Other than that, the carmaker installed the same angular headlights that were continued on the same line with the black grille. On the outside, the 2006 Megane CC sported body-colored plastic moldings over the bumpers and sides, black on the 2003 version. It took a keen eye for detail to spot the differences between a 2004 Megane CC and its 2006 sibling. It introduced the 2006 facelifted Megane but with almost no changes at all. While Volkswagen refreshed the Golf VI on the same platform as the Golf V and called it a new generation, Renault took another path. And with a silhouette universally regarded as looking spot on for a three-door derivative of a new Megane, the Coupe Concept seems to prove that Renault’s designers have indeed rediscovered their Mojo.Renault introduced a mid-life cycle refresh for its compact segment contender, the Megane, which included the three-years-old Coupe-Cabriolet version. Only the crashy ride proved a let-down from inside the car. It’s impossible to say if the engine was pumping out the stated 200bhp in our test drive but around the sweeps of the CERAM test track in northern France it felt responsive and eager, turning into corners sharply and with minimal body roll. The manual six-speed gearbox feels tight and snappy and the controls are very direct. However, you sit low, feeling nicely cocooned in the nubuck covered seats as you would in a sportscar and the overall feeling is that you’re in a true driver’s car. The engine sounds gruff because that’s because this car is essentially a design concept with no sound deadening. You unlock it with a Samsung mobile phone, slot this into the dash, press the center console mounted start/stop button and the two-liter turbo fires. Starting the Megane Coupe Concept is simple. The rev counter is a vertical dial attached to its left a dial for the radio is to its right. This incorporates a regular analogue speedometer with a digital unit within. And there’s a single dial ahead of the driver. The minimal buttons on the center console are flush with the dash because they’re touch sensitive. The red lacquered carbon fiber of the seat shells, dash and center console give it a look of a designer kitchen: oozing quality but somehow not particularly soulful. Once there, the cockpit has a minimal feel to it. Although too impractical (and expensive) to make production, these electric powered openers don’t just look stunning, they make getting into both front and rear seats as easy as a conventional gullwing door would. These are called ‘dragonfly’ because the glass separates from the door section to resemble an insect’s wings when they open. The recessed rear lights however, although stunning, won’t make it to the production car. The rear, while bearing a family resemblance to the current Megane, is cleaner and the light play off the convex curve of the rear prow less complicated. The hood also appears to have had more thought put into it than the Laguna’s boring affair and the step up from the front fenders successfully disguises the added volume needed to pass strict pedestrian impact legislation. Unlike the latest Laguna, which has been derided for the ‘goggle eyed’ appearance of its headlamps, the front lights of this concept are in proportion. The front of the finished model will be pretty much as the concept too. “The proportions will be slightly different but the graphics will be largely the same.” That means the sporty high shoulder will remain, as will the narrow DLO. “A couple of things will change,” he says. Indeed, according to Francois Leboine, the man responsible for its exterior design, this car is very indicative of the production model that’s to be unveiled this September at the Paris Motor Show. This gives us more than a few hints as to what the latter car will look like. The Megane Coupe Concept is a first look at that car.Īs with the current Megane, the new model will be available in several body shapes: a small MPV, an estate, a five-door hatch and a three-door version designed to appeal to sportscar fans and rival the new Volkswagen Scirocco. It’s crucial to Renault’s fortunes in the mass market in more ways than one. It has to repair Renault’s battered image too. So the next version of the Megane doesn’t just have to take on traditional rivals such as the Ford Focus, Vauxhall/Opel Astra and Volkswagen Golf. Car Design Dialogues North America 2022.
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