RENAULT MEGANE E-TECH
Electrical frustrations take the shine off our stylish hatch
MILEAGE 3320
WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT Has going electric broadened the appeal of Renault’s family hatch?
Considering what a popular little hatchback the Mégane is proving to be among my friends, many of whom have commented on what a stylish design it is, the Renault has been surprisingly antisocial. For a start, it doesn’t seem to like shaking hands – or, more properly, the allimportant electrical ‘handshake’ that prefaces a successful charge – to the extent that it’s fast becoming the Arsène Wenger to the wall charger’s Alex Ferguson.
This first happened at the office, when I left the car plugged in for the day and returned to find a red light flashing on the charge port and the battery level unchanged from when I’d parked it in the morning. I then had the same issue at a fast charger on my way to a meeting and had to stand in the rain cursing, unplugging and replugging until it grudgingly agreed to make friends. Even at home, where my EVIOS charger has been informed of the make and model of car it is connecting to, and has had no problems with other EVs, I’ve had several missed connections.