Following a previous review of the Megane we received some good news from Renault.

It became rapidly apparent the satellite navigation system in our car did not pass muster compared to the hand-held systems from the likes of TomTom, Garmin and Navman filling the shelves of department stores and, at this time of year, Christmas wishlists.

It has a two-dimensional display only and you cannot input postcodes. This has meant sticking my own TomTom to the windscreen – a bizarre situation since up-speccing the Megane with the sat nav would have cost me £1,600 as a retail customer, more than 10 times the price of my off-the-shelf unit.

However, since we took delivery of the Megane, Renault is offering the Carminat TomTom, offering 3D display and postcode input as the sole navigation upsell opportunity.

Now, bearing in mind the advantages of increased ease of use of the new system, the fact the mapping can be updated via the web using the TomTom Home portal and an SD card as opposed to CDs, also compare the price: £450 – an incredible discount and an excellent talking point for Renault dealers.

More details are available here: http://www.renault.co.uk/ownerservices/multimedia/tomtom.aspx)

Though the disappointment around the sat nav system was a constant and literally ‘in your face’ niggle, every other factor of the car in day-to-day living has proved coupes can be practical as well as an enticing drive.

Being in a rock band, inevitably means a test drive includes loading up with two guitars, an amp, mic stand and two bags of paraphernalia. The boot opening and space doesn’t prove a problem and getting items on the back seat via the two doors has not yet led to bruised knuckles or equipment.

Anecdotal ease of use is born out by some factual comparisons: load capacity of 372 litres exceeds competitors such as the Vauxhall Astra Sport hatch (302) and Citroen C4 Coupe (314).

Specification

Price: £19,035
Engine: 1.9 diesel
Performance: 0-62mph 9.5; top speed 130
Transmission: 6-sp manual
Efficiency: 55.4mpg (test mpg 44.6), 134g/km CO2
CAP RV 3yr/30: 34
Start mileage: 4,384
Current mileage: 8,613