No Budget Reviews: 1996 Renault Mégane 1.4e RN Paris - Lloyd Vehicle Consulting 

I can't recall the last time I saw a Mk1 Megane Pre facelift in the flesh, they were everywhere at one point but the rot does seem to creep in around those arches. I blame the scrappage scheme for killing a lot of these off prematurely in my opinion. Seven years ago I picked up a up a 2000 Renault Megane 1.6 16v RT facelift in Silver for £175, it was wonderfully reliable had been welded up in the common areas it had a 154,000 clock. I knew it wouldn't pass another MOT but clocked up 12,000 miles in it 10 months without it missing a beat. It was cheap motoring and wonderfully comfortable. So glad to see no budget reviews back again. Keep up the good work Joseph.

Thank for the video. This is the exact car my grandad had when I was a little kid. This brings great memories I had with him till 2003. Then my mum had that car till 2012. Now I'm 23 and I literally came across this video.

These were quite good back in the day. Definetly more robust than the Megane that came after it

Renault has certainly lost their way these days. All I see are those dressed Nissan crossover SUV things and the odd Cilo. I wish we got the Renault Talisman in the UK, that looked fantastic.

Thanks for this video. This car does indeed look like a rounded 19! Wheels look a little tiny like a Polo from the same period! 11inch wheels? Love the simplicity of the old French cars!

Great wee example of a Megane , I really did like this when it came out, uncle had one of the first scenics when it came out and it was a great car for him. Love a poverty spec model with no mod cons.

Brings back fond memories of my first brand new company car which was a 1996 Megane 1.6RT automatic in Iceberg silver, P613 GME. Had no problems with it at all and did 53K in 3 years. Interestingly I really wanted a Rover 200 series which had just been released and had a fabulous rev happy engine but Rover would not discount the car and I could not buy one in my grade banding of £11750. For that I got the Renault with a sunroof, automatic gearbox and metallic paint; good value I thought.

Always been a fan of Renault, I loved my Clio RN, I also remember a rather fancy yellow sporty one of these back in the late 90s. Sad to see a saggy interior, thank you Joseph *B

There is something refreshing simple about a base model, even though I would not particularly want one myself .

Another excellent review . That Renault really is basic transport in truest sense of the word

Been looking forward to this, it just seems like a nice piece of design

My parents had a 1.6litre RT spec 1997 blue Mègane Classic from new. Loved the dash such a great design for its time when you consider the rubbish thst was in a Peugeot 306 or a Ford Escourt or even a VW golf of the time the Mègane was so far ahead of them it made them all loom ancient and the Mègane dash was soft touch too. One of the first cars in its class to have that. This Mègane is in great condition for its age. I would buy it if it would ship to Ireland lol. Some hope and then stupid taxs here :(

Only stumbled across this, I am the proud owner of this wagon now

Parents had a 1997 Megane Scenic 1.6e RT and a phase 2 Scenic Sport. I hold these mark 1s in high regard. So comfy and a decent drive.

This all seems incredibly familiar to me. Have to admit, i'm a little jealous of the condition of those arches 😬 wish mine looked as good as those (one day soon 🤞). Interesting that this one has the horn buttons on the steering wheel while my 99 one has it on the end of the indicator stalk.

This generation of Megane, Scenic, Clio, Laguna, were built in Renaults better quality days, and more robust. These Meganes were simpler to service and repair by the look of that Engine Bay Area, which is not the case in their later cars, they’ve purposely I’m sure made it really difficult for owners to service their own cars. My only criticism about this generation of Megane is that it’s srikes me as a bit “boring” and “bland” with that grey tacky plastic interior. But that car does look tidy for its year, great vid once again Mr Lloyd!

Takes me back to being an excited teenager when my dad bought his brand new 96 N reg 1.6e coupe in most basic spec. The interiors of these do wear well. On my 97 P reg 1.6e Fidji Coupe the door cards have gone a little baggy but otherwise the interior is in great shape

Nice vehicle, I prefer the face-lift version but still a nice example!

Could the dashboard fit your documents? Not sure if I missed.

You're right about the damage to the front passenger seat, that's classic sun damage on the special edition models. Fortunately, the quality of the seat cloth was better on the standard models and a lot better on the facelift cars... These would have originally had Paris stickers on both front doors just above the engine size and trim badges in the rubbing strips, and also one on the tailgate. The stickers, however, weren't good quality and rarely survived the first encounter with a pressure washer. In fact, the stickers didn't always survive the trip through the import centre at Southampton docks where the cars would arrive on the big vehicle carriers and be washed to get rid of the shipping wax before going through the preparation line where they'd get the windows acid etched with the security code and have any stickers applied, before being washed again to get rid of any residual acid and, often, the freshly applied stickers. Oddly, Renault didn't use the same designations for special editions in all markets, so a Paris in the UK might be, say, a Bordeaux in France and something different again in each European market. So the stickers would be locally sourced and often weren't of the sort of quality you might expect on factory installed parts. Even FIAT did this better, where the special edition cars would come from the factory with an OE sticker pack, even if the stickers weren't actually on the vehicles... My abiding memory of the original Megane was that the non-adjustable steering wheel was far too low for me, an issue I also had with Vauxhalls of the period, which made driving them extremely uncomfortable after a few minutes. The lack of air conditioning which was only ever an option on the early cars in the UK was also an issue as they would turn into an oven in even moderately sunny conditions as being stuck for hours in gridlocked traffic in central London in an RN diesel proved. I understand that car went to the big Renault dealer in central London to be valeted before the magazine was able to test it...

Hubnut spec especially the various shades of red. A very good car. I did drive a facelift base model for work with 4 passengers and it was well up to the job. The firm standardised on compression ignition so enough said. A very underrated car like the Vauxhall Vectra C. My Audi is letting in water at the moment so I have been driving my Brother's 2008 Vectra C, until we locate the leak. I adore the Vectra, it is comfortable, quiet, roomy and practical with a toasty heater. Check your email for a photo. The Megane and the Vectra are both unloved for no good reason. Base models are good on both and start adding toys as you go up the range, you find very well built and equipped packages. No Budget. Win Win I say.

PS I saw ANOTHER 2000s Leguna - a lift back - in a well to do area of Palmerston North today!

Oh this takes me back. I remember going on a late night Tesco cruise to Cheshunt with my friend in his mum's 1.6RT after he passed his test. I remember the huge gearknob and that long throw gearbox. In surprisingly good shape for its years too

I love this era of Renault before they ruined everything with gadgets like ignition cards instead of keys etc. Still lots of these about here in France.

Never been a fan of Renault 👎🏽as had bad experience with them especially clios from the early 2000’s and early 90’s good review though as always 👍🏾

One car brand I’ve never owned although I have had a Peugeot

Strange but Renault is a brand that’s more expensive more known.. and building cars way longer in that time so more experience . Than Hyundai. But still i do like Hyundai more from that time than this. Talking about the excel/accent and elantra/lantra. On the other side.. renault had Laguna

nah, prefer Mr bill/wulls wheells megane classic!

Oh the remorseless dullness of 1.4 8v French cars.. Thankfully things moved on.