RENAULT MEGANE Estate 2003‑2009

I have had this car for over a year and driven over 15,000 miles. Apart from a mini service i have not had to spend a penny on the car. This car is very practical with lots of boot space and special storage compartments tucked away around the car including in the front foot rest areas. Cheap Tax and Insurance group adds to the car's ownership appeal. We always have a double buggy in the rear along with boxes of storage items and never struggle to fit things in. It looks like Renault's partnership with Nissan since 2004 is paying off as all the electrics have worked fine. We had the expression model which still had Air-Con, Integrated sun-blinds and heated mirror. Would recommend anyone to buy a Renault from 2006 onwards.

For a 1.5 Diesel estate it is very nippy around town and sits nicley at 70 on the motorway, althought in sixth gear at 70 i think the engine revs sit a bit high.

Lots of space for the wife two kids and the dog. The blinds mounted in the rear doors are a bit flimsy so check for damage on the blinds and the hooks at the top of the doors.

On the last 1000 miles we averaged 38.5 MPG this includes a few motorway journeys over 150 miles and round town. Car Tax only £95 per year.

Servicing is very expensive £310 for a 24000 mile service and when I asked why so much I was informed its becasue of the position of the fuel filter. Shocking.

But to finish on a high I love to drive this car and some times do forget its an estate.

Good points:

Good size, easily accesible boot. Lots of storage space.

Drives ok. The relatively small diesel engine doesn't feel underpowered for the size of vehicle. I felt it handled at least as well as my previous Laguna and Mondeo. Comfortable ride.

Relatively cheap to insure, tax and fuel. highest reading was 67mpg for motorway driving. Normal average was around 45mpg.

However, you can wave goodbye to anything you save on running costs by the amount you'll spend servicing and repairing it.

Water ingress problems corroding the fuse board causing starting problems. Bulbs blowing on a regular basis. The thing is full of different motors and sensors that all seem to somehow confuse each other - making diagnostics a time cosuming and expensive business.

In the space of a year, I had to replace an electric window motor (the window fell down inside the door so no choice £300+); the steering lock motor (£300+); the starter motor (£130); the camshaft position sensor (£100+); the fuse board (£150+); the fuel pump; the ball joints.

Everything was apparently 'difficult to get to' for the renault specialist garage, taking hours and resulting in high labour costs too.

The alarm kept malfunctioning to the point where I had to remove it. The keycard kept eating batteries (approx £2 a time) at the rate of about 1 a week.

For the love of God, do not make the mistake of buying this car!

Good allround vehicle, practical, economical ( 48mph just running round town), comfortable, drives well, plenty of 'extras'. Not had it long enough yet to say much on reliability but fine so far apart from one electric window malfunction.

I bought this car back in June. I've already racked up 10K miles and the car has performed well over this time. The main features I was looking for when buying the car were low running costs, good on the motorways and plenty of room in the boot. It does nearly 60mpg mostly for my "fast" commute to and from work everyday, the tax is £60 a year and insurance is less than it was for my previous car (Punto). Nice and solid on the road and just enough power to suit all roads. There is loads of space in the boot the interior has a nice feel - my son always falls asleep in the back on journeys - helped by the integral window blinds, a nice feature. Not a stylish car and apart from the world's most difficult to change headlamps/sidlights no complaints.

An otherwise fantastic car in all aspects - totally ruined due to constant electrical faults and agents inability to diagnose them properly first time.

Perfect car, good boot space, it's fuel efficient and very smooth to drive. Mine is semi-auto and part leather interior. I love it. The only surprise was I bought it without realising the exterior aerial was missing and the cigarette lighter wasn't working. The other thing was that the gear lights were off. Renault charged me 50 quid and fixed it.

* Very, very spacious,particularly the boot area. The rear seats also fold down which increases the load capacity almost twofold.

Perfect family car, or for people with lots to carry.

* Reliable because of extensive on board computer which warns of any developing fault. Had major expense at 61,000 to fit new cam belt.

* Delivers 40 mpg ( on board computer figure )

* Smooth ride and 1.6 litre engine is more than capable of taking 4 adults and luggage.

This superb family car offers luxury, space and comfort together with excellent child safety features such as ISOFIX points in the front and rear seats.

Very low mileage and regular servicing ensures reliability for peace of mind. MOT until October 2012. An extremely smooth ride with good fuel efficiency and suitable engine for vehicle size.

Absolutely devasted to be parting with this vehicle but genuine reason for sale as we are expecting twins and won't be able to legally fit all family members in - despite the large size of this vehicle!

Half leather interior and electric features ensure driving this vehicle is always a pleasure and never a chore.

purchased the car from ebay in Mar 11. It had covered 138k when purchased however my mind was put at rest due to the lever arch file of receipts, mots etc. Was a rep car in a previous life so had bi annual services and full mot history loads of extra documents to support it had been looked after. Just had a major service too.

Paid £1500. I live in coventry but work in Scotland. The 1.5 DCi is immence for frugal fuel consumption. I coasted to work one day, average speed 59 but got 84MPG on 350 mile journey, only used 3/8ths of a tank, @ 70mph averages 65+. However the 1.5 lacks power. The boot space hoovers up stuff, can fit a fully buggy in one side of the boot and have the other HALF, yes HALF for shopping etc, i have two kids and when they are in their car seats in the back they are not in kicking distance of the drivers seat, i'm 5' 10" so have it quite far back.

Problems: Big end bearing has gone after just 5k miles so now I am scrapping the car as its not worth spending money to fix. After this happened I have done research to find renault at the bottom of Which? and What Car mag reliability serveys. It got me thinking how there are never any renaults with over 150k miles for sale, unlike German cars. Never buying renault again. Skoda Fabia estate