I’ve driven the Renault Megane – it’s comfy to drive & has great infotainment

RENAULT has form for stripping out cars.

I’m thinking the old Megane Trophy-R, which had no rear seats.

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It was supposed to be lightweight and powerful, so it made sense.

But I’m left scratching my head as to why they’ve done it with the electric Megane.

Especially as this is the only Megane we’ll get in Britain from now on.

My point is, there’s nowhere in the back for your ankle-biters to put their Happy Meal drinks.

No USB-C ports to charge their devices. Unless you go up a trim level.

Not much room for their feet. And the tiny door pockets are pointless.

You’d expect a family car costing £36k to be a bit more family-friendly.

Sit up front, though, and you’ll like it a lot.

Because this is where all the time and effort was clearly spent.

It’s clean, fresh and super-comfy, with a huge centre console that swallows more stuff than Mary Poppins’ favourite handbag.

There’s a separate, high-up charging tray for your phone. We like that.

There are buttons for things you use often like air con and heating. We like that too.

And I have to say the Google-powered touchscreen is one of the best in any car today.

It’s smartphone-easy and highly configurable.

So you can arrange the info as you want – map, music, consumption, range and so on.

All sorts of little luxury, like heated front seats, heated steering wheel, reversing camera, cruise control, keyless entry and even that fabric-trimmed dash are standard.

Now we come to batteries and range.

We’re only getting the 60kWh battery in the UK, which has an official WLTP range of 280 miles.

More like 220 miles in the real world. But that’s decent.

The electric motor propels the front wheels, and it’s pretty brisk.

Not Megane Trophy-R-fast but electric cars don’t have turbo lag and power is instant.

Of course, it’s quiet too.

The low-slung weight of the battery means it doesn’t lean over. So body control is good.

But what continues to amaze me with modern Renaults is their smooth ride quality.

Especially with Renault’s obsession with big wheels. They’re twisting physics.

Electric cars are easy to run, provided you can charge at home overnight.

This Megane will suck up 180 miles in half an hour at a public rapid charger, provided you can find one nearby (and it’s not broken or busy).

If you are good with all that, Megane is a strong contender for your cash.

Just don’t message me when there’s a strawberry milkshake upside down on your back seats.

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