and going on to become the best-selling hatch in its class just after launch.
"We think the [current] facelifted model is competitive on price, equipment and styling," said Le Graet. "The all-new model will win us back more retail customers.
"We will have to concentrate on retail customers and this will also help our user-chooser sales."
Read more:
Blog - Will the new Renault Megane sell here?
Blog - 90% of Renault's UK customers are new to the brand - so now what?
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