Top Marque's Review: A French’s Toyota Altis Equivalent?

A Note From The Amateur Author

Realistically speaking, owning a car in Singapore, you are regarded as 'well to do' within the society, even if you are just driving a normal Japanese or Korean sedan. Unless its a definite need, to just flaunt your immense wealth or to have $4.6 million transferred into your account overnight, buying a car in Singapore without certain financial stability is considered an idiocy. Well yes, there are speculations that COE prices will one day drop back to $1. Perhaps that's would be the day our Mass Rapid Transport will be back to its flawless past. Speaking of which, our public transport system are defined as 'world class' but you and me know that it prove otherwise with the most recent breakdown happening more frequent than a 'Kaiju' event (to those who watched pacific rim). With the frequent breakdown of our 'world class' public transport system, and the high cost of car ownership, the idea of adopting walking as a common mode of transport seems to fit into the picture perfectly.

Jokes aside however, this is our first but certainly not our last honest review on cars, especially everyday cars. We all know that cars are an expensive piece of machinery, especially or just only in Singapore. Lets not even go into the topic of owning a Super Car. As such i thought it would be more feasible for me to do reviews on the everyday car segment, perhaps it could help you make a better choice of investment, when it comes to buying your car.

PS: please bear with any of my possible mistakes i may make as this is my very first review. I would very much appreciate if you could write an email to me at enquiry@topmarqueauto.com on any improvement to the content you may wish to see in future post. Cheers!

Regards,

The Amateur Author.

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History of Renault

Lets start with a short history lesson on Renault to allow us to know more about Renault as a organization. Founded in 1899 as Société Renault Frères’ by the Louis’ brothers, Marcel and Fernand Renault. Louis remained an employee of the company, working on designs. It is also the year that the ‘Voiturette’, first car of Renault won its first motorsport races. Until today, Renault have presence in F1 races and won 10 races and 15 pole positions, claiming the F1 Constructor’s World Champion title in 1992, promoting Renault's engineering and technology. With these track record, we can have impression that Renault are building cars with reliable engine.

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The Renault Megane Hatchback (2009 - 2013)

However in the recent years of sales record by Renault showed a decline in its sales especially for it Megane model. Throughout its established automotive history Renault has built many cars ranging from, F1 cars to comfortable road going production car. The Megane, is a everyday family car produced by Renault. However, this particular model have been experiencing a decline in its sales within Europe since 2011. Similarly, in Singapore, we would see that there are more Altis as compared to a Megane. So why would buyers would prefer Altis or a Golf over a Megane?

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The Exterior

"Probably this car is only made to look good from the rear view mirrors.."

Renault has never fail to hit the market with unique and quirky exterior designs especially when it comes to the Megane series. However, the 3rd generation of the Megane Hatchback comes with a more subtle and conservative design approach as compared to the previous mode. Base on this particular model that we are reviewing, the design team has certainly put in alot of effort, incorporating chrome elements into its design, especially to the front air intake, giving it an aggressive stance. The silver chrome are also used as a door handle and on the rear fenders too. Needless to say, all these chromes are an add on options on top of its base model. Certainly it would be great if these came as standards

Taking styling cues from its more powerful older brother, Renault Megane RS, Renault has taken a step further to give this car a lowered aggressive lining from the front, all thanks to the downward angled front bonnet. The downward angled bonnet also provide a superb driver's view, with powerful fog lamps on each side of the front bumpers to assist drivers' in foggy or rainy driving conditions.

Now, this comes the disappointing part. Probably Renault only made this car just to look good from a rear view mirror. Or perhaps, Renault only remunerate its design team to focus only on the frontal portion of the car. I was expecting to see a more exciting angular lines on the rear to complement what was seen at the front. However what greeted me are simply a round shaped "beer belly" that is part of a handsome man, at least that's what it looks like to me. The wheels is standard at 16", but buyers do have the option of upgrading it to a more comfortable 17" wheels at the slight expense of the car's fuel consumption.

Front View

Rear View

The Interior

"A quality interior, unmatched by its German rival.."

