Renault Megane
Discussion
Cracking little cars for shed money. There's been a 1.5DCi in our family for a while now. It was my brother's and he then gave it to my mother. It's never put a foot wrong and apart from consumables, it's pretty much maintenance free. You do need to keep up with servicing on the 1.5DCI lumps though! A couple of electrical niggles - no auto lock and auto lights can be iffy. But it's an older car these days. I like a Renault, so maybe I'm bias, but if you find one with good service history, you'll be grand.
We have several in my family, 2 1.5 DCi Scenics, a 1.6 petrol Scenic and a 1.4 TCE Coupe, all of which are over 15 years old. Other than small MOT items such as ball joints they have all been utterly reliable.
My parents bought the 1.6 petrol without asking me as they were obsessed about the ULEZ (despite living nearly an hour away and visiting maybe 4 times a year) and to be honest it is absolutely gutless, terrible on fuel and I would not recommend it.
I have the 1.4 TCE coupe and have owned it for 4 years. In that time I have replaced one CV boot that had an advisory and have just purchased a back box for it as it is starting to blow. We have owned about 8 Renault Megane/Scenics in Mk2 and Mk3 guise and this is the first time we have ever had to replace an exhaust. The only corrosion is where the pipe meets the backbox around the weld, the rest of the exhaust is as new.
I was thinking about replacing the Coupe with an MG3 Hybrid, but instead decided to get some new front tyres, new front discs and pads (£60) fix the exhaust and just keep on running. I really like the 1.4 TCE it does 45 MPG on a run and is the smoothest engine I have ever owned. However, this is a very rare engine (only produced for four years) and from reading on the internet I might just be lucky that I have no issues.
Never had a problem with electrics in MK3 Megane, the issues tended to be with the Mk2 phase 1 cars. Also never had a problem with the key cards, infact mine has keyless entry and that still works after 15 years.
I think they are great cars, don't rust and are dirt cheap as people don't want them "because french" and because of the reliability issues from the early 2000s that are no longer an issue since around 2009.
Get a Dynamique Tom Tom spec and you get a decent set of options plus the Tom Tom sat nav is still surprisingly useable in 2026. The diesels are great, if you go for a 1.5 DCI just make sure it is the 6 speed version and not the 5 speed version with 86BHP.
And finally check the under floor storage pockets for water ingress. Many a Megane and Scenic have been destroyed because the drain holes under the scuttle have become blocked forcing water into the car from the cabin filter. The underlay soaks it up like a sponge and corrodes the electrics under the carpet.
It takes about 20 minutes to clean the drain holes and I would do this as soon as you get the car. You need to remove the wipers (put tape on the screen so you know where they go back), remove the scuttle, lift and pull it forward to ensure you don't break the under screen clips and then clean out the scuttle.
They are so good that I am currently looking for one for my daughter as her second car as she wants something bigger.
My parents bought the 1.6 petrol without asking me as they were obsessed about the ULEZ (despite living nearly an hour away and visiting maybe 4 times a year) and to be honest it is absolutely gutless, terrible on fuel and I would not recommend it.
I have the 1.4 TCE coupe and have owned it for 4 years. In that time I have replaced one CV boot that had an advisory and have just purchased a back box for it as it is starting to blow. We have owned about 8 Renault Megane/Scenics in Mk2 and Mk3 guise and this is the first time we have ever had to replace an exhaust. The only corrosion is where the pipe meets the backbox around the weld, the rest of the exhaust is as new.
I was thinking about replacing the Coupe with an MG3 Hybrid, but instead decided to get some new front tyres, new front discs and pads (£60) fix the exhaust and just keep on running. I really like the 1.4 TCE it does 45 MPG on a run and is the smoothest engine I have ever owned. However, this is a very rare engine (only produced for four years) and from reading on the internet I might just be lucky that I have no issues.
Never had a problem with electrics in MK3 Megane, the issues tended to be with the Mk2 phase 1 cars. Also never had a problem with the key cards, infact mine has keyless entry and that still works after 15 years.
I think they are great cars, don't rust and are dirt cheap as people don't want them "because french" and because of the reliability issues from the early 2000s that are no longer an issue since around 2009.
