Renault Megane Sport Tourer

The Megane Sports Tourer is a fairly large estate that gets decent reviews. It’s got a large boot, spacious interior and is competitively priced. It has a nice, well built interior that has plenty of space for 5. The biggest drawbacks are that it doesn’t excel in any one are and has less character than some rivals. Still, the Megane Sport Tourer will make a safe family car thanks to its 5 out of 5 safety score.

Interior

Experts say the dashboard is sensibly laid out and there’s a good range of adjustment to the controls to help you get comfortable. The cabin has good leg room for all passengers and a large boot. Folding the rear seats can is fussier than it needs to be but does give a decent sized load space. Even then, there’s a step in the extended floor. All models come with air-conditioning and electric windows but higher spec Dynamic and GT models come with more kit.

Driving

The Megane Sports Tourer is a good all rounder but the experts say it’s not as good to drive as the best small family estates in its sector. Similarly, the ride is reasonable but isn’t as good as its best rivals over rough surfaces. Critics say the ST has crisp, responsive steering and nimble handling making for a typically French fun drive. There’s some wind noise at high speeds but road noise is generally low.

Engines

The range starts with two guises of a 1.6-litre petrol engine but the experts prefer the stronger 1.4-litre turbo petrol with 129bhp. The diesel options offer better economy and more usable performance. Critics like the 128bhp 1.9 dCi oil burner and say it’s a great decent all-rounder but heap further praise on the potent 2.0 dCi. This flagship diesel produces 158bhp and is capable of 47.9mpg. The reviewers say all Megane engines are fairly quite but the diesels do send some vibrations to the pedals.

Value for money

Experts say the Sports Tourer is cheaper than rivals from Ford and Volkswagen but looks pricey compared with Skoda’s Octavia Estate. All models of the Megane should be reasonably cheap to run with the diesels offering being especially frugal. The reviews agree the Sports Tourer is well built with durable interior but expect low resale values.

Worth noting

Critics say the Megane Sport Tourer should perform great in a collision because the megane hatchback it’s based upon was awarded a maximum five-star rating in Euro NCAP crash tests. The Megane comes with lots of air-bags and stability control to help keep up the Renault's proud safety record.

Conclusion

Overall the Megane Sports Tourer is good all-round small estate car and is a worthy alternative to its rivals.