Despite the slight disappointment in the exterior department, the disappointment were soon relieved as i enter the car. Upon entering the car, i was greeted with a nice and tidy interior, without any redundant gadgets and buttons that is becoming an unnecessary trend that today's car makers like to adopt. The French has managed to create a quality interior, unmatched by its German rival in similar class. PVCs and Plastic material were not anywhere in sight as the car comes with a full set of leather upholstery, even to its side panel on all four doors. The leather steering wheel and the dash board gave a very solid feel to the driver, and certainly, the driver's seating position have a very unobstructed commanding view of the road up ahead. For the passenger however, headroom is tad low and it could be uncomfortable for passengers who are taller than 175cm. As a hatchback, Despite the compromise in the head and legroom of the passenger, the car still boast a fairly large boot space, capable of carrying up to 4 luggage with still some space for some miscellaneous.

Leg room were decent however, i wouldn't say that the Megane has the biggest legroom in its class, probably due to the hatchback design of the car which some legroom space were compromised. As a family car, decent amount of cups and bottle holders are available, while i feel that Renault could have equipped this car with a larger glove box compartment as it barely fits anything into it. Renault has also incorporated a large amount of digital elements especially to the dashboard driver's console. It certainly gave both the driver and passenger a more updated and futuristic impression as compared to its predecessor. Chrome linings has also been utilized within the interior, giving the interior a slight luxurious feel to it. Despite it being a continental car, Renault neglected the idea of introducing memory seat settings to the Megane which is widely common across all continental cars, even in similar class.

However, minor left outs to the interior are negligible. I would say that the French has certainly outdone itself when it comes to interior design with passengers' and drivers' comfort in mind, possibly outdoing even the Germans.

Neat & Tidy Cluster Panel

Digital Speedometer

Chrome linings

Classy Gear Lever

DSC_0217_edited

Decent Interior

Dual Zone Air - Con

Wide Boot Space

On The Road..

As a Family oriented everyday car, i wouldn't expect the performance figure to be impressive. Throughout its power band, the efficient 1.6 Liter engine delivers decent amount of power to move the car from a stand still. However, dont expect anything more than that. On papers, the car is capable of completing the century sprint in a decent 13.9 secs, flat out at 180km/h. Fuel consumption scores an average at only 13.3km / Liter but the best mileage i could achieve is only 12.9km/Liter despite being light on the pedal.

I would say that Renault's 4 speed Automatic gearbox were not exceptional, as it tends to be sluggish while moving off the stop line. Sudden Jerks were also felt, while the gear shifts from the 1st to the 2nd. However, as the car built up speed and on the cruise, its stability on the expressway are commendable. Due to its intelligent steering system which is also seen in today's many Nissan's model, steering responsiveness were tightened on high speed to improve stability, while it loosen on low speed to improve maneuverability in tight corners. These feature actually enhances the handling of the car, especially in tight corners, giving confidence to the driver. body roll of this car were also at its minimal even though it suspension were stock.

This model are also equipped with auto headlamps and wipers for driving convenience. Control buttons for the stereo are also conveniently placed on the 4 o clock position, eliminating the need to reach out for the stereo to switch channel or to adjust the volume which may prove to be a driving hazard. However, while on the move especially on a hot afternoon, the car dashboard tends to heat up, warming up the front portion of the cabin despite the air-con were set at full blast and at the lowest temperature.

Conclusion: Owning it..

Overall I would say that the Renault Megane Hatchback is a decent everyday family car to have. But owning the Megane Hatchback would meant that you have to face a continental depreciation cost. I believe that a well - researched buyer would most probably invest in a more reliable German Marque instead. This, however is not the latest Renault Megane Hatchback available in the market, you may wish to consider the newer 1.5L DTCI (Diesel version) alternative of the Megane Hatchback with a sharper looking face lift. But if differentiating from the norm of BMW, Mercedes on the road, not minding its high depreciation or you simply want to drive a comfortable French car, the Renualt Megane Hatchback should be in the your list of considerations. In conclusion, the Renault Megane Hatchback is certainly not a French version of the Toyota Altis nor it is an Equivalant.

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