Can a small family estate really do the job a large estate once did? It’s the question I’ll be looking to answer over the next six months as I downsize from a Toyota Avensis Tourer to our new Renault Megane Sport Tourer long termer.
The Megane Sport Tourer is a solidly business-focused vehicle – Renault expects four-fifths of all UK sales to go fleet customers – and in the 1.5 dCi TomTom we’ve chosen one of the most frugal and practical models in the line-up.
Consider these impressive figures: 62.8mpg on the official combined cycle, 120g/km CO2 for a 13% BIK band and 486 litres of boot space rising to 1576 with the seats folded.
There are no real ‘poster boys’ in the small family estate market but the Megane Sport Tourer looks as smart as its Ford Focus and Peugeot 308 SW rivals – and more stylish than its five-door hatchback sibling. The interior [1] feels good quality, too, with cold metal-touch knobs, switches and handles, a clean uncluttered dashboard with an easy-to-use TomTom satnav that gives this model its name [2], plus a clear driver dial layout with analogue rev counter and a large digital speedometer [3]. It has a spacious cabin fore and aft as well, benefiting from a wheelbase extended by 62mm compared to the hatch.
TomTom spec is basically Dynamique plus colour satnav, and that includes four airbags, stability and traction control, aircon, cruise control, auto wipers and lights, CD stereo and striking 16-inch alloys. The only options ticked were metallic paint (£395) and an electric automatic parking brake (£150), but all in, its on the road price still ducks under the £20,000 bar.
Run in from new, we’ve only put 600-odd miles on the clock so far but on two out of town trips that well-proven 1.5 dCi engine is delivering a very laudable 50-plus mpg average without any eco driving tactics. The only slight niggle so far is the engine’s occasional reluctance to get going in first and second gear – revs need to be carefully controlled – but other than that, it feels more than capable of doing the job of a bigger estate.
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