Get a Dynamique Tom Tom spec and you get a decent set of options plus the Tom Tom sat nav is still surprisingly useable in 2026. The diesels are great, if you go for a 1.5 DCI just make sure it is the 6 speed version and not the 5 speed version with 86BHP.
And finally check the under floor storage pockets for water ingress. Many a Megane and Scenic have been destroyed because the drain holes under the scuttle have become blocked forcing water into the car from the cabin filter. The underlay soaks it up like a sponge and corrodes the electrics under the carpet.
It takes about 20 minutes to clean the drain holes and I would do this as soon as you get the car. You need to remove the wipers (put tape on the screen so you know where they go back), remove the scuttle, lift and pull it forward to ensure you don't break the under screen clips and then clean out the scuttle.
They are so good that I am currently looking for one for my daughter as her second car as she wants something bigger.
Edited by BangGoesAnotherDay on Wednesday 28th October 12:38
With a mere 90 brake horsepower available, progress is too leisurely to be called fast. But on a motorway, in fifth gear, the Mégane's slow pace really becomes a pain. Uphill runs become power-sappingly mundane, while overtaking National Express coaches can become a long, drawn-out affair
Key cards are fine, scuttle panel is a very easy fix.
Ive got a facelift mk3 and its as dull as dishwater but a reliable friend for general tip runs, comutes and just using as a beater.
This is the first year its cost me money and ive had it 3 years and 30k miles, its now on 134k and going strong, mines the 1.6 dci which is pretty uncommon but drives nicely and is very economical.
I dont get the french car hate, its a good reliable car thats cheap to tax, insure and repair.
Ive got a facelift mk3 and its as dull as dishwater but a reliable friend for general tip runs, comutes and just using as a beater.
This is the first year its cost me money and ive had it 3 years and 30k miles, its now on 134k and going strong, mines the 1.6 dci which is pretty uncommon but drives nicely and is very economical.
I dont get the french car hate, its a good reliable car thats cheap to tax, insure and repair.
Gareth1974 said:
With a mere 90 brake horsepower available, progress is too leisurely to be called fast. But on a motorway, in fifth gear, the Mégane's slow pace really becomes a pain. Uphill runs become power-sappingly mundane, while overtaking National Express coaches can become a long, drawn-out affair
I dont think they're your words Carol. Sounds more like the words of Top Gear Magazine.Gareth1974 said:
With a mere 90 brake horsepower available, progress is too leisurely to be called fast. But on a motorway, in fifth gear, the Mégane's slow pace really becomes a pain. Uphill runs become power-sappingly mundane, while overtaking National Express coaches can become a long, drawn-out affair
There are two 1.5DCi engines, the 86 BHP version has a five speed gearbox and the 110BHP version has the six speed gearbox.I also believe there are two versions of the 1.6 petrol, again the lower powered version has the five speed gearbox.
Don't get the five speed version is my advice.
Also not sure if the 1.2 TCE engine is in this version, but avoid like the plague to oil consumption and timing chain issues.
1.4 TCE petrol and 1.6 DCI are the rare versions, 1.5 DCI and 1.6 petrol the most common.
We have a 1.6 diesel estate. It’s the third car in the family and was bought primarily as a car for my brother in law to use when he visits from Spain, and as a station car for us.
Apart from normal consumables all is needed are two replacement front springs in three and a half years.
It has the inbuilt Tom Tom nav, which I updated the SD card and is perfectly usable.
It has never failed to start, averages 40 mpg doing the four mile round trip. We recently used it to take us to the Leed Bradford airport. The parking there is tight, but I didn’t care if it picked up another ding. On that run, it was just shy of 60 mpg.
I like it more than I should.
Apart from normal consumables all is needed are two replacement front springs in three and a half years.
It has the inbuilt Tom Tom nav, which I updated the SD card and is perfectly usable.
It has never failed to start, averages 40 mpg doing the four mile round trip. We recently used it to take us to the Leed Bradford airport. The parking there is tight, but I didn’t care if it picked up another ding. On that run, it was just shy of 60 mpg.
I like it more than I should.
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff