WHEN coupe-cabriolets first became popular there tended to be one problem – in order to house the folding metal roof the boot had to be big, and that made the rear bulbous.
Manufacturers now seem to have got to grips with the problem, and nowhere is that more evident than on the super sleek new version of the Renault Megane Coupe-Cabriolet.
The new car is longer than its predecessor and that stretching of the body has been accompanied by a far sexier design with a nice trim rear.
Credit to the designers – who have managed to create the slimline look of the boot despite the folding roof on the newcomer being ten per cent larger than on the car it replaces.
Sensibly the signature feature of the earlier model, a folding glass panoramic roof rather than a metal one, has been retained so that, even with the roof up, the interior is light and airy.
And the dark tinted glass and gloss black pillars make the car even more eye catching as they are set against a satin chrome windscreen surround.
We buy more convertibles in the UK per head of population than almost anywhere else in the world – heaven knows why considering our weather – and for a lot of those buyers it’s appearance rather than performance that matters. It’s a market that is all about style, and the Megane Coupe-Cabriolet has shed loads of it.
The new roof – which weighs some 75Kg – can be lowered in 21 seconds with the push of a button. It’s quiet and quick.
And, for once, someone has thought about rear passengers travelling in a car in which the roof has been lowered.
Traditionally it’s the people at the back who get blown about when the roof is down but, on this newcomer, there is a small fixed glass wind deflector specifically to address the problem.
The car also comes with a full sized wind deflector to give you virtually draught free motoring but it fits over the rear seating area and so can be used when only the two front seats are occupied.
Like most cabriolets, this one comes as a two-door only, but huge, wide opening doors and an easy-slide seat mechanism make for easy access to the rear seats. which you drop into rather than sit on to ensure your head doesn’t catch on the rakish rear window. Because it has to accommodate the roof, the boot on the Megane is huge, and ideal for going on holiday. Even with the roof folded down, you can get three or four large soft bags in the boot.
On the road the 130bhp, 1.9-litre diesel in the car I tried offered good performance with sensible economy. During the week I had the car it averaged some 43 mpg, which was respectable for traffic conditions.
Mated to a super smooth six-speed manual gearbox it was also flexible thanks to the maximum torque of 300Nm being on tap from just 1,750rpm.
Like all Megane Dynamique models, the Coupe-Cabriolet comes with a built-in Tom Tom satellite navigation system as standard, a nice feature and a useful one as, in addition to guidance, this system also shows you the speed limit on the road you are travelling on and gives you a flashing speed warning sign if you exceed it.
