► Renault Megane Sport Tourer shown
► It’s the new 2016 Megane estate
► Another Geneva motor show debut
Renault’s putting the boot into the new Megane, with the launch of the new Sport Tourer at the 2016 Geneva motor show, ahead of its on-sale date later in winter 2016.
Renault Megane Sport Tourer: the details
The new Megane estate is claimed to have the longest maximum load length in the sector at 2.77m, and its boot space can be split into different sections to store the paraphernalia of family life.
At 580 litres the boot is the same size as the previous-generation Megane estate, but now features new lateral storage bins on either side next to the wheelarches, and a brace of bag hooks. The boot floor has two positions, the upper one to create a flat floor when the rear seats are folded and the lower to help load tall items, and there are separate sub-partitions to help prevent items sliding forwards and backwards. There’s space for the roll-up luggage cover under the floor. A vertical luggage net is an option.
The rear seats split 60:40 and flip down via handles in the boot, but the Megane Tourer’s ace card is its fold-flat front passenger seat, which enables that near-2.8m load length handy for skirting boards, flat-pack wardrobes and the like.
Up front, there’s a colour head-up display, 7in digital instrument panel and 8.7in portrait-format touchscreen.
Tell me more about the GT version…
The warmed-up GT model is a kind of halfway-house Renaultsport performance estate, perked up with the addition of a sportier front air dam, anodised roofrails and honeycomb-mesh grille, with flash diamond-cut finish 18in alloys an option.
It’s a similar story inside: bucket seats with integrated headrests, blue stitching and optional alcantara trim for the full faux rally experience, aluminium pedals and a sportier gearlever (or shift-paddle) design.
The GT spec model also gets ‘4Control’, claimed to be the world’s first four-wheel steering system offered on a C-segment estate. It adjusts the rear steering angle up to 100 times a second, swivelling the wheels in parallel to the fronts for stability and faster corners and the opposite way at parking speeds to decrease the turning circle. Renault claims the Megane Tourer is the lowest vehicle in its class with the widest track, so it’s already off to a head start on the stability front.
Click here to read the CAR review of the new 2016 Renault Megane hatchback, also in GT line spec.
What about engines?
Same as the new Megane hatchback, with a diesel-electric ‘Hybrid Assist’ variant on the way in 2017.
Petrol:
Energy TCe 100: 99bhp turbo, six-speed manual gearbox
Energy TCe 130: 128bhp turbo, six-speed manual or seven-speed dual clutch auto
Energy TCe 205: available in the GT version only, 202bhp turbo, seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Diesel:
Energy dCi 90: 89bhp, six-speed manual
Energy dCi 110: 108bhp, six-speed manual or six-speed dual-clutch auto
Energy dCi 130: 128bhp, six-speed manual
Energy dCi 165: available in the GT version only, 163bhp, six-speed dual-clutch auto
Read more of CAR’s 2016 Geneva motor show coverage here
Click here for CAR’s A-Z guide to the 2016 Geneva motor show
