Renault has refreshed the Megane E-Tech, and UK orders opened on 1 October. The new car has a 67 kWh battery, 306 miles of official range, quicker rapid charging and the full £3,750 Electric Car Grant, which takes the entry price to £28,245: £3,050 less than the outgoing car cost after its smaller grant.
If you were weighing up a used Megane, the comparison has changed. We studied the asking prices of used Meganes advertised in the UK just before the new price was announced. This post sets the new car against them, picks a trim, and shows where the used market no longer makes sense.
- Buying new: choose Techno. Esprit Alpine costs £3,000 more, adds comfort and styling, and loses range.
- Buying used: a 2024 or 2025 car at about £19,800 has the heat pump and costs 30% less than a new Techno.
- Tightest budget: a 2022 to 2024 car at about £17,600; look for an Iconic, the only early trim with a heat pump.
- Avoid for now: nearly-new 2026 cars of the old shape at about £27,000. The new car is only 4% more.
What is new
The motor is unchanged at 160 kW (220 hp). The battery grows from 60 kWh to 67 kWh and switches to a different chemistry (more on that below). Renault says a 15 to 80% rapid charge now takes 24 minutes, about a quarter quicker than before. There is a restyled nose and tail, one-pedal driving, a ventilated wireless phone charger, and the charge port can power mains equipment at up to 3.7 kW through an adaptor.
| New Techno | New Esprit Alpine | Outgoing Techno | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price after grant | £28,245 | £31,245 | £31,295 |
| List price | £31,995 | £34,995 | £32,795 |
| Battery | 67 kWh LFP | 67 kWh LFP | 60 kWh NMC |
| Official range (WLTP) | 306 miles | 298 miles | 285 miles |
| Fastest rapid charging | 165 kW | 165 kW | 130 kW |
| Wheels | 19-inch | 20-inch | 20-inch |
The outgoing car qualified for the £1,500 grant band; the new one gets the full £3,750. Our guide to the Electric Car Grant lists which other cars do. When the Megane E-Tech launched in 2022, a Techno listed at £38,495. Full specifications are on the Megane E-Tech page.
Techno or Esprit Alpine?
Techno. It is the entry trim, and Renault fits all of this as standard:
- Heat pump and battery pre-conditioning
- Heated front seats and heated steering wheel
- 360-degree camera and hands-free parking
- Adaptive cruise control with stop and go
- 12-inch touchscreen with Google Maps and Assistant built in, plus a 12.3-inch driver display
- Wireless phone charger
- One-pedal driving, plus four levels of regenerative braking on the paddles
- 11 kW AC charging
Esprit Alpine costs £3,000 more and adds 20-inch wheels, electric front seats with a massage function for the driver, a Harman Kardon stereo, its own styling, and active driver assist, which adds lane centring to the adaptive cruise control. None of it changes how far the car goes or how fast it charges. The bigger wheels cut the official range from 306 to 298 miles, and 20-inch tyres cost more to replace.
If you drive long motorway distances every week, lane centring and a better seat are worth having. Otherwise keep the £3,000. Whichever trim you pick, Glacier white is the only paint included in the price; metallic colours are £650 and two-tone finishes £1,050 to £1,150.
What used Meganes cost
We studied the used Megane E-Tech adverts on AutoTrader just before the new price was announced. About 83% of the cars for sale were 2022 to 2024 models, and under one in ten were nearly-new 2026 cars. The figures below are asking prices, not what people paid.
| Cars | Median asking | Typical range | Typical mileage | Below a new Techno |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All 2022-2024 cars | £17,575 | £13,366–£20,494 | 22,000 | 38% |
| Iconic | £18,405 | £14,970–£20,494 | 21,000 | 35% |
| 2024-2025 cars | £19,799 | £15,774–£21,797 | 12,000 | 30% |
| 2026 (nearly new) | £26,995 | £24,000–£36,230 | 2,000 | 4% |
Every used car in that table has the older 60 kWh battery and 130 kW rapid charging. Cars from before April 2024 differ again: only the Iconic has a heat pump. Our used Megane E-Tech buyer’s guide covers the versions, the known faults and what to check.
The nearly-new cars no longer add up
A 2026 car of the old shape, with under 2,000 miles on it, was typically advertised at £27,000. A factory-fresh Techno costs 4% more, and for that you get the bigger battery, 21 more miles of range, faster charging and a warranty that starts the day you collect it. Some nearly-new cars were advertised above the new car’s price.
Those prices were set before Renault announced the new one, and they will have to fall. If you want a nearly-new car, wait a few weeks or negotiate with the new price in hand. Few nearly-new cars were advertised, so treat the median as a guide rather than a rule.
Buying a used one instead
A 2022 to 2024 Megane at about £17,600 costs 38% less than a new Techno; a 2024 or 2025 car at about £19,800 costs 30% less. What you give up:
- Range: 26 fewer official miles on an early car, and a few more lost to battery ageing.
- Rapid charging: 130 kW against 165 kW. A motorway stop takes about 8 minutes longer.
- Heat pump: missing on early cars except the Iconic, and going without one costs winter range.
- Warranty: Renault covers the car for 5 years and the battery for 8, so a 2023 car has cover to 2028 and 2031.
The early cars do one thing better: they charge at 22 kW on AC, where the new car manages 11 kW. At home that makes no difference unless you have a three-phase supply, which few UK houses do. Away from home it can. Many car-park and town-centre chargers in France are 22 kW units, so on a holiday there an early Megane refills in half the time the new one takes.
Our estimates of real-world range today, from the same battery-ageing model used across EVcarsguide:
| Car | Summer | Year-round | Winter |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Techno (67 kWh) | 260 miles | 229 miles | 192 miles |
| 2025 used (60 kWh, heat pump) | 236 miles | 208 miles | 175 miles |
| 2023 used (60 kWh) | 221 miles | 195 miles | 164 miles |
If your regular long trip fits inside the used car’s winter figure, the older car does the same job for a lot less money. You can check your own mileage against any used EV in the used EV finder.
What the new battery changes
The new battery uses lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells; the old one used nickel manganese cobalt (NMC). LFP batteries generally tolerate being charged to 100% routinely, where NMC cars are usually best kept to 80% day to day, and they tend to last more charge cycles. They are also more sensitive to cold: an LFP battery charges more slowly and gives less range in winter, which is why the standard heat pump and battery pre-conditioning matter on this car. Follow the charging advice in Renault’s handbook for the new car.
Which should you buy?
- New Techno, £28,245: if you can stretch to it, do regular long trips, or are buying through finance or salary sacrifice.
- Used 2024 or 2025, about £19,800: heat pump on every car, the 12-inch screen on Techno and above, and most of the warranty left.
- Used 2022 to 2024, about £17,600: the lowest price. Prefer an Iconic (about £18,400) for the heat pump, or any car if you holiday in France and want the 22 kW charger.
- Nearly new, old shape: only at a price well below £28,245.
Compare the Megane with its rivals on size and running costs from the Megane E-Tech page.
Founder of EVcarsguide. Web technologist and data specialist tracking the UK EV market.
