Renault recharges future with electric Megane eVision concept SUV

Renault has signalled that its most popular model will spawn an electrified SUV in 2021 as part of a plan to reinvent the brand.

The Renault Megane eVision is a concept car that gives strong clues to an SUV-inspired version of the Megane small car due to arrive next year.

The Megane eVision trades internal combustion engines for a 160kW/300Nm electric motor powering the front wheels.

Renault says the platform is sits on can accommodate an additional rear electric motor in future to create an all-wheel drive variant.

The concept car features a 60kWh battery that Renault says is “ultra-thin”, in turn benefiting interior space and aerodynamics.

While the concept car has clear Renault DNA, there is a bolder, cleaner look that focuses on proportions and some bold character lines and emphases the Renault diamond logo on the nose.

Helping the design simplicity are slimmer cameras instead of exterior mirrors and door handles that recede into the doors.

With its hunched rear and low-slung stance the Megane eVision also blurs the lines between a hatchback and SUV.

Despite relatively compact exterior dimensions the Megane eVision is claimed to have “best-in-class roominess

“We broke the rules of size, use, design and energy efficiency to imagine the Megane eVision show-car,” said Groupe Renault CEO Luca De Meo. “We fully leveraged the potential of pure electric platform to re-invent the classical hatchback in an emotional way.

“With the thinnest battery on the market, a 4.21m compact body offering the roominess of a C-segment vehicle, the Mégane eVision is a masterpiece of packaging.”

The Megane eVision sits on the CMF-EV platform – Common Module Family Electric Vehicle – which was developed for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance and is also the foundation of the Nissan Ariya.

That architecture allows the wheels to be pushed closer to the extremes of the car and interior space to be maximised.

Luca De Meo says the Megane eVision is the start of an intensified electric car story.

“This is just the beginning; a whole new generation of innovation-packed electric vehicles is to come.”

The Megane eVision can be charged at up to 130kW using DC fast charging. An AC charger allows for a 22kW charge, potentially topping the battery in about three hours.

Renault hasn’t nominated a driving range but says it the Megane eVision could drive from London to Newcastle, suggesting somewhere around 460km between charges.

The production version of the Megane eVision is not yet confirmed for Australia but is on the wish list.

In July Renault Australia announced it was dropping the Zoe electric car as it focused on SUVs.

Renault Australia corporate communications manager Andrew Ellis says the Megane EV could signal a return to electric vehicles for the brand locally.

“We’ll look at everything that comes up, particularly an EV SUV which would seem to have the best chance of sales success here.”