French flair, french chic

By Donn Anderson

Fresh multi-valve engines, revised styling and higher appointment levels will make the Renault Megane Phase II a better package when it arrives here in a few weeks. The new Meganes are set to lead the way for Renault in New Zealand with more aggressive pricing when they go on sale in May, along with the new Clio hatchback.

Motorcorp Holdings, the local Renault importer, is adding equipment as standard and sharpening prices to boost modest local sales of the marque.

While Renault has increased the number of Megane variants, adding a station wagon model with the 1999 range, the New Zealand line-up is to stay simple.

Gone will be the lower-grade RT version of the five-door hatchback. The Phase II 1.6-litre hatch will be sold here only in high-level RXE form with standard antilock brakes, alloy wheels, side and front airbags and air-conditioning.

The chic 2-litre cabriolet is coming, complete with a electric soft-top that is simple and quick to use.

Meganes may be a rare sight on local roads but in Europe the model is the second biggest-selling car, behind only the Volkswagen Golf.

About half the 157 million euros ($NZ327 million) used to develop the new Megane was spent on styling. The rest went into new engines, improved safety and higher levels of anti-corrosion.

Both the 1999 generation 2-litre Megane cabriolet and people-mover Scenic are powered by the new F5R engine, the first European-built direct-injection petrol motor to go into production.

Engineered by Renault Sport, the 16-valve, four-cylinder 104kW unit uses technology in use in diesel engines Ñ fuel is injected at high pressure directly into the combustion chamber.

The French claim to have overcome the fuel economy problems of Mitsubishi's direct-injection petrol engine which does not operate in lean-burn mode often enough. Renault says its motor has improved combustion and lowered emissions and uses 16 per cent less fuel than the outgoing 2-litre unit.

Peak power is down a fraction but torque rises from 185Nm to 200Nm. The engine provides strong, flexible performance and a high degree of refinement. While the technical focus is on the 2-litre, the new 16-valve, 1.6-litre engine will be the popular seller in New Zealand. It produces 79kW, 16 per cent more power than the motor it replaces. It is smooth, punchy and commendably flexible.

The Megane uses a new Proactive automatic transmission, which Renault claims cuts fuel losses over manual gearbox models down from the traditional 10 to 15 per cent to less than 5 per cent.

Renault had no need to make changes to the 1.6-litre model's suspension, which has struts and lower wishbones at the front and a torsion beam coil spring arrangement at the rear.

There's plenty of French flair about this suspension with its excellent big-car ride and trim handling, aided by passive rear wheel steering.

More powerful 2-litre versions have adopted the Scenic front suspension and the new Meganes sold here will have 15in diameter wheels instead of the 14in size fitted to the current model.

The new Megane is extremely comfortable and easy to drive, challenging rivals like the Peugeot 306, Holden Astra and Toyota Corolla.

The brakes have been beefed up and the ABS is a new generation system with electronically controlled rear brake proportioning. During repeated stops from 100 km/h, the Megane emerged a class leader.

By increasing the proportion of pre-protected steel to 80 per cent, improving sealing and introducing galvanised engine mounting sub-frames, Renault has been able to boost the anti-corrosion warranty to 12 years.

While the Megane's revised bodywork looks like a once-over-lightly rendition of the existing model, only the doors, roof and rear wings are carried through.

A more deeply curving bonnet is sculpted with a curved line while a stronger integral grille makes the Renault logo more prominent. Smoother body colour bumpers are integrated into the line of the flush-fitting front lamp clusters and wings.

Almond-shaped headlamp housings now include the headlamp units and the indicator lights behind a single polycarbonate cover. Crystal lamp clusters change the appearance of the rear end.

All new Meganes have improved interiors, with cleaner dashboards and larger stowage bins.

Megane has emerged tops in class in recent European NCAP 64 km/h frontal crash tests, beating models such as the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Ford Focus and Opel (Holden) Astra.

It is the first car in its class with head-chest side airbags as standard.