These are the first official photos of Renault’s second mainstream electric vehicle after the ZOE, the new Megane E-Tech Electric ahead of a world premiere at the 2021 Munich Motor Show on Monday. Straddling between crossover and chunky hatchback territory, the electrified Megane E-Tech is a less glorified production version of last year’s Megane eVision concept study. As you can tell, it has similar proportions to the new Nissan Ariya crossover with which it shares the same CMF-EV platform and electric powertrain.
According to Spanish publication Forococheselectricos that shared the imagery and spilled the beans on the car, the Megane E-Tech Electric will initially be offered with 40kW and 60kW battery packs, the latter providing a maximum driving range of 470 km in the WLTP test cycle. That’s more (+20km) than what Renault had initially communicated when it also said that the electric engine on the front axle produces 215 hp, but we’ll have to wait for the official release to confirm those numbers.
The French brand has not yet said if the range-topping powertrain from the all-wheel drive Nissan Ariya e-4ORCE that pumps out an impressive 389 hp and 600 Nm of torque working together with a larger 90kW battery to deliver up to 580 km range and a 0-100 km/h time of 5.1 seconds will be available in the future.
Elsewhere, the photos give us our first uninterrupted look at the tech- and screen-laden dashboard that eschews most, but not all, physical buttons and switches for touch-sensitive controls. There are two separate displays, one for the dashboard in front of the driver and the other, the oh-so-common in electric vehicles these past years, massive tablet-like screen on the center console, under which you will find a small array of physical controls. Also take note of the square-ish steering wheel that seems to be a new trend in the automotive world these days.
To be produced at Renault’s factory in Northern France, the new Megane E-Tech Electric will be sold alongside the current ICE-powered Megane hatchback and estate models, with sales to begin in Europe in the first half of 2022.
