It’s still a pretty hot issue with a lot of variables, but I also ride an electric car from time to time, and in the end I’ll say to myself that it wasn’t really bad at all. I would write with a 100% electric megan that I liked it.
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The beautiful Renault route chose the beautiful test route to launch the electrical novelty. From Průhonice near Prague, we took the northern route (via Hradec Králové, Moravská Třebová and Mohelnice) to Olomouc. My native Olomouc! Sorry for the emotional outburst, but I’m starting to get nostalgic.
If you know this route, you know that it starts with the districts to Český Brod, where you will connect to the D11 near Poříčany. It is a bit longer now, it goes down to Holice. And then the eternally congested first class road to Vysoké Mýto, Litomyšl and in Mohelnice again on the highway. A nice mix that could nicely demonstrate the daily usability of an electric megan.
I am going to Olomouc with my colleague Martin Jeník from Světa motorů. And although the most economical crew has a reward (it was not just the lowest consumption, the result was also affected by the average speed), Martin and I said we would go somehow normally. To verify that daily usability, we do. In the city, we doubted so strictly according to the speed regulations that the city might sometimes be a little faster at times, only on the highway we let the flashlights breathe slightly. We definitely did not hide behind trucks, but kept the speed around 120 km / h, from time to time we approached the Czech highway limit.
And the result? You see, we used the appliances normally, no ventilation off or anything like that, that’s what I wanted to tell you. We left Průhonice with a flashlight ninety percent and a bit, we still had less than forty percent left (at the full capacity of the flashlight, an electric megane will travel up to 450 kilometers according to WLTP, I would see everyday reality at least about four hundred kilometers). Consumption was recorded by the Jeník / Machala crew 14.9 kWh (Renault indicates a combination of 16.1 kWh) at an average speed of 66 km / h. Nice performance for me, as I have already written, we drove really normally, we limited ourselves minimally. But it must be added that most of the other crews were tuned to a much more economical note and managed to get below 13 kW / h (even with similar speed averages). We probably stepped too hard on the gas.
However, for me a very decent result, the WLTP tent average around 16 kWh will undoubtedly be easily achieved.
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Two versions
The above describes a more powerful model with a stronger flashlight, so the company Megane E-Tech EV60 220 made us in Olomouc. . The weaker version of the EV40 130 then… yes, it offers a 40kWh flashlight and the highest output of 130 hp (96 kW).
Megane E-Tech uses the CMF-EV platform, on which a car up to 4.7 meters long can be built (megane measures exactly 4200 mm), all-wheel drive is also possible. However, it does not use megane, it is always a front wheel with a single electric motor (unlike the sister model Nissan Ariya). It is a synchronous unit with a wound rotor (eight poles, Renault Zoe had four), according to Renault, this electric motor does not need precious metals. Charging is possible with alternating current up to 22 kW, direct current can do up to 130 kW (in this case, you can reach the 200 km range in half an hour).
The electric megane was a lot of weight, Renault claims that it is only a meter heavier than a 100 percent combustion megane. And the fact is that the standby value below 1.7 tons is not a completely bad result (applies to a more powerful model with a larger flashlight, the weaker EV40 130 gets below 1.6 tons).
I mentioned the length of 4.2 meters, which is not much, you might say. But he has an electric megane thanks to an electric motor with a significantly shorter overhang, Renault says it saved about thirty percent of space against the burner. The cabin is typically spacious in the rear (lower middle class), you would certainly not say that with a length of 4.2 meters you move just a short distance from the segment of small cars. The interior is also less restricted by a flashlight, which is only eleven centimeters high. Thanks to that, it can add an additional three-centimeter insulation layer – compared to Zoe, the electric megane should be half quieter.
Quiet, luxurious, comfortable…
Soundless operation is typical for electric cars, I dare say that the insulation layer made the megan the quietest model far and wide, so I don’t have a perfect listener, but inside there really is an extremely calm and luxurious atmosphere. I would not compare at all with ID models from Volkswagen, German electricity incomprehensibly gambles for me with the reputation of once well-crafted interiors with quality materials, I would not be afraid to look after such a Mercedes EQS. Well, we tested the hierarchical rather lower EQS, Mercedes can do even more clever configurations, however megane and its choice of materials and overall atmosphere… I’m almost afraid to write it, but I really felt more cozy, luxurious in the Renault.
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For example, thanks to the extremely sharp graphics of the instrument panel (1920 x 720 pixels) and the infotainment display (1250 x 1562 pixels), the system is also unusually agile. It is built on Android and thanks to the Snapdragon chip, it offers seven times higher performance than previous versions of the Renault infotainment system. Of course, there are wireless updates and various options for personalizing the appearance of the instrument panel. Renault could forgive only the sharp edge at one of the shelves that systematically endangered the driver’s right knee. Otherwise, for me it is one of the most pleasant interiors lately. And the cherry – the ventilation is controlled by the classic buttons below the infotainment display !!!
What about driving characteristics? It occurs to me, and probably not only to me, that electric cars blur the distinction between different categories, models. And that practically everyone rides in a similar way. Once a move from a lower-middle-class hatchback to a luxury car meant a giant leap in everything, now it’s all kind of the same. Or very, very similar. I would say that the megan stands out a bit with a very comfortable chassis – not only does it dampen well in the 1920s, but despite the more flexible suspension, it doesn’t sway even on a undulating road, as electric cars with a heavy flashlight underneath sometimes do. The multi-element rear axle probably also helps.
He really did it
As I was and still am more embarrassed by the VW ID models, the electric megane fascinated me a lot. It’s not just a good electric car, it’s also a good car – with a luxurious and well-crafted interior (true, we had the top version of Iconic, but still!), Comfortable chassis, very decent dynamics, real consumption of around 15 kWh and the resulting range over four hundred kilometers. I’m already talking about electrical skills, but I’d really like to emphasize that an electric megane isn’t even a fancy semi-finished product, it’s a great-working car.
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With still quite a high price, unfortunately. For Megane E-Tech you will pay at least CZK 945,000, the version with a larger flashlight is one hundred and twenty thousand crowns more expensive, our Iconic then cost CZK 1,215,000. You can order an electric novelty since February, customers will see the first cars in the summer. The Czech representation currently registers dozens of orders, most of which are corporate and all of them are said to be in higher equipment levels and with a larger flashlight.
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