A not fairly lovely little automotive, the Megane Coupé was nonetheless pleasing sufficient on the attention, and the pockets, to promote in shocking numbers for a machine of compromised practicality.
The compromise was a boot as usable because the darker recesses of an understair cabinet, however, the two-door Megane value little greater than the five-door and for this you bought a particular, well-kitted automotive that appeared decidedly extra glamorous. And being a by-product of considered one of Renault’s best-sellers, it didn’t value any extra to run or insure.
Such practicalities matter, and had been a serious motive why there have been as soon as so many of those coupes on the highway within the early 2000s, lots of them in yellow. The truth is, considered one of them belonged to your reporter, an acquisition that garnered me a good bit of stick from shocked colleagues.
My defence was this: I wished the least uninteresting, almost new automotive I might purchase for my funds, a automotive with a guaranty and a automotive that was unlikely to go fallacious. On the time that dominated out virtually all the pieces other than the recent new Ford Puma, which was too costly.
And as a freshly beginning freelancer I’d managed to suppress the cravings for one thing older and extra thrilling on the grounds that I wanted to make certain of attending to level B from level A.
The shock at my alternative stemmed from the not-so-hidden reality about this Megane and the numerous reasonably priced coupes which have come earlier than it.
Which is that they’re all closely based mostly on abnormal household equipment for causes of producing value – that’s what made them reasonably priced – and that few delivered the dynamic pleasure implied by their rakish appears, no less than in commonplace kind.
Nonetheless, the Megane was in good firm with the Ford Mustang, Ford Capri, Vauxhall Calibra, Toyota Celica and heaps of others, the wonderful mannered, Fiesta-based Ford Puma a uncommon exception.
Within the Renault’s case, then, you bought croque monsieur mechanicals in a Patrick Le Quement wrap. Le Quement, in case you’re all of the sudden referencing French vogue designers, was Renault’s chief designer from 1987 to 2009.
He joined Renault on the situation that he reported on to the boss, and that design would not be subservient to engineering.
He bought his method, which was how Renault switched from being the makers of a few of Europe’s dullest vehicles – the 19, 21 and Safrane will likely be amongst these that you’ve got forgotten – to a few of its most intriguing.
