renault megane – Driven To Write

Unforgotten: the Renault Mégane II

Twenty years on, DTW recalls the shock factor of the mundanely named but highly distinctive Renault Mégane II.

Mégane II three-door, rear 3/4 view, giving full view of the DLO cutting into the rear pillar. Image: Drive Mag

I have had in mind to write something about the Mégane II for a while now, but other distractions have prevented me from doing so. Then, in starting to do some research on the subject, I came across ‘The Surge’ series on Christopher Butt’s irresistible ‘Design Field Trip’. As a result, I nearly didn’t bother writing this piece, because Christopher and Patrick le Quément (no less!) have put together the definitive articles on the boldest C-segment hatchback design since the Golf. However, I decided to carry on so that, if nothing else, this piece can act as a signpost to that series of articles.

The Mégane II went on sale in October 2002, replacing the successful original range of cars of that name. For a car required to sell in high volumes at relatively modest margins to Continue reading “Unforgotten: the Renault Mégane II”

Newsgrab

A highly selective, subjective (and lengthy) IAA-themed grab for the week ending 12/09/2021.

The first indoor European motorshow since the onset of SARS CoV-2 is not something to be taken lightly, but neither is it of direct consequence to those of us who routinely fail to attend them. It’s not that I was ever particularly averse – in fact I rather enjoy perusing the putative, spectating over the speculative and free-associating over the fantastical, but the events themselves always seemed to have fallen at an inconvenient time. For the past 18 months or so this has been largely academic, but once again my coverage of a major motor event must by necessity be of a remote nature.

Impartial, in-person coverage is of course what anyone with a modicum of discernment would ideally Continue reading “Newsgrab”

LocoDiscoBox (16+)

What have you planned for the festive season?

What’s the first thing you think of when considering gearboxes? Have you parked in gear? Does the manual action satisfy your taste? Is that a dog-leg set up? Why won’t the automatic change when I want it to? Where’s my Lego set? That latter, more pertinent point being what led to Renault seeking out a new way of changing gears. Settle in, pop it into D and grab your Lego Technic manual.

Christmas 2010 and we find Renault’s Nicolas Fremau, Powertrains and Hybrid expert, ordering boxes of Denmark’s most prodigious export. Not for his son, either. Fremau hit on the idea that the plastic cogs along with connecting rods could form the potential of a real world use gearbox for use in the coming hybrid/ electrification vehicles. The holiday period allowed him to Continue reading “LocoDiscoBox (16+)”

Everything That Rises Must Converge

As we await the newest iteration of VW’s bestseller, we examine what opposition it will face.

It’s no good. Despite repeated efforts, no European carmaker has successfully unseated the Volkswagen Golf from its lofty promontory; a position unique insofar that not only does it occupy a sub-segment of its own, but also in that its name can be expressed as both noun and adjective.

In fact, one senses that VW’s rivals have largely given up, corralling their efforts for a distant second or third place. Do I Continue reading “Everything That Rises Must Converge”

That Isn’t What We Think You Really Want, Des.

We have had 23 years to come to terms with the Mk1 Renault Megane. That much is easy to state. What’s harder to express is why this design’s strangeness didn’t come across until recently.

When I say strange, I don’t mean bad strange. I mean good strange, the oddness of the original and the idiosyncratic. The q-word doesn’t apply here though because this is not like an Ami or Multipla. It doesn’t jump out at you so much as whispers.

The start point of this little rumination is what happens when you Continue reading “That Isn’t What We Think You Really Want, Des.”

The Quickest Way From Carrow Road to Glanford Park

So far there is no evidence that many car designers know much of the theories of Richard L. Gregory. I have been working a bit lately on the psychology of visual perception and by chance I might have found a case where an understanding of his ideas may have changed a design outcome.

The case is the Peugeot 308 tail lamp. Like other current Peugeots it features a small tab of body colour which projects into the main body of the lamp. It seems to me to be wrong. Maybe a bit of Gregory’s theory could explain why.

Gregory developed ideas on “perception as hypothesis”. According to Gregory vision is not merely the passive reception of shapes from outside the mind. It involves memory and the interplay of various cognitive processes. In particular, his theory casts some light on how one can Continue reading “The Quickest Way From Carrow Road to Glanford Park”

Honey and Bleach

Hanging about on my camera/s are photos which never seem to make it into an article of any kind. Today, I will try to get some of them out into the public domain and free up some space on my memory cards.

The images constitutes a preliminary non-verbal note to myself. After a while I lose a strong sense of what motivated the images, many of which are not especially striking or nicely composed (as you can see here). On a photo -by-photo basis I have to ask myself what on earth made me Continue reading “Honey and Bleach”

Vive la France … Vive la Différence!

As well as sampling a 308 SW, our correspondent’s spring break in France also presented a chance to get the local perspective on how the indigenous competition measures up.

IMG_20180420_154711435 — Yes, I did just take a photo of the cover of the magazine lying on the carpet in our spare room.

When in France, I always take the chance to go to a Maison de la Presse and search through the car magazines. In recent years, this has allowed me to discover publications dedicated to ‘classic’ Citroëns, Panhards and other wonders, proving to myself and sceptical family members that there are others out there with a passion for the quirky and yet banal.

I usually also buy a more mainstream monthly, and more often than not it’s L’Automobile; on this occasion, I bought the March 2018 issue.

L’Automobile is, to my mind, the closest that France has to Continue reading “Vive la France … Vive la Différence!”

By the Sahel’s Croceate Sands

Ford officially unveiled the next iteration of the Focus. So, what have we here?

We see change. I’ve been waiting for a better Focus since the last one appeared in 2011. That car never met my expectations even if it proved pleasant. How have Ford changed the Focus for 2018? Have they made all change change for the best?

To answer that it’s very much a case of needing a side-by-side comparison since the Mk3 lacks the kind of character that’d make it memorable. Let’s start at the front and walk around. The new version shown above is the ST Line, meaning the front clip is probably not going to Continue reading “By the Sahel’s Croceate Sands”

Well isn’t it Grand for Some?

Renault’s latest Megane Saloon is grand all right, but a coupé? We investigate.

The automotive landscape in the Republic of Ireland is broadly similar to that of the UK but there are, as one might expect, some exceptions. One of the notable ones, is a long-standing, if diminishing (according to my sources) preference for three volume saloons over hatchbacks. Of course, as Irish motorists increasingly follow their UK and European neighbours into crossover CUV’s, they’re discovering they’re being sold hatchbacks by stealth. Continue reading “Well isn’t it Grand for Some?”

Theme: Bodies – The CC

We may not even have a library photo of a hard-top convertible-cabriolet.

We do, above. There are not many more. Maybe they are not a DTW type of car. Dear goodness, I find when checking the date of the Mercedes SLK, the R170, that it’s celebrating its 20th anniversary. It seems natural to start with this one. Continue reading “Theme: Bodies – The CC”

Micropost: 2002-2009 Renault Megane

Ostensibly I am writing about the Megane. Really I am concerned with something else.

Earlier this week contributer, Chris lamented the sameness of midsized family cars today. This Megane looks like nothing else and only looks better with age. Alas, its durability does not live up to the standard set by the aesthetics. I’m not going to write about that though.
Continue reading “Micropost: 2002-2009 Renault Megane”

The 2017 Renault Megane SW Has More Chrome

It’s press release time and here I am going to regurgitate what Renault spelled out in the document they sent me today.

What can I remember from skimming the press release? I remember that the new Megane has a wider track to make it feel more solid on the road. It has the longest load bay in the class and there is brightwork on part of the edge of the sideglass. Continue reading “The 2017 Renault Megane SW Has More Chrome”