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By
EWAN KENNEDY
5 February 2007
This glamorous convertible is the flagship of the French Renault
range. The CC in the Megane CC stands for coupe-cabriolet, thus giving a
big clue to what the sleek body is all about. This Renault can be a
closed coupe some of the time and an open cabriolet when the desire for
pleasant fresh air hits the owner.
This roof setup is becoming almost the norm in convertibles in
the early years of the 21st century and has many advantages. The
solid roof obviously gives greater safety in a crash and makes it
more difficult for a thief to get into a car. Not so immediately
apparent is that the hard roof provides a quieter ride, as well as
a firmer platform on which the suspension can operate due to the
overall car having greater rigidity.
Unlike other marques, which use a metal or composite roof,
Renault has given us a glass roof so the Megane still retains some
of its open air feel even with the roof is fully closed. A sliding
sun blind can be used to reduce exposure to the sun to some
extent. It really doesn’t cut enough light for our tastes so try
the car for yourself in full sunlight, preferably with the family
or friends on board, before making a decision. On the positive
side, the glass roof is just wonderful of an evening and during
overcast days.
The body of this French convertible has lots of interesting
angles, sudden curves and unexpected intersections, very much in
the modern mould of Renault designs. The finished effect works
nicely whether the top is up or down.
The biggest disadvantage of a folding hardtop is the amount of
boot space taken up by the retracted roof. There's a volume of
just 190 litres in the Megane with the roof stowed, though it has
an impressive 490 litres with it up.
Front occupants of the Renault Megane CC have decent sized
seats with plenty of adjustments. However, the Megane’s
windscreen slopes quite a long way back, finishing up over the
front of the front seats. That’s partly because the roof had to
be kept short to enable it to fold up tight at the rear of the
body.
The good news is that rearwards position of the windscreen
gives the occupants more protection from the wind and makes
conversation relatively easy. The bad news is that it takes away
some of that lovely open-air feeling.
While the Renault is technically a four-seater, rear seat
legroom is negligible. With the front seat all the way back, the
back of the driver’s seat touches the rear seat so you have to
shift the front seats a long way forwards even to fit kids in the
back.
Power comes from a 2.0-litre engine as used in the Megane hatch
and sedan. The extra weight in the CC takes some edge off its
performance but it still has enough power for enjoyable driving.
Gearing is quite low to get some decent acceleration from the
engine but means it’s pretty busy at high speeds. A sports car
it’s not, but most people in this class are looking for a classy
cruiser rather than a full-on bruiser.
Fuel consumption during our week’s test came in at a
reasonable 11 to 13 litres per hundred kilometres during suburban
and city driving. This dropped below nine litres per hundred in
easy paced motorway running. These figures are good for a
relatively heavy car that has its aerodynamics affected by the
roof being open.
Ride comfort is good and the car isn’t knocked about overmuch
by rough roads, though it’s better on sealed surfaces than dirt.
The steering is nicely sorted and the CC has good balance and turn
in for a front driver.
All versions of the Megane range since mid-2006 have had an
even stronger emphasis on safety than the original models. Amongst
other safety features, they come with the life-saving potential of
ESP (Electronic Stability Program). This system assists drivers to
get out of tight spots created either by someone else’s mistakes
or their own inattention.
On the road, the Renault Megane Phase II retains the sharp feel
and excellent steering that we have liked so much from day one.
Yet does so without sacrificing comfort in any way. This is an
excellent long distance car that will leave both driver and
passengers feeling fresh after a trip on just about any road
surface.
Coupe convertibles of this type are all the rage in Europe at
the moment. BMW, having said folding soft-tops were a purer
design, has changed its mind and the new 3 Series features a
folding hardtop. Volkswagen is about to launch a car called the
Eos. A sort of replacement for the Golf convertible, it uses an
interesting two-piece roof to enable it be to folded into a
smaller space. Holden's recently announced Astra Twin Top
convertible uses a similar arrangement.
Later in the year, Peugeot will introduce its 207CC as a
replacement for the popular 206CC, the latter being in the
vanguard of the coupe-convertibles when launched in Australia way
back in 2001.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
Dynamique 2.0-litre two-door convertible - $48,990
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard
Air Conditioning: Standard
Automatic Transmission: $2500 option
CD Player: Standard
Central Locking: Standard
Cruise Control: Standard
Driver Airbag: Standard
Passenger Airbag: Standard
Front Side Airbags: Standard
SPECIFICATIONS (Renault Dynamique 2.0-litre two-door
convertible)
ENGINE:
Engine Capacity: 1.998 litres
Configuration: Four cylinders in line
Head Design: Four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 9.8:1
Bore/Stroke: 82.7 x 93.0mm
Maximum Power: 98 kW @ 5500 rpm
Maximum Torque: 191 Nm @ 3750 rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Six-speed
Automatic Transmission: Four-speed
Final Drive Ratio: NA
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4355mm
Wheelbase: 2552mm
Width: 2026mm
Height: 1404mm
Turning Circle: 10.2 metres
Kerb Mass: 1430kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 60 litres
Towing Ability: Not recommended for towing
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: MacPherson struts, rectangular lower arm,
anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Torsion beam system, outboard attachment points,
coil springs, anti-roll bar
Front Brakes: Ventilated disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 9.4 secs
Standing 400 Metres: 17.0 secs
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Fuel Type: Petrol 95RON
Fuel Consumption - Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 8.4 L/100km
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/ 100,000km
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Marque Publishing Company